I suffered with Sciatica (the shooting pains you describe sound nerve related) for 12 years. I was prescribed stronger and stronger painkillers and was sent for physio several times but nothing helped. The Sciatica went when I became pregnant but returned with increased severity when my son was 6 months old. By this time I had found homeopathy and have now been pain free (I don't count a twinge once per year) for 10 years. I agree with kvdp that you need to get a personal consultation with a practitioner of your choice. There are several homeopathic remedies for sciatica and back pain which is worse at night and lying down. There's no reason why you couldn't combine a physical therapy such as accupuncture or osteopathy with an energy therapy like homeopathy and/or back flower remedies.
Good luck and hope you are pain free soon 🙂
Hey
I am a Sports therapist and have seen many client with back pain. Plus I suffer with back pain caused by reason 1.
There could be another of reasons,
1- Tight hamstring and bum muscles- sounds strange I know if the muscle is tight then they will pull at the tendon in the back, hence the back pain. Most people with 'sciatica' symptoms, is not siatica but tight muscles pressing on the siactic nerve.
2- As someone has already suggested poor posture, this won't help if you get a memory foam matress topper. Personally i don't like them too soft.
3- Tight muscles in the neck and shoulder- same as 1, problem can be elsewhere but pain radiates down.
My advice is see a Sports therapist not a physio as sports therapist can massage, stretch and work on the issue rather than the sypmtoms.
Drs/GP won't do anything except give you painkillers which will stop working after you have taken them for a while.
Sleep with a pillow between your knees when lying on side and underneath your knees when lying on your back, this will take pressure of the lower back and align body again.
Get stretching, a lot of my clients are active but do not stretch afterwards and this causes the probs in first place. Find a sports therapist who can show you stretching for glutes and piriformis. Get a sports massage a deep one for the back not a swedish as this is only superficial.
Good luck and hope you get sorted.
If you want more advice let me know.
Vickie x
The enthusiasm of the various practitioners here is exemplary! A few points to note:
1) this is a good forum for general information. Nobody should IMHO be offering specific advice or diagnosis here.
2) my own emphasis here is on the proper assessment of the situation, rather than the mode of treatment, because given the information here there is no way of knowing this isn't a serious situation, such as a kidney stone, gall stone, psoas abscess etc, or even worse. In such a case, the involvement of the GP may be absolutely vital. It probably isn't those things, but any amount of advice about stretching of hamstrings, elbows in buttocks can only be given in light of much more information and a proper assessment.
3) I mention osteopath, partly because of my own vested interest, bu mainly because the training is extremely thorough in the clinical implications of signs and symptoms. However, you can choose any primary-care therapist in the first instance, which by definition means somebody who is able to diagnose without supervision, and therefore also knows when to be respectful of complicating factors that may indicate a serious condition. For example, as mentioned, a good homoeopath might be entirely suitable for this, you'd have to ask them.
4) the type of therapy you choose is not nearly as important as the vision of the therapist, however, I come back again to the importance of understanding the situation properly.
5) mixing therapies may be acceptable, but that is also for the individual therapists concerned to agree, and they should all be kept in the loop. It is very possible for too many cooks to spoil the broth. On the other hand, this is an holistic healing forum, holistic doesn't mean doing lots of things IMHO, it means having an all-encompassing approach. It is not really possible for one therapist to comment on how another might like to work, so just because the ABC therapist is happy to share a case, that doesn't mean that the XYZ therapist will not be aware of a possible conflict.
So again, given the nature of the symptoms, rigorous assessment first, find the best practitioner you can. I would start by asking friends, colleagues and family who they have seen for this and that, and then speak to whoever is recommended first to make sure you are happy with their take on the situation. Work with that practitioner, don't just use them as a subcontractor: much of the benefit is not from the treatment, but from the advisory role they can take in helping you navigate the developments of this situation.
Don't jump from therapy to therapy without good reason. If you think your therapist is missing something out, then ask them about it. It really is very unhelpful to discover the reason that the patient one has been treating for weeks isn't improving is because they were mixing and matching treatments without any coherence or coordination of programme.
That's all!
Good luck.:)
Although there may be other causes for morning back pain, the most common is an unsupportive or unsuitable mattress. Or from my own previous experience it could even be due to a sloping bedroom floor which your back is trying to compensate for.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Chiropractors-965/indexExp_119156.htm
Visit this website and ask one of the experts, its free and they give excellent advice! I, myself, posed a question to Keith Biggs DC, I would recommend him from my own experience! Goodluck!
Memory Foam Mattress
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PoohPiglet
Maybe you had a wrong positioin sleeping at night!
Desperate!!
I am 47 and have been suffering from severe back pain when I sleep. This all began approx nine years ago when i was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Having discovered that and realizing i had been living with it for, at least, a decade, probably more, I was thrilled with the result of sleeping with CPAP machine. Been using it ever since and can't sleep without it. However, at that time I began developing SEVERE pain in my upper and mid back, right along my spine. Over time this has got me back to a place of little sleep. Essentially, the same experience as having sleep apnea.
Of course I have consulted doctors, sleep apnea professionals, x-rays- the whole bit. Nobody has heard of this probelm, incuding peers I've consulted on a couple Sleep Apnea Forums.
