I just read some old discussions on disc and SI pain. Currently I'm having the worst pain I've ever had in my back. It's actually in my butt and my right leg. My PT told me today he thinks it's a disc in my lower lumbar or possibly sacral ? region and injections or surgery might be needed. I can't even imagine surgery. That would mean going off Enbrel for awhile.... I just don't think I could handle the psoriasis and PsA worsening and going through the pain of surgery all at the same time! I would rather die. I'm so sad.
I wasn't able to do the cleaning job I do every Wednesday--I've never missed doing it, even when I had PsA pain. I'm going to have to call in sick to work, and move-in weekend is coming up--they're counting on me to work. But, if I feel like this, Idk if I can function at work. I can't stand sitting or walking and getting into my car is extremely painful.
What are some good remedies for this horrible pain? I'm on ibuprofen, Tylenol and aspirin. Cold packs stopped helping, so I'm laying on a heating pad right now.
I will need an MRI to figure out exactly what's wrong.
Well Grandma J you have been on here long enough to know few of us would ever advocate prednisone. Your best bet is contacting your pysician and he/she can best guide you. PT taught me some exercises to do when it is the piriformis (sp?) muscle. One member on her uses a tennis ball against a wall to get the piriformis to let up. But the first step to finding a solution is to find out what is causing it. So give your Doc a call and get checked. There are lots of possibilities as to what it might be and they can help you sort it out.
Thanks michael.... I'm beside myself with the pain. It is constant now and I can't walk more than a few steps it's so intense. I've given birth 4 times and feel I can take a lot of pain.
I'm planning on calling my doc at 8 a.m. to see if I can get an MRI today. If not, I'll go to the ER. Its 7 a.m. now.
It feels like my SI joint is squeezing on my sciatic nerve.... I'm sure the PT yesterday made it worse, but usually PT makes me feel better.
Just talked with my daughter who had a lot of encouragement.. She thinks with bedrest for a couple days it'll feel better.
michael in vermont said:
Well Grandma J you have been on here long enough to know few of us would ever advocate prednisone. Your best bet is contacting your pysician and he/she can best guide you. PT taught me some exercises to do when it is the piriformis (sp?) muscle. One member on her uses a tennis ball against a wall to get the piriformis to let up. But the first step to finding a solution is to find out what is causing it. So give your Doc a call and get checked. There are lots of possibilities as to what it might be and they can help you sort it out.
I guess. she just thinks I'm aggravating it every time I get up and if I'd stay in bed and let my husband wait on me, the joint might relax or swelling might go down. Stoney said:
Bed rest is rarely recommended for back pain. When you don't move, things can freeze up. Definitely call your doctor today.
Got an appt for tomorrow at 9 a.m. taking way more ibuprofen and it's helping a lot. The pain is only there when I try to walk or move my right leg, so I'm spending today in my recliner. Being a busy person, I shouldn't feel bad taking a day off doing nothing for once!
This is when I put on the ol' TENS and do the SI stretches. the new protocol for a massive SI flare is a max 24 hr "rest" with ice followed by aggresive PT. The rest period WITH ICE is to make sure the swelling is down enough to avoid any hypermobility issues. If you don't ice it, don't rest it. The pain will last days longer if you veg it.
Thanks tntlamb! The rest is helping, but I'll be scared to death to go back to PT for this because it was during the pt that it started hurting worse. That's when the therapist told me he thought it was a disc out. I still think it's my SI.
This is weird, and I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it here, but you'll understand. I think my SI problems are aggravated when I have to strain going to the bathroom. Sorry i had to mention that gross information, but it's what I think.
tntlamb said:
This is when I put on the ol' TENS and do the SI stretches. the new protocol for a massive SI flare is a max 24 hr "rest" with ice followed by aggresive PT. The rest period WITH ICE is to make sure the swelling is down enough to avoid any hypermobility issues. If you don't ice it, don't rest it. The pain will last days longer if you veg it.
Thats a common symptom. You need a different PT from the sounds of it to me Discs (in fact therer is no real evidence that without documented neuro damage the discs being out doing anything) Discs being being out don't cause that kind of pain the way you describe. I'd bet a bottle of 18 year single malt that what you have is an Annular Tear. and you will be feeling better in a day or two more. Its a safe bet because annular tears rarley show up in a study but happen with PTs all the time. As long as you are being totally lazy read up on anular tears. Pain during a BM and especially after a sneeze ar dead give aways. If you would sooner hold your breath until you pass out than cough or sneeze, its an anular tear. They are also pretty common with PsA for some reason. The fact it happened during PT is also telling.............. Sounds like CYA from your PT.
