Calling All Back Pain Patients

luvcritters · 07-24-14, 06:26 PM

Has anyone been diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis? Mine is at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I'm glad to find out for sure that all of my pain is coming from my back and not my hip. I wasn't looking forward to hip replacement.

I have other things going on in my lumbar spine but this is the one I'm most concerned with. I'll be going to PT for starters.

Any words of encouragement??

Fanny · 07-24-14, 07:53 PM

I recently had PT for sciatica. At first I thought they were not working me hard enough but since the pain is mostly gone, I must give them credit for knowing what they are doing. Hope your journey goes as well!

kathym · 07-25-14, 05:51 AM

I was diagnosed with this a few years ago. More lumbar. It caused muscle spasms and major discomfort (Often like an electric current). I started with PT and then progressed to a chiropractor with a PT degree and then to a pain management physician. It was an interesting year. I had to find out what worked for me. It was a process. The thing that helped the most was getting my core strength in hand. I had let it slip without really realizing it. I started really slow on rehab with my chiropractor. He would align and give me exercises. It worked well. I now have progressed to using Barre3, Yin the Zone, SBF, Tonique. I try and really keep up with core and strength. This from barely being able to do Gary Kraftsow Viniyoga and other alignment books by Stuart McGill, Pete Egoscue, Esther Gokahle. As long as I keep the strength going it seems not to cause issues ... at least more than a twinge at times. Hope yours is only causing minor issues.
Sorry for the long post. I was so glad to have this forum to get info from!!!!
One other thing: When doing Barre3 she talked about Mom Hip which was sinking into the hip and not using the support muscle. I found I was accidentally doing that as well and Brett Contreras book mentioned in another thread has great exercises for that. Also I am really mindful when doing the above mentioned workouts.

luvcritters · 07-25-14, 07:44 AM

Fanny - I'm happy to know PT got rid of your sciatica. I had sciatica for approx. 10 years. I tried PT, chiropractic, massage, etc. and finally had to get epidural cortisone injections to get rid of it. Sciatica was some of the worst pain I ever had.

kathy - So sorry you have/had this, too. Sounds like yours is/was at the same area as mine. I've been doing chiropractor for back problems for 15 yrs or more. I had x-rays previously and an MRI in 2008 and I didn't have it then. My chiropractor is blind and he's good at adjustments but not so great with exercises and other help. I used to live and breathe Pilates but then slacked off. Maybe I got burned out. Did they tell you what not to do? I know sit-ups are bad for all kinds of reasons. Looks like you and I have the same collection of books. Barre workouts haven't made the pain worse and Pilates usually helps. Cardio choices are getting very limited. My husband got rid of my favorite recumbent bike last week. Now that I know what's wrong I can see why it made the pain so much worse. If PT doesn't help - the dr. only ordered 6 sessions - I'll go to pain management for injections, and if that doesn't help we'll go from there. Thanks for telling me about your experience. I agree that this forum is great for getting helpful info.

I forgot to mention the electric current. I get that, too. It hits about mid-upper belly and runs down and out my toes. Hurts nasty bad and then it's gone.

kathym · 07-25-14, 08:23 AM

The electric shock was a nasty little surprise. I remember that year as quite a learning experience. I read everything I could get my hands on including this board. I was really lucky and my pain management doctor was able to do some manipulation and teach me the same tricks so that I did not need the shots. She has helped others in my family that have back issues as well. She always talked about writing a book and I wish she would. If that didn't work I was going to possibly have to have the injection to stabilize the back which I really hoped not to do. I also lucked into finding the chiropractor that also was a PT. The combo was really helpful.
I just started out with really minor workouts. Bends forward and backward were not an option. Just listen to your body. Like I said I started with Gary Viniyoga every night to relieve back stress. Then I used tricks from the Egoscue book like putting your legs up on a foot stool to relieve pressure.
There was one Cathe DVD that worked as well. (After I got stabilized) I could do butts and guts. I think I skipped the guts though as it was too much flexion. Anything that stretched away from the midline too much was an issue. Right back to the shock. I also used Jill Miller and Katy Bowman later as well. Planks were nice.
My PT/Chiropactor gave me a lot of exercises to strengthen the multifidus muscles in my back.
As you can see it was quite the adventure.

