what an old woman.

my sacroiliac joint is fucking KILLING ME on the left side, i was so bad off and then i went out last night and now i'm not even comfortable sitting down. it just aches sooo bad.

i went and saw my osteopath today and apparently it's because i've done something to my sacrum due to a fall i had a few years ago. so he did some work on me and it was really helpful but it hurts again now and i can't get another appointment with him until wednesday.

so anyway. someone give me some tips for really bad lower back pain and discomfort. it's not just that it hurts, i can't get comfortable either.

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pain killers?

when my lower back goes out, i take a hot bath to relieve the pain a bit. it loosens everything up and relaxes a bit.

painkillers are the next option, which i've done but try not to use too much.

hope you find something that works.

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yes, thanks genius. i've taken some. they've taken the edge off but it still kills.

debaser - i'll try a hot bath, sounds pretty appealing.

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osteopath = chiropractor? probably yes.

could you also see a physician for a round of xrays, and probably more helpful an MRI so they can see what has degraded if anything, and then go that way. physical therapists can help a great deal by showing you very specific exercises tailored to your particular diagnosis that will strengthen your back.

also from what i understand from the chiropractor that i visited recently, the pain after a visit will come back intensely that night after an adjustment and then by noon the next day you should be feeling better, but thats if there was a sublux

<3

rest, a pillow between your legs when resting on your side to help alignment, a lumbar pillow for sitting and a cervical pillow for sleeping to help with alignment as well. um NSAIDS if you can tolerate them. ice after an adjustment that evening and heat in the morning.

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the cave mouth shines
by pure force of will
i look down on the world
from the top of this lonesome hill
and you can run, and run some more
from here all the way to singapore
but i will carry you home in my teeth
-mountain goats

Did your doctor say if you should use heat or cold? I just assumed heat in general, but the last time my back went out, the chiropractor told me to use an ice pack.

You have my deepest sympathy – back pain is the worst!

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if it's really really bad, ask your doctor if you can get an ultrasound. if not, try doing back exercises or pilates. they help me through the worst of my sacroiliitic pain. and i don't know if the same thing goes on at an osteopath's, but my physiotherapist would always do this thing where she basically twists my torso (and you can hear all your joints cracking back into place), which helps loosen the spine... if you know what i'm talking about, get someone to learn to do that for you. it doesn't help with the pain much but it does help relax the back muscles.

and like dirtyplotte said, get pillows to help prop you up. what my physiotherapist said to do was to sleep, lying on my back, with a pillow below my knees, but i end up kicking them away in the middle of the night anyway.

good luck with it. i feel your pain too.

I happen to be an expert on this subject! I have Degenerative Disk Disease in my back, and I have four herniated disks, from L2-L3 through L5-S1 (the Sacroiliac/Sacrum is the worst!!)

Whenever my back goes out like that, I am off the drugs now, here's what I do:

During the first 48 hours, I ice (no heat!!) the sacrum for 20 minutes, every three hours, plus I do take Advil. The ice is to bring the inflamation down.

Heat causes the inflamation to get worse.

After 48 hours, I then incorporate heat. Either by a bath, hot pack or hot tub...whatever. Heat for 20 minutes, followed by Ice for 20 minutes. Repeat that routine every 4-6 hours until you are feeling better.

Also, if you need the painkillers, do it.

I have this machine called a TENS Unit. It has these electrodes w/little pads and wires that you stick onto your injuries and it shoots electrodes into the area. It does help! I got mine through a doctor, but you can probably get one through the internet. I know people who swear by them.

After my nightmare into drug addiction hell, I am trying to help people try anything to stay off the narcotics. But if the pain is just terrible, that's what the painkillers are made for!

no osteopaths are quite different to chiropractors. Osteopathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
what are NSAIDS?



thanks for the advice everyone. you all rock.

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non steroidal antiinflammitories like ibuprofen, keterolac (short term)

__________________
the cave mouth shines
by pure force of will
i look down on the world
from the top of this lonesome hill
and you can run, and run some more
from here all the way to singapore
but i will carry you home in my teeth
-mountain goats

ok right. it looks as though osteopaths follow alternative ways and avoid drugs outside US but here they arte trained in residency just as allopaths and i dont distinguish the two.

__________________
the cave mouth shines
by pure force of will
i look down on the world
from the top of this lonesome hill
and you can run, and run some more
from here all the way to singapore
but i will carry you home in my teeth
-mountain goats

I totally agree with this though tens unis are quite expensive I find that an infared vibrating back massager works as well.
Also the worst thing to do is stay in the one position for too long, that totally kills my back, try to get up and walk about like every half an hr or so even if you just stand up and do some light stretches.
I also feel for you my back pain isn't even as severe as yours and I consider it to be the bain of my existance sometimes ((hugs)) for you

oh right, ibuprofen = is helping quite a bit.
so are the pillows.

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TENS was interesting for me. im glad i got to experience it. now i know what it feels like when i put it on patients!

__________________
the cave mouth shines
by pure force of will
i look down on the world
from the top of this lonesome hill
and you can run, and run some more
from here all the way to singapore
but i will carry you home in my teeth
-mountain goats

my mum has a scar on her shoulder where a physio burnt her with a TENS. since then i have always been scared of them, i'm convinced they'll bore a hole in me.

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what????? oh good lord in heaven. how incompetent do you have to be in order to BURN a patient?

well it felt good when i tried it. weird, but good.

__________________
the cave mouth shines
by pure force of will
i look down on the world
from the top of this lonesome hill
and you can run, and run some more
from here all the way to singapore
but i will carry you home in my teeth
-mountain goats

Hope things are improving!

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actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter

i had one used on me once but i couldn't relax enough to enjoy it because i was scared of getting singed.

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