Try these you can do them in your recliners or bed.............
Thanks, thtlamb! I'm glad you have so much info! I will look that up. I'm spending my entire day in a chair on ibuprofen and a heating pad, so I have plenty of time to research that!
tntlamb said:
Thats a common symptom. You need a different PT from the sounds of it to me Discs (in fact therer is no real evidence that without documented neuro damage the discs being out doing anything) Discs being being out don't cause that kind of pain the way you describe. I'd bet a bottle of 18 year single malt that what you have is an Annular Tear. and you will be feeling better in a day or two more. Its a safe bet because annular tears rarley show up in a study but happen with PTs all the time. As long as you are being totally lazy read up on anular tears. Pain during a BM and especially after a sneeze ar dead give aways. If you would sooner hold your breath until you pass out than cough or sneeze, its an anular tear. They are also pretty common with PsA for some reason. The fact it happened during PT is also telling.............. Sounds like CYA from your PT.
Try these you can do them in your recliners or bed.............
So....I read a bit about annular tears, sciatica and sacroiliac pain. I can't wait to see what the MRI shows. I looked at pictures online of all the above, and my guess would be something wrong with my sacroiliac joint. That's where the worst pain is, but it goes down my leg too, so I guess it could be a bulging disc also. When the therapist put any pressure on my sacroiliac joint it hurt like hell, and kept hurting since then. Hopefully I'll get some answers tomorrow-Idk for sure if there'll be an MRI, and if there is, I don't think the results come back the same day.
tntlamb said:
Thats a common symptom. You need a different PT from the sounds of it to me Discs (in fact therer is no real evidence that without documented neuro damage the discs being out doing anything) Discs being being out don't cause that kind of pain the way you describe. I'd bet a bottle of 18 year single malt that what you have is an Annular Tear. and you will be feeling better in a day or two more. Its a safe bet because annular tears rarley show up in a study but happen with PTs all the time. As long as you are being totally lazy read up on anular tears. Pain during a BM and especially after a sneeze ar dead give aways. If you would sooner hold your breath until you pass out than cough or sneeze, its an anular tear. They are also pretty common with PsA for some reason. The fact it happened during PT is also telling.............. Sounds like CYA from your PT.
Try these you can do them in your recliners or bed.............
I have similar pain in my right lower back/butt and it goes down the outside of my right leg. Sometimes the outside of my right foot feels cold or numb. Went to a physiatrist and he sent me to PT and chiro. Nothing helped. Then he did an MRI that showed a bulging disc in the lower back. I’m taking tramadol and applying lidocaine patches on my back. Those help with the pain. Getting a bone scan on Mon to check for arthritis in the lumbar/pelvic areas. Doc wants to see if PsA is to blame. If it is, hopefully the new biologic I’m starting will help end the pain.
Hope you find relief soon.
Thank you, Spammy. I hope I get an answer today. My wonderful daughter is taking me to doc in a few hours. I hate it when I have to rely on people to take care of me.
Spammy said:
I have similar pain in my right lower back/butt and it goes down the outside of my right leg. Sometimes the outside of my right foot feels cold or numb. Went to a physiatrist and he sent me to PT and chiro. Nothing helped. Then he did an MRI that showed a bulging disc in the lower back. I'm taking tramadol and applying lidocaine patches on my back. Those help with the pain. Getting a bone scan on Mon to check for arthritis in the lumbar/pelvic areas. Doc wants to see if PsA is to blame. If it is, hopefully the new biologic I'm starting will help end the pain. Hope you find relief soon.
Good morning, y'all! Before being diagnosed with PsA, I had to have an MRI done to find out what was causing severe lower back pain. The only thing the Dr. was letting me do was walk, nothing else. Walking was a literal pain in the butt. I moved into the downstairs bedroom because I couldn't go up the stairs. Anyway, the MRI showed that I had slipped two lower discs and they were touching the nerve bundle at the base of my spine. So, yes, get that MRI. I've needed PT whenever I've really overdone it. I try to be good, but sometimes you just want to get on that rollercoaster and have fun!
For pain I used a heating pad. I also sit in a hard bottomed, hard backed chair. I haven't sat on a sofa in years. Let us know what the Dr. says.
As for annular tears, I've had those, too. I just found that Preparation H makes wipes for women. I love those wipes. They have shea butter, chamomile, aloe, vitamin E, and witch hazel in them. They are very cool and soothing.