Pat58 · 07-25-14, 09:41 AM

Linda, I'm hoping that now that you have a specific diagnosis that your health care providers can come up with a plan to get you some relief. I don't really know anything about this, just wanted to come by and wish you well with everything.

Sarah-lara · 07-25-14, 09:46 AM

I've had every nasty back situation there is. The best encouragement I can give is that most back problems heal on their own no matter what you do.

The latest research and treatment programs, which go against what we used to hear, say to ignore the pain signals, move more and rest less, whether you're injured or not. If you can walk, walk. The Exercise Cure says if you can only crawl, then do that. I didn't baby my last problem, and it did heal faster that time, though it's definitely nerve wracking to do that.

Another tip that works for me is a standing desk. I find the less I sit, the better I do, but YMMV.

athompson10 · 07-25-14, 11:58 AM

Linda H, best of luck with your healing.

Both my DH and I have back problems, though not your diagnosis. My greatest success has come with regular Pilates sessions and targeting/avoiding the activities that trigger pain. My problem is a practically non-existent disc between L4 and L5. DH has a disc issue at L5-S1, and was in so much pain over the New Year weekend that he could barely walk, sit or take stairs. He received a nice handful of painkillers for the immediate pain plus aggressive PT for about four weeks, including some trigger-point therapy, and was much more mobile within a week.

It will get better. It's good to have a specific diagnosis going forward. If at all possible, keep moving; not necessarily exercising, but light stretches, easy walking, activities around the house.

luvcritters · 07-25-14, 12:30 PM

Pat - thanks, it means a lot that you dropped by. I'm at the point now that if it has to be surgery, I'm okay with it. I'll do my best to avoid it as I've been doing but we'll see.

Kathy - I wish your pain management doctor would write a book, too.

That electric current is something that I can live without! When I was getting the epidural injections 5 or 6 years ago the dr. shot the cortisone right onto a nerve to make it mad and see if it would shut off the pain. He did a lot of experimenting on me and nothing helped. I can't say that shot hurt like the electric current because it was weird and I can't explain how it felt. The electric current follows the same path as that nerve but on the other side. The surgeon didn't understand how I can go into back extension without bad pain. I use extension to ease the pain most days. It hurts a little but after the pain I've had, maybe what I feel would be a lot to someone else. Flexion and extension don't cause pain but twisting is very bad. I can run on the rebounder but I can't get laundry from the dryer. I get bored with Viniyoga because it doesn't seem like much. I should probably do it anyway. I'll keep doing Pilates and barre until someone tells me not to. I just noticed that lately I never sit back in a chair because any pressure on the low lumbar is too painful. I sit up tall on the bones. I wonder how long I've been doing that and didn't notice?

Sarah - yes, movement helps. If I don't move, I can't move. My back problems aren't going away by themselves. I wish they would. That would've happened years ago if it was going to happen.

Aside from the spondylolisthesis, I didn't mention the spondylosis with the broken parts of 2 vertebra, stenosis, and some scoliosis. The spondylolisthesis is causing the instability and that needs to be fixed asap.

luvcritters · 07-25-14, 12:38 PM

athompson - thanks! I'm glad you and your dh are so much better. I have disc issues at L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 but Pilates, chiropractic, and the epidural injections pretty much keep them quiet. When they act up I do some matwork to move the disc off the nerve or go to the chiro. My lumbar area is compressed with very little joint space like yours. As the surgeon said years ago, it's a mess in there, and it just keeps getting worse. I used to do Pilates matwork everyday and I think I got burned out. I still use the reformer but in the long run, I think matwork worked better for pain relief. In fact, I didn't need the chiropractor for 3 years around the time of the knee replacement. I'll be doing matwork and some barre everyday until I can do cardio again. Or until someone tells me not to. Thanks again.

