Hi,
I have been trying so sort my back problem out for 18 months now, I have seen 3 different practitioners but problem not sorted. Have now been referred to an NHS physio by my doctor. He seems nice but am worried that there might be a better option. My right upper back feels like its been concreted into my position and that my neck is bent back on itself. I have severe pain in my upper back, neck up to my ears, shoulder and upper arm ache and headaches in the evening and my muscles feel that they can never relax. When they do there feels like there is a stone deep in the rights side of my upper back that keeping everything else tense and out of position. I saw the physio for the first time on friday and he says that my upper spine is flat and is shouldn't be, he can fit his hands under my shoulder blades and my lower back is curved more that it should. he also says that now I have had the pain more than 6 months that it is termed Chronic and is much more difficult to deal with. How do I know if my spine is like this because of any muscle spasm I may have which may have pulled my spine out of shape, or whether that it is my natural shape that has caused this? It seems a bit chicken and egg to me.
My back feels like I want someone to crack it and knock everything back into place. My physio seems to think stretches and exercises and possibly the use of tens machines will sort it. I have been doing stretches that he gave me since thursday very gently but my back/neck is very painful and throbbing & I've hardly slept for 2 nights. Am I going down the right road do you think? I don't care what it takes I just want to get it sorted permenantly.
Sorry for the long text but I am desperate now.
many thanks,
Fat chops
Hi
Have you tried seeing a Chiropractor? Thats what i did and they literally click everything back into place. I can recommned a good one if your in the Norwich area.
Also any of the books by Dr John Sarno on curing back pain are fantastic - they go beyond a normal understanding of the causes and have helped me terrifically. Do a search on amazon.
I hope you get on OK.
Sunbeamx
hi fatchops
where are you based? it sounds like a postural issue from what you describe
massage and the combination suggested by your physio would be my direction, headaches and your symptoms are fairly common in my clinic and usually easily remedied.
regards
BGFL
EFT tends to be very effective for pain management, and you can use it yourself as a self-help tool. There is lots of free information and a downloadable manual on [DLMURL="http://www.emofree.com/a/?2014"]Gary Craig's website[/DLMURL]. If you haven't seen EFT done before (Paul McKenna uses a similar "tapping" technique in some of his shows) it appears a bit weird at first, but it is a great tool that is easy to learn for self-help (though I am obviously biased as I practise it myself).
Masha
How did the pain first appear ?
Did you have local pain which gradually affected other areas or was it an 'all at once' OUCH !! which left you with widespread discomfort.
Give the physios recommendations time to take effect before making any judgements - the stretches will give you discomfort at first but you're doing the right thing by taking it easy - a bit obvious, but try taking a nice warm bath after the stretches as it helps relax the body and the mind.
If you do seek additional therapy, make sure you tell the therapist about your current treatment - massage and physiotherapy work well together and as sunbeam said, a chiroparacter should be able to determine if there's any alignment issues which need to be addressed.
If you're worried about any of your feelings (physical or emotional) do keep posting - there's a lot of informed, helpful and supportive people here who should be able to keep your outlook positive and give you good advice......
:nature-smiley-008:
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your replies, I am so grateful. I was thinking of going to see either an osteopath or chiropractor in addition to the physio. and am unsure which path to take. From your responses I think a chiropractor would probably be best but I know that to go by recommedation is best and don't know anyone else who has been to one.
In response to muzone. It has been grumbling for some time but seems to have started with a pain deep in my back (sort of deep under my right shoulder pain that hurts when I try to take a very deep breath, I went to the doctors a couple of years ago and they checked my breathing and said it was nothing to worry about. The pain seems to radiate out and affect all my upper right back shoulder upper arm and all of my neck. My muscles in this area feel very very tight and at this moment it are throbbing badly just like when I had whiplash 3-4 years ago. I think it is postural as well Biggazfromlincoln suggests and sitting to watch TV, using the computer, driving etc really hurts.
Thank you for the Dr Sarno info. Sunbeam. Its a shame that I am not near Norwich as I could have seen your Chiropractor.
I live in Surrey and recommendations of a good Chiropractor or an Osteopath would be very very gratefully received.
many, many thanks,
Fatchops x
Hiya
The physio I saw last year after a car crash told me she had a list of chiropractors and osteopaths and they regularly referred between each other. Maybe worth asking your physio?
Have you considered seeing a Bowen Therapist? - gentle & often highly effective for these kind of problems and may only need 3 or 4 sessions.
Also don't mix your therapies without checking with you physio first - it can make things worse, not better and be a waste of money.
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for your replies, I am so grateful. I was thinking of going to see either an osteopath or chiropractor in addition to the physio. and am unsure which path to take. From your responses I think a chiropractor would probably be best but I know that to go by recommedation is best and don't know anyone else who has been to one.
In response to muzone. It has been grumbling for some time but seems to have started with a pain deep in my back (sort of deep under my right shoulder pain that hurts when I try to take a very deep breath, I went to the doctors a couple of years ago and they checked my breathing and said it was nothing to worry about. The pain seems to radiate out and affect all my upper right back shoulder upper arm and all of my neck. My muscles in this area feel very very tight and at this moment it are throbbing badly just like when I had whiplash 3-4 years ago. I think it is postural as well Biggazfromlincoln suggests and sitting to watch TV, using the computer, driving etc really hurts.
Thank you for the Dr Sarno info. Sunbeam. Its a shame that I am not near Norwich as I could have seen your Chiropractor.
I live in Surrey and recommendations of a good Chiropractor or an Osteopath would be very very gratefully received.
many, many thanks,
Fatchops x
Hi there! I tried googling this and a list of chiropractors in surrey appeared . Actually, it's a long list so you just go ahead and choose from them. By the way, I'm also a back pain sufferer and other than exercise and some minor therapy sessions, I take pain relievers
fioricet. So, that's it and I hope you recover quickly! Have a great day.
Charm