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Comfortable Chairs for Mid-Back Pain
by Angie401, Feb 19, 2009 06:55PM
I am continually looking for comfortable chairs for my mid-back pain. My problem is mid-back pain for two years about an inch to the left of T12/L1, coincidentally where my postural scoliosis curves my spine; there is also a dural cyst in the spinal column there but a neurosurgeon said it's on the right side and should not be causing the problem and he doesn't operate on these. It feels as though my left side of my back is pressing too hard against the back of a chair, especially hard chairs. If I have a very fluffy back on the chair it's better for my mid-back pain but then provides no lumbar support and gives me low back pain too, including sciatica.
I used to get pain while sleeping when I had a very hard mattress but now that I have a softer mattress it's more bearable at night since my mid-back likes softness. Also I take 300 mg of Neurontin before bed and it tends to make me fall back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night with pain.
I've been to all kinds of doctors, PT, chiropractors, etc. but no one knows how to help. A physical rehabilitation doctor told me that it's probably from my scoliosis and intercostal nerve pain from the costovertebral joints, i.e., rib cartilage that attaches to spine is pinching a nerve. She suggested going to a neurologist to get a nerve block but I had some type of cortizone shot in my back from another doctor which made matters worse so instead I went to a chiroprator who isn't making much headway on my problem.
I'm inclined to think this is from scoliosis because when I do exercises that open my chest such as standing, pulling your shoulder blades together and pulling your chin in like a soldier this relieves the pain somewhat. I do 30 different exercises every morning that I got from two different PT groups for my problem both concentrated on chest opening types of exercises. Nevertheless, I still have the problem and can't find a comfortable chair to sit and watch TV or read a book. The best I've come across is a lumbar back cushion from Core Products that doen't reach as far up as T12 so it supports me but the sensitive part of my back doesn't lean against it. If the problem is from scoliosis I think the reason I haven't found any good treatment is because there are no real experts in this area anymore, doctors specialize in lower backs and necks, not the mid-back where scoliosis tends to be.
For those of you who can't sleep I suggest you ask your doctor to let you try Neurontin (300 mg); take it a few hours before bed so you don't have any reflux. Neurontin is an anti-seizure medication but is also used for nerve pain at these smaller doses. Good luck to everyone with this mid-back pain.
I used to get pain while sleeping when I had a very hard mattress but now that I have a softer mattress it's more bearable at night since my mid-back likes softness. Also I take 300 mg of Neurontin before bed and it tends to make me fall back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night with pain.
I've been to all kinds of doctors, PT, chiropractors, etc. but no one knows how to help. A physical rehabilitation doctor told me that it's probably from my scoliosis and intercostal nerve pain from the costovertebral joints, i.e., rib cartilage that attaches to spine is pinching a nerve. She suggested going to a neurologist to get a nerve block but I had some type of cortizone shot in my back from another doctor which made matters worse so instead I went to a chiroprator who isn't making much headway on my problem.
I'm inclined to think this is from scoliosis because when I do exercises that open my chest such as standing, pulling your shoulder blades together and pulling your chin in like a soldier this relieves the pain somewhat. I do 30 different exercises every morning that I got from two different PT groups for my problem both concentrated on chest opening types of exercises. Nevertheless, I still have the problem and can't find a comfortable chair to sit and watch TV or read a book. The best I've come across is a lumbar back cushion from Core Products that doen't reach as far up as T12 so it supports me but the sensitive part of my back doesn't lean against it. If the problem is from scoliosis I think the reason I haven't found any good treatment is because there are no real experts in this area anymore, doctors specialize in lower backs and necks, not the mid-back where scoliosis tends to be.
For those of you who can't sleep I suggest you ask your doctor to let you try Neurontin (300 mg); take it a few hours before bed so you don't have any reflux. Neurontin is an anti-seizure medication but is also used for nerve pain at these smaller doses. Good luck to everyone with this mid-back pain.
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I believe it is made by Homedics.
I also have mild scoliosis.....and tethered cord which is most likely causing my scoliosis...and chiari malformation.
I do not know if u tried looking into a chiari dr, they treat issues chiari related like tethered cord and scoliosis and it doesn't matter which area of the back...they do MRI's on the entire spine.
As for the Neurontin...I can not take it as it affects my IBS issues.I am glad u found a med that works for u!
"selma"