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07-24-14, 06:26 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Calling All Back Pain Patients Has anyone been diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis? Mine is at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I'm glad to find out for sure that all of my pain is coming from my back and not my hip. I wasn't looking forward to hip replacement. I have other things going on in my lumbar spine but this is the one I'm most concerned with. I'll be going to PT for starters. Any words of encouragement??

07-24-14, 07:53 PM
Fanny Join Date: Nov 2001	I recently had PT for sciatica. At first I thought they were not working me hard enough but since the pain is mostly gone, I must give them credit for knowing what they are doing. Hope your journey goes as well!

07-25-14, 05:51 AM
kathym VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Virginia	I was diagnosed with this a few years ago. More lumbar. It caused muscle spasms and major discomfort (Often like an electric current). I started with PT and then progressed to a chiropractor with a PT degree and then to a pain management physician. It was an interesting year. I had to find out what worked for me. It was a process. The thing that helped the most was getting my core strength in hand. I had let it slip without really realizing it. I started really slow on rehab with my chiropractor. He would align and give me exercises. It worked well. I now have progressed to using Barre3, Yin the Zone, SBF, Tonique. I try and really keep up with core and strength. This from barely being able to do Gary Kraftsow Viniyoga and other alignment books by Stuart McGill, Pete Egoscue, Esther Gokahle. As long as I keep the strength going it seems not to cause issues ... at least more than a twinge at times. Hope yours is only causing minor issues. Sorry for the long post. I was so glad to have this forum to get info from!!!! One other thing: When doing Barre3 she talked about Mom Hip which was sinking into the hip and not using the support muscle. I found I was accidentally doing that as well and Brett Contreras book mentioned in another thread has great exercises for that. Also I am really mindful when doing the above mentioned workouts. __________________ km

07-25-14, 07:44 AM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Fanny - I'm happy to know PT got rid of your sciatica. I had sciatica for approx. 10 years. I tried PT, chiropractic, massage, etc. and finally had to get epidural cortisone injections to get rid of it. Sciatica was some of the worst pain I ever had. kathy - So sorry you have/had this, too. Sounds like yours is/was at the same area as mine. I've been doing chiropractor for back problems for 15 yrs or more. I had x-rays previously and an MRI in 2008 and I didn't have it then. My chiropractor is blind and he's good at adjustments but not so great with exercises and other help. I used to live and breathe Pilates but then slacked off. Maybe I got burned out. Did they tell you what not to do? I know sit-ups are bad for all kinds of reasons. Looks like you and I have the same collection of books. Barre workouts haven't made the pain worse and Pilates usually helps. Cardio choices are getting very limited. My husband got rid of my favorite recumbent bike last week. Now that I know what's wrong I can see why it made the pain so much worse. If PT doesn't help - the dr. only ordered 6 sessions - I'll go to pain management for injections, and if that doesn't help we'll go from there. Thanks for telling me about your experience. I agree that this forum is great for getting helpful info. I forgot to mention the electric current. I get that, too. It hits about mid-upper belly and runs down and out my toes. Hurts nasty bad and then it's gone.

07-25-14, 08:23 AM
kathym VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Virginia	The electric shock was a nasty little surprise. I remember that year as quite a learning experience. I read everything I could get my hands on including this board. I was really lucky and my pain management doctor was able to do some manipulation and teach me the same tricks so that I did not need the shots. She has helped others in my family that have back issues as well. She always talked about writing a book and I wish she would. If that didn't work I was going to possibly have to have the injection to stabilize the back which I really hoped not to do. I also lucked into finding the chiropractor that also was a PT. The combo was really helpful. I just started out with really minor workouts. Bends forward and backward were not an option. Just listen to your body. Like I said I started with Gary Viniyoga every night to relieve back stress. Then I used tricks from the Egoscue book like putting your legs up on a foot stool to relieve pressure. There was one Cathe DVD that worked as well. (After I got stabilized) I could do butts and guts. I think I skipped the guts though as it was too much flexion. Anything that stretched away from the midline too much was an issue. Right back to the shock. I also used Jill Miller and Katy Bowman later as well. Planks were nice. My PT/Chiropactor gave me a lot of exercises to strengthen the multifidus muscles in my back. As you can see it was quite the adventure. __________________ km

07-25-14, 09:41 AM
Pat58 VF Supporter Join Date: May 2002 Location: Connecticut	Linda, I'm hoping that now that you have a specific diagnosis that your health care providers can come up with a plan to get you some relief. I don't really know anything about this, just wanted to come by and wish you well with everything.

