Pain all day everyday

[Yvonne52]

I have pain in my lumbar area of my back. It hurts all the time sometimes I yelp when I move in a particular way. This pain is new...woke up about 2 months ago with it. It hurts when I lay down on my bed. Had pain in my left knee... was told it was a torn meniscus after a mri. It got better. Last week my left knee began to hurt very severly; on outside of the knee... have no swelling... and my leg below knee to the toes radiate and tingle with pain also. Sometimes have shooting pains throughout the back and leg (left) Sometimes have horrible pain in back and front of chest up to the shoulder blades. Both my wrists hurt. All for no reason.. I had a car accident 29 years ago; had broken odontoid. 28 years ago car hit me and I fell off a cliff. Severe tears and bruising from that. I go to chiropractor for treatment; am very active.. but now it hurts more than ever to just get by. I am beginning to stiffen so that I can't stretch. Is there tests I should get done? I am told my problem is arthritis from all the injuries and that I have to live with the pain or take pain pills (this is not an option for me. I hate drugs of all kinds)

[nuggetone]

I agree on the MRI lumbar test.  Your symptoms sound so much like mine.  It hurts to lay down and sleep and I had surgery (lower lumbar discectomy L-5 )  in feb this yr.  Now I am looking at doing it again.  I have herniated disc problems.  I also have degenerative disc disease.  I cant stretch either or I might not get my body back to where it was. (LOL)  But seriously I cant.  Call a nuerosurgeon.  I go to one.  Stop the chiropractor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My neurosurgeon says that is a no no.  Does more damage than good.  At least for my problem. I am very very less active!!!!  I do work and I work hard cause I have to.  If I went on disability I couldnt pay the bills.  I am single so I am all I have.  I am 45 so I can relate.   Let us know what is going on.  I do take meds.  I have to to get relief and I hate to resort to this but I have no option at this point.  I take Percocet, Soma, Valium, and Phenagran to help me not get sick taking meds cause I get sick at my stomach with the Percocet.  Or any other pain killer for that matter.  I do have a tens unit at home and it helps.  I got Dr. to write prescription to therapy so I could have one at home.  Maybe that would help you.  He only had me go to therapy to get the unit through them then he told me I could stop going.  Just use it at home which is a blessing cause the $30   co-pay gets expensive 3-4 times a wk.  good luck

[Fluffysmom]

Have you had a lumbar MRI?  Actually, MRIs of the whole spine sound like a good idea.  Did you doctors do any recent tests before telling you your pain is just from arthritis?

I herniated a disk lifting my 16 pound cat while taking him to the vet, and subsequent tests have shown quite a bit of damage in my lower back.  I've had issues on and off for years, but tried to stay fit and active.  I had an accident at work several years ago that was supposedly a "bone bruise", but I ended up with hypermobility and arthritis  of the SI Joint, facet joint arthritis, disk dessication, disk bulges, and annular tearing at all levels of my lumbar spine.

Having lower back pain can cause your gait to be abnormal, which can cause the pain in your knee such as from tendonitis.  Lower back problems can also cause pain and tingling down into the feet; I have this radiculopathy on my right side, with the occasional shooting pains down my back and right leg, and my right foot almost always hurts.

I have an old compression fracture in my thoracic spine (at about bra strap level) and I also get pain in the front and back; sometimes it seems to wrap around my entire ribcage.

I would definitely suggest MRIs, and going to see a good neurologist.  I have also had a discography of my lumbar spine, which showed all the tears around the outside of my disks that leak the inner more fluid part of the disk out on the nerves, and severely irritates them.  The discography is a painful test, with pain lasting for a week or more afterward, but it gave my doctors a clearer picture of what is going on with my lumbar spine.

I would suggest that you stop seeing your chiropractor until you get the MRI results; my Sports and Spine doctor as well as physical therapists told me that chiropractors can do more harm than good with certain kinds of back issues if they don't have all the correct information.  If you like and trust your chiropractor, they can probably send you for the MRIs and share the results with you right away.

I have had to become less active because of the pain, and I do take medications. Stretching is difficult because it can aggravate the radiculpathy.  I'm trying to get the courage to call a neurosurgeon, because at 46 years of age I have too much living left to do to be taken down by pain.  I have to at least find out if something can be done!

I wish you the best of luck.  You're too young for this, too!

Kathy