I have tried illiminating the cause by sleeping without my machine and am left unsure if thsat helped. Te problem is I can't sleep without it and function at my job etc.. My father's side of the family also has a desease called arterial sclerosis (Spelling?). and recently suffered a heart attack and had a stent put in. So, I am now, more than ever, reluctant to sleep without my machine
The bottom line here is I can't go on like this! I am a Truck Driver and am struggling to atay awake much of the time. My life is back to where it was before knowing about the sleep apnea
Now, here's the kicker: There are some days this doesn't happen. they are relatively rare and random. The only thing I'm slightly sure of is the length of my sleep. If I sleep for short periods of time it doesn't seem to happen
I'm grasping at straws now. I so hope someone out there has heard of this or has some kind of answer. I would appreciate any help I can get with this. Thank You, in adavance.....Tim
Potential Cure
I had exactly the same symptoms. Sore back every morning, regardless of what bed / mattress / sleeping position (slightly worse on my back). After a few hours and a hot shower, it eased off almost completely.
Went to a new physio. The problem was my feet! Turns out that if you lose your arches (by turning slightly over on your foot and walking flat-footed), then it puts a strain on your back as you walk. Then at night, the overused muscles in your back stiffen up leading to pain. In the morning, you ease them off again, but as your walking is the problem, the sore back never goes away.
The solution was to buy some "orthotics". Yup, I'd never heard of it either. Turns out these are hard insoles that create the ball in my feet that is missing. You just put them in your shoes and walk around. Feels a bit like walking with some newspaper under your sole, but it changes the foot angle, and therefore the angle of the knee and then hip. By straightening everything out, it avoids the off-centre gait and the slight but ever present strain on the back.
I've only been wearing them for a few days, but I'm feeling slight but noticeable improvement each morning so far. I'm hopeful that this could be the answer. Who'd have thought! Feet...!!!
Hi,
About a year ago, my main problem was turning over in bed. At that time I could still walk and do most he things I needed too. I did not know what the problem was, but that was an early sign that my l4/l5 disc had prolapsed. I did not find this out until January this year. Had the NHS been quicker my symptoms may have not gotten so bad.
You need to push for an MRI scan because if there is some problem they may be able to help you more at this stage.
At my current stage, I am only being given the surgical option. My condition and my life was so much better since the pain at the time was more of a nuisance and appeared to be improving.
I
The solution was to buy some "orthotics". Yup, I'd never heard of it either. Turns out these are hard insoles that create the ball in my feet that is missing. You just put them in your shoes and walk around. Feels a bit like walking with some newspaper under your sole, but it changes the foot angle, and therefore the angle of the knee and then hip. By straightening everything out, it avoids the off-centre gait and the slight but ever present strain on the back.I've only been wearing them for a few days, but I'm feeling slight but noticeable improvement each morning so far. I'm hopeful that this could be the answer. Who'd have thought! Feet...!!!
It makes sense tho- every bit of your body depends on every other bit. But orthotics should not be used without a proper diagnosis.
Hi,
About a year ago, my main problem was turning over in bed. At that time I could still walk and do most he things I needed too. I did not know what the problem was, but that was an early sign that my l4/l5 disc had prolapsed. I did not find this out until January this year. Had the NHS been quicker my symptoms may have not gotten so bad.
You need to push for an MRI scan because if there is some problem they may be able to help you more at this stage.
At my current stage, I am only being given the surgical option. My condition and my life was so much better since the pain at the time was more of a nuisance and appeared to be improving.
Thank you very much for the tip. I am having the same problem. Guess MRI scan is indeed the way to go! 🙁
Orthotics for gait correction is not always a good long term idea. When I started tilting to the left, I put in an insole in my left foot which raised me from that side. It appeared I was straighter but more pressure was being put on my left hip.
That actually made walking just as uncomfortable. Orthotics can be great for some conditions but leg length discrpencies due to an underlying medical condition that has just emerged, they are a bad idea. Your gait was not always a problem. It is a problem now because something happened to change it. Orthotics may provide comfort but they also put pressure elsewhere. Like I said, for some conditions they work well, but if you have gait issues due to a new back problem.
I think self treatment for back problems is always a bad idea. Get a referral from your GP, see an Orthopaedic specialist and get an MRI. Insist you get an MRI. If your spine is Ok then you have little to worry about. Don't go to a chiropractor. They just doagnose you using their hands. My chiro actually got my diagnosis wrong and when I sent him my MRI, he forgot to tell me thay his initial diagnosis was wrong. He also claimed he can get me back to normal within a few weeks and this is someone with a great reputation. Anyway, just don't leave these thigs to quacks and these con artists. For a year I suffered and I thought all I had was a muscle strain. It was more serious than that. I am still recovering from an operation and I am worried if I will ever get back to normal.
Hi,
Don't do anything drastic. I would recommend that you have a Bowen Treatment to start with. It is very gentle and non-invasive and you might already benefit from it.
Also, as I always say ......... you must drink 2 liter of water a day at least, more if you drink tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and alcohol. You might just be dehydrated.
I would recommend you read the book "How to Deal with Back Pain and Rheumatoid Joint Pain" by Dr F. Batmanghelidj it has many self treatment exercises that help. Hi other book "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" is very informative. Hope this helps.:)
I know what people might think straight away.... buy a new bed, but its not that i've had 3 and still suffer the same problems.
I'm absolutley fine during the day but when I go to sleep at night I wake up 7-8 times a night with shooting pains in my back and I feel like my insides are bruised and delicate. Its really painful but I cant help waking up as I want to turn over but then have massive pain with every movement.
Has anyone else suffered from symptons like this or does anyone have a clue what might be wrong.
My doctor just doesnt want to know, He's not very good and I severly dislike him. Any help will be appreciated thanks.