From the number of back pain sufferers I've seen, it appears to be quite common,,,,

About 2 years ago, when I was 41, I was loading the diswasher, bent at a 20 degree angle, and did GOD knows what to my back,,,,I assumed it was a sprain, but when a week of nothing but massive pain and sciatica ahd passed with no improvement, I went to the doctor,,,,

she gave me pain pills, which I hate,,,,they don't work,,,,,and told me it would heal,,,,,

after 6 weeks of THAT, I saw a chiropractor, had X-rays, etc,,,,,,after 2 weeks of daily traction, it did improve, and eventually went away, and I thought it was over,,,,healed,,,like a sprain, gone to not return again,,,,how wrong I was,,,

I had no problems for a year,,,,,,then suddenly,,,,,,,I've had a year of roughly 4 incidents in the past year,,,,,,the pain lasts for weeks, though with daily traction, it does improve slowly,,,,I'm not foolish enough to wait 6 weeks anylonger though,,,

I have pretty constant sciatica, though it's often mild, more of an irritation, than true pain,,,,,but when my back acts up, watchout,,,,,,the pain is tremendous,,,this last time, I couldnt' stand or move,,,,,I couldn't get out of bed without help,,,,and I had to use a cane to walk (if you want to call it that) 6 feet to the toilet,,,,

I'm sure I don't have to explain the pain to back sufferers,,,,

This past time, the doctor sent me for an MRI,,,yanno,,,,when you go in for the results of your MRI, and the doctor looks you square in the face and says "Do you want this straight, or do you want it sugar coated?" you know it can't be good,,,,,

I've got 5 discs that are a problem, although one is very very minor,,,,I'm probably not feeling much pain from it yet,,,3 bulging,,,,,and 2 completely ruptured,,,,,additionally, the holes your nerves come out of are narrowing on 2 of my vertebra, and there's an annular tear in one disc with evidence of a previously healed annular tear,,,,,

He was straight with me,,,,,,on a scale of 1-10, I'm a 7,,,,and he can't guarantee I won't be in a wheelchair someday,.,,,

You know, what really bugs me is how this is interfering in my life,,,,I can't plan ANYTHING, because I NEVER know when my back will go out,,,I went on a cruise in November, and walked around on eggshells for a month before and during the cruise,,,,,I didn't DO what I wanted to do on the cruise, like visit the mayan ruins, because it might make my back go out,,,,,

I can't plan a day at Disney,,,,,I don't dare do ANYTHING that involves bending at a slight angle,,,,,,like loading the dishwasher, vacuuming or putting towels on a lower shelf,,,,,I don't DARE lift anything (like my precious grand daughter) even though it's never gone out when I was lifting,,,,,

I can be relatively pain free for a couple months (completely pain free is a thing of the past,,,it's all relative I've learned),,,,,,,and then WHAMMO,,,,the next 2-4 weeks is constant pain,,,,

I know I'm whining,,,,,,,and I'm sorry,,,,,but my children are finally at an age when I can enjoy spending time alone with my DH, and i can't even plan a day at Disney because my back might go out,,,,,,I'm going today, but it was last minute because I woke up feeling good,,,,,,forget roller coasters,,,

I'm worried about my job,,,,,,we were recently bought out and the new owners don't give a rat's hind end if I have an excellent record with next to no absences,,,the past owners were really good about my back,,,if it was bad but I could function, I could sit down and roll my chair to where I needed to be, thus lessening the number of days I needed to be actually OUT,,,,,,the new owners don't think that's professional (understandably, it's not professional) and if I can't stand and sit as needed, I can't work,,,,and they are not forgiving about sick days,,,,,I can't get protection under FMLA because the company isn't big enough,.,,

If I get fired, I can't even get an iterim job at Walmart or a convenience store,,,,in fact, I'm effectively limited for the rest of my life to desk work,,,,,and I can't sit or stand for too long a time,,,,and with the economy so bad right now, my husband isn't working any overtime,,,,so I need my job,,,,a year ago, I might have quit if things got that bad,,,my money was "extra", and I worked part time,,,,,now I'm pushing for full time, which just increases the possibilities of my needing to call out sick,,,,in the past, I've been at least lucky that SOME of the days I would have had to call out sick were my days off anyway,,,,

sigh,,,,,,again, i do not mean to whine to people who also feel chronic pain,,,and it's not actually the PAIN I'm whining about,,,,I'm doing what I can to control and limit that,,,,,

it's hwo it's affecting my LIFE that bugs me,,,,,,,,

thanks for listening,,,,,,,Holly

Thanks for answering,,,,,,No, I literally just found out last week what was going on,,,it was my chiropractor who ordered the MRI, and hes pretty much only into chiropractic and diet to "fix" the problem,,,I'm checking into some other options now,,,,I've got an appt with a neurologist on Feb 3rd,,,,and a friend who knows something about this recommended a chirpractor who knows the tortipelvis technique,,,,,,I'm trying to find one of those now,,,but those may be options after speaking with the neurologist,,,,,Holly

Hi there ItsAllALie.

I broke my back last summer playing soccer, of all things.  I went to the US for surgery and it got better but I wasn't suppose to do anything.  Well, six months passed and my back was getting really sore - I was thinking I'd need more surgery.  I live in Croatia and was a bit nervous to the see specialists here but I went anyway to get their advice.  They recommended massage and electroshock therapy and then mild exercise.  I feel pretty good now.

I'm not suggesting that this will work for you, but I definitely found a big difference in how the US treats people - surgery or medicine, that was it.

I still have minor pain but it's nothing compared to what it was.

Good luck to you.

Mike