07-25-14, 09:46 AM
Sarah-lara VF Supporter Join Date: May 2003	I've had every nasty back situation there is. The best encouragement I can give is that most back problems heal on their own no matter what you do. The latest research and treatment programs, which go against what we used to hear, say to ignore the pain signals, move more and rest less, whether you're injured or not. If you can walk, walk. The Exercise Cure says if you can only crawl, then do that. I didn't baby my last problem, and it did heal faster that time, though it's definitely nerve wracking to do that. Another tip that works for me is a standing desk. I find the less I sit, the better I do, but YMMV. __________________ Sarah

07-25-14, 11:58 AM
athompson10 VF Supporter Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Linda H, best of luck with your healing. Both my DH and I have back problems, though not your diagnosis. My greatest success has come with regular Pilates sessions and targeting/avoiding the activities that trigger pain. My problem is a practically non-existent disc between L4 and L5. DH has a disc issue at L5-S1, and was in so much pain over the New Year weekend that he could barely walk, sit or take stairs. He received a nice handful of painkillers for the immediate pain plus aggressive PT for about four weeks, including some trigger-point therapy, and was much more mobile within a week. It will get better. It's good to have a specific diagnosis going forward. If at all possible, keep moving; not necessarily exercising, but light stretches, easy walking, activities around the house. __________________ Allison

07-25-14, 12:30 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Pat - thanks, it means a lot that you dropped by. I'm at the point now that if it has to be surgery, I'm okay with it. I'll do my best to avoid it as I've been doing but we'll see. Kathy - I wish your pain management doctor would write a book, too. That electric current is something that I can live without! When I was getting the epidural injections 5 or 6 years ago the dr. shot the cortisone right onto a nerve to make it mad and see if it would shut off the pain. He did a lot of experimenting on me and nothing helped. I can't say that shot hurt like the electric current because it was weird and I can't explain how it felt. The electric current follows the same path as that nerve but on the other side. The surgeon didn't understand how I can go into back extension without bad pain. I use extension to ease the pain most days. It hurts a little but after the pain I've had, maybe what I feel would be a lot to someone else. Flexion and extension don't cause pain but twisting is very bad. I can run on the rebounder but I can't get laundry from the dryer. I get bored with Viniyoga because it doesn't seem like much. I should probably do it anyway. I'll keep doing Pilates and barre until someone tells me not to. I just noticed that lately I never sit back in a chair because any pressure on the low lumbar is too painful. I sit up tall on the bones. I wonder how long I've been doing that and didn't notice? Sarah - yes, movement helps. If I don't move, I can't move. My back problems aren't going away by themselves. I wish they would. That would've happened years ago if it was going to happen. Aside from the spondylolisthesis, I didn't mention the spondylosis with the broken parts of 2 vertebra, stenosis, and some scoliosis. The spondylolisthesis is causing the instability and that needs to be fixed asap.

07-25-14, 12:38 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	athompson - thanks! I'm glad you and your dh are so much better. I have disc issues at L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 but Pilates, chiropractic, and the epidural injections pretty much keep them quiet. When they act up I do some matwork to move the disc off the nerve or go to the chiro. My lumbar area is compressed with very little joint space like yours. As the surgeon said years ago, it's a mess in there, and it just keeps getting worse. I used to do Pilates matwork everyday and I think I got burned out. I still use the reformer but in the long run, I think matwork worked better for pain relief. In fact, I didn't need the chiropractor for 3 years around the time of the knee replacement. I'll be doing matwork and some barre everyday until I can do cardio again. Or until someone tells me not to. Thanks again.