Chronic Back Pain
Posted , 5 users are following.
Male, 6 ft, 19 years old
I have pain in my upper back for about 5 months now and am starting to wonder if I will ever recover. I first noticed the pain when I was unracking weight for a bench press. At first I didn't think it was much and continued working out for a week. The pain didn't go away so I decided I would not work out with weights for a while. Then the pain started to get worse after push ups without any weights at all. At this point I decided to stop working out completely. I still had to play volleyball in PE for school though and this also brought me pain. Then the summer came and I was hoping that that would be plenty of time to fully recover. I go back to school tomorrow and am still experiencing pain. Working out became my life for a year and I have had to completely give it up since this injury. I am starting to wonder if I will have to give up on becoming the person I always dreamed of being. Getting pretty depressed at this point. I have seen a orthopedic surgeon, gotten x-rays, and mri, and gone to physical therapy. I took mobic(antiinflammatory) everyday for a month as it was prescribed to me as well as daily streches. This didn't help. I began physical therapy and continued that for a month but it wasnt getting any better and they told me I was wasting my time and to see another doctor. Havent seen another doctor since because it seems like none of them really have a clue whats wrong with me and just want me to pay $200 to tell me nothing useful. Since then I have done my own research and tried to figure out what is wrong on my own. I believe it is either a severe rhomboid strain or overstretch. Another possibility is it is my serratus posterior superior. I have recently been sleeping with my pillows vertical, keeping my back elevated, which makes it feel decent for most of the day when I wake up but pain always returns at night. When I do this, the spot that causes me pain feels sore and uncomfortable as I am trying to fall asleep. It is feeling better than it was a few months ago, but the recovery seems to have plateaued again and I am scared it will return to its worst again. The pain is not what is causing me so mych disress, as it is about a 4/10 most of the time. It is more frustrating that I know it isnt going away and if I work out or do anything physical it will keep getting worse. I also occasionally experience a snapping feeling in my upper back when I raise my left arm , or sometimes breath deep if I am sitting up straight. Also the pain gets worse if I hunch my back and breathe. I have been trying to improve my posture and I would say it is pretty good now. I also wonder if the cause of this could be from poor positioning in the past. For example I would spend about 2 hours every night before bed in a lying position with my laptop on my lap. This meant that my head was tilted forward, possibly overstretching muscles in my neck or back. I have stopped doing this. Also, a few weeks ago whenever I tilted my head downward, as if to look at the floor, I felt a slight pulling pain in my neck, but this is gone now. Sorry if this is jumbled and difficult to follow. I can clarify or answer any questions. I really appreciate any responses or help on this issue. This is really getting in the way of my life and stopping me from reaching my goals.
1 like, 6 replies
derek10500
Posted
I should also mention that the pain is between my left shoulder blade and my spine, which is why I believe it is due to my left rhomboid muscle. The pain is pretty sharp and can be felt during deep breaths/deep exhales or if I tilt my head at a very sharp angle and apply pressure.
amkoffee derek10500
Posted
I'm wondering if you have strained intercostal muscle. they don't usually take as long to heal as your your pain has persisted but you may have continued to aggravate it as you tried various forms of exercise and stretches that your PT gave you. if it is an intercostal muscle strain it would not show up on an MRI. I've had chronic lower back pain for 15 years but mine didn't start till I was quite a bit older than you. and I injured mine at the gym as well. In fact I was working with a personal trainer and the exercise he had me doing is what hurt my back. I got very depressed because I could not do the exercises or get the endorphins that I had grown to love from exercise and I became suicidal.
first of all you need to get some kind of psychological therapy and probably some medication which may be temporary. I don't recommend seeing your GP for psychological type medication because they just don't know as much as a psychiatrist does. psychiatrist manage medicine and the therapist is the kind you would talk to AKA cognitive therapy. I suggest you see both. as for your physical self I'm hoping you've already tried this but continue heat and Ice alternate, 20 minutes per hour. if you can tolerate it try doing low impact cardio such as bicycling or take a spin class. You want to keep your body fit and while you need to let your muscles heal you should not stop being active. all this advice is from a regular person I am definitely not a doctor and anything I say should be checked with your doctor.
patient_mod2 amkoffee
Posted
Hi amkoffee
We note from a recent post which you have made to our forum that you may be experiencing thoughts around self-harm. If we have misinterpreted your comments then we apologies for contacting you directly. But if you are having such thoughts then please note that you are not alone in this, and there are people out there that can help.
If you are having these suicidal thoughts then we strongly recommend you speak to someone who may be able to help. The Samaritans offer a safe space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.
Their contact details are on our patient information leaflet here: https://patient.info/health/dealing-with-suicidal-thoughts, which also offers lots of other advice on how you can access the help you may need.
If you are having such thoughts then please do reach out to the team at the Samaritans (or the other people detailed in our leaflet) who will understand what you're going through and will be able to help.
Kindest regards
Patient
amkoffee patient_mod2
Posted
thank you for your concern. I will admit I've attempted suicide twice this year but I'm now seeing a therapist on a weekly basis. This was after having been hospitalized for a week and then another two weeks of intensive outpatient. I promised my family I'd never try it again and I mean it.
Goldbrew derek10500
Posted
Hey, man! Have you tried to hung upside down on the pull-up-bar regularly? That is the proven & most effective way to treat your back pain. Both for muscles and discs!
My father (48 years old) and I (26 years old) had the similar issue! I think it was connected with our work where we lifted heavy things. As for me, hanging on the horizontal bar with my hands & legs helped me well. Because I liked pull-ups. But my father couldn't do the same due to weight, age. So we considered tools like this https://cozyhousetoday.com/best-teeter-inversion-tables/ to help my father to train his spine & muscles.
But you are young I hope, you can deal with horizontal bar exercises! For the beginning you can just hung on the pull-up-bar for several minutes every day! Let us know about your improvements!
benny30213 derek10500
Posted
Few of us are strangers to lower back pain. In fact, as many as 80 percent of people have back pain at some point in their lives and half of all workers experience back pain symptoms each year, according to the American Chiropractic Association. Believe it or not but an easy fix for pain can be shoes that you wear. Trust me, look into and have a look, I am more than sure you will find what you are looking for. When you walk, you put the force of as much as five times your body weight on each foot. If the foot doesn't absorb that shock or redistribute it properly, you can develop problems elsewhere. The lesson for me is to always wear proper footwear.
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