Annular tears don't happen "there" although those tears hurt too. An annular tear occurs when the tough exterior of an intervertebral disc (the annulus fibrosus) gets a tear. Most are so small that they won't show up on a study, the real bigs ones do and require repair
They happen very suddenly and some folks have described them as feeling like being shot or poked with a red hot poker etc etc. 80% of the population will experience them some time in their lives. The usual DX is somewhat like "Acute low back pain"
PsA patients are big winners (or losers) here. because of ongoing inflammation usually in the facet joints its is very easy for these tears to occur. It is especially easy in the SI area because there is so little movement there to begin with. There of course is a lot of stress in the area, particularly if one is over weight.
Bulging discs on the other hand are a completely normal occurrence. This is not to say a bulging disc can't be a problem If the disc is a problem, there will be other studies to confirm it. Its no coincidence that after MRI units were added to Spinal pain centers the disc surgery became in the top 20 for surgeries an in the top 3 for unnecessary surgeries. (of course this only happens in a free market medical system which should be a clue) statistically bulging discs mean nothing, but more importantly statistically spinal surgety has made no difference in outcome either. (there is a small subgroup that it has but thats a different thing and is a neuroligical subgroup not orthopedic)
Here is the the thing PsA patients are just as likley to have back problems/pain as anyone considering that 60% - 80% of the population misses work because of acute back issues that likleyhood is really high. 90% of the time no clear cause is found and in only 2% -10% of the time is it chronic (more than 3 mos) The numbers are NO DIFFERENT for PsA patients. IF a direct link is found to PsA guess what the treatment is? PsA meds, Lifes Style (heat, diet posture, weight loss etc) and Physical activity. When something goes horseshit one or more of those needs attention if it is sudden and acute it is the last 2.
I confused the words for year and trust me I shouldn't have..... I had a Drill Sgt in ranger school who could use annular The as prefix for anything (usually one of us troops) and creative and physiologically impossible ways you could not imagine. This was during the time when they were trying to make the army more civil by prohibiting vulgarity. Of course this was a guy whos specialty was teaching young special force guys to sneak up behind folks and silently kill them. I blame him for my future difficulties with medical terms he knew a lot of them..........
Results of Dr appt today: She had me lay flat and asked me to lift my left leg. That I could do. But when she asked me to lift my right leg, I just couldn't do it. So she proceeded to lift it and bend it towards me, which immediately caused excruciating pain in the top of my butt--just to the right of my spine. My eyes actually started watering as I was begging her to stop! My daughter was with me and had all she could do to not yell at the Dr. But, she was just doing her job to try to figure out the problem. Then she checked my lower back sitting up.
Conclusion: she thinks this is my SI joint and muscles around it are cramping and swelling. She ordered complete bedrest for the weekend using only the heating pad (no ice) and 3000 mg ibuprofen/day. She would have given me prescription pain meds if I wanted them. Her nurse will check on me Monday morning, and if I'm not any better by then we will proceed with an MRI. Sounds like an OK plan to me.
I'm gonna baby myself and not do anything this weekend--which is really hard. I've never laid around like this before except once about 25 years ago when I had the type A flu!!! At least when I'm relaxing here in my recliner with heating pad I really don't feel all that bad!
I'm crossing my fingers and praying this goes away by Monday!
I made the mistake and told the doctor yesterday that I thought my back was getting better. Tirezza, I just noticed your comments above. I am so hoping this isn't a herniated disc-the intense pain is so concentrated at the area of my SI joint and into my hip, and I think my leg would hurt more too if it was a disc.
My husband is upset with me because I didn't demand an MRI yesterday, but I really thought with rest, pills and heat for a couple more days the pain would go away. Well, the pain was worse during the night and I've had very little sleep.
I'm sure we'll fix this somehow--I'm scared to death of injections into joints, but read there is an injection for the SI joint. I can't live with this pain--my life would change drastically if it didn't go away. I wish I knew what caused it to get so bad--I know it didn't help when the PT pressed on that area, but I think something else I did, which I shouldn't have done because there already was some pain in the area, is what caused it to really flare up.
It’s awful, isn’t it? I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I have a feeling, though, that you are going to get to the bottom of this soon.
I have learned to say “I don’t know if it’s better.” rather than “I think it’s maybe a little bit better.” Thinking that maybe it’s a little better is probably wishful thinking . Then the doctor thinks “OK, this is moving in the right direction, I’m on the right track.” Also wishful thinking. And chances are you’ll waste time. If I’m sure it’s better, even a little bit, I say so. If I’m thinking it’s a maybe but I’m not sure, it isn’t better.