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schmorl's nodes
My sister in Italy is 55, after intense pain at her back for a few days (middle section, with shooting pains also at her rib-cage), she went and had X-rays taken yesterday, and they told her she has Schmorl's nodes at her D-11 vertebre.
No ostheoporosis.
She is quite fit and active, she told me that this pain began after a few days of some extra effort she did carrying something and possibly after an intense session with her chiropractic she has been seeing regularly for a few years now. She doesn't recall something specific that she did to cause the pain to start.
Her pain is diminished but of course she wants to be reassured that it is not something really problematic.
I did a little research and saw more or less what this is about.
What's the best immediate "therapy" for her?
Rest and chiropratic? Is there something she should be avoiding doing from now on or can she have a normal life?
Thank you very much for your advice.
STEFANO
No ostheoporosis.
She is quite fit and active, she told me that this pain began after a few days of some extra effort she did carrying something and possibly after an intense session with her chiropractic she has been seeing regularly for a few years now. She doesn't recall something specific that she did to cause the pain to start.
Her pain is diminished but of course she wants to be reassured that it is not something really problematic.
I did a little research and saw more or less what this is about.
What's the best immediate "therapy" for her?
Rest and chiropratic? Is there something she should be avoiding doing from now on or can she have a normal life?
Thank you very much for your advice.
STEFANO
Hi everyone.
I'm Sunny, 59 yr old woman.. This is so great reading posts from people going thru such similar spine problems.
I injured my thoracic spine yrs ago in a fall on the. Had a disc fusion (bone from my rib) at T 8-9. Continued with serious pain, then 2 MORE fusions--T 6-7 and T 10-11--this time with bone from my hip and the TSRH titanium rods. A few months after this surgery, I began to experience sharp, horrible, stabbing pain that was worse than my herniated discs. Eventually, had the rods removed and was in better shape over the years--just learned to deal with the stiffness and rigidity of my fused area. Went on Teachers' Disability Retirement and Social Security Disability.
NOW, for the good part. A few months ago I had a nasty car accident here in Las Vegas---woman turned in from of me in the intersection and I hit her going 45mph. Went to ER--had x-rays--nothing showed up. Now, after 10 PT treatments, I had an MRI. MRI showed several areas of disc degeneration (no surprise) and Schmorl's Nodes in the area of my spinal fusions---T 6-7 thru 10-11. If these discs were fused with bone, why should there be herniation of anything?
My pain doctor a few days ago looked at my MRI report and he said it may have "suggested" that 2 fusions from yrs ago didn't take! That would be horrible news because so much time has gone by. I will now be seeing a neurosurgeon to have him interpret the MRI films. Hoping I will get some answers. I am in horrible pain when I walk or do any little household tasks. I did NOT have this pain before the car accident. Can an accident like that CAUSE the Schmorl's nodes. Appreciate anyone's input!! If my problems are due to the Schmorl's nodes, then Schmorl's nodes most definitely can cause serious pain!
I'm Sunny, 59 yr old woman.. This is so great reading posts from people going thru such similar spine problems.
I injured my thoracic spine yrs ago in a fall on the. Had a disc fusion (bone from my rib) at T 8-9. Continued with serious pain, then 2 MORE fusions--T 6-7 and T 10-11--this time with bone from my hip and the TSRH titanium rods. A few months after this surgery, I began to experience sharp, horrible, stabbing pain that was worse than my herniated discs. Eventually, had the rods removed and was in better shape over the years--just learned to deal with the stiffness and rigidity of my fused area. Went on Teachers' Disability Retirement and Social Security Disability.
NOW, for the good part. A few months ago I had a nasty car accident here in Las Vegas---woman turned in from of me in the intersection and I hit her going 45mph. Went to ER--had x-rays--nothing showed up. Now, after 10 PT treatments, I had an MRI. MRI showed several areas of disc degeneration (no surprise) and Schmorl's Nodes in the area of my spinal fusions---T 6-7 thru 10-11. If these discs were fused with bone, why should there be herniation of anything?
My pain doctor a few days ago looked at my MRI report and he said it may have "suggested" that 2 fusions from yrs ago didn't take! That would be horrible news because so much time has gone by. I will now be seeing a neurosurgeon to have him interpret the MRI films. Hoping I will get some answers. I am in horrible pain when I walk or do any little household tasks. I did NOT have this pain before the car accident. Can an accident like that CAUSE the Schmorl's nodes. Appreciate anyone's input!! If my problems are due to the Schmorl's nodes, then Schmorl's nodes most definitely can cause serious pain!
i just found out that i have smorls nude and i am in a lot of pain from it what can i do to ease the pain a little bit this has been going on for 4 years now
Hi I am 29 and have been experiencing mid thoracic back pain in the middle of the night that is so severe that it wakes me up. I have been having this pain since November 2009. I tried sleeping on different types of surfaces thinking that it was the harness of my mattress that was causing the pain but nothing really helped. pain meds would help after i got the pain so i then started taking motrin before going to sleep which did cause relief and alleviated the symptoms. however after a few weeks i decided that this is not something that i could do every night because NSAIDs can cause multiple issues with your stomach lining and with your kidneys especially when taken at high doses and over an extended period of time. this is not a road i wanted to end up on. the pain clearly affecting my sleep and thus was affecting my work performance, i would always feel tired and sluggish. i was also getting emotionally effected and was starting to get depressed. After finding the time I finally made an appointment with an orthopedist and had an MRI done subsequently back in March 2010. The MRI showed Schmorl's Nodes in the exact area where i was having the focal back pain that would wake me up each night. It turns out that Schmorl's nodes can illicit muscular spasm in the area where they are located. The exact mechanism doesn't seem to be so clear cut. The orthopedist offered me reassurance and recommended physical therapy. He told me that I didn't have a tumor or any abnormal growths in my spine and that this is something that surgery is usually not done for. this is likely something that i have had my whole life and that most patients that have this are without symptoms and usually have normal lives that are pain free. While this has been reassuring to hear it didn't really help my back pain. I have not tried the PT because i really do not have time to go but here are some things i have tried some of which have worked and others that haven't:
I must say after a deep tissue massage i usually do have relief for about three days and i wish i could afford to get this weekly but i cant so i have had to resort to other treatments. I have tried yoga, stretching exercises, pain medications, and muscle relaxants. The muscle relaxants and pain meds only help after i have the pain attacks but they usually make me groggy and disoriented. Motrin does not cause these side effects but can cause other systemic ones which i mentioned. The yoga and strengthening/stretching has not really yielded any results in terms of pain although it does have other health benefits.
The thing that has offered the most help has been sleeping with multiple pillows such that i am almost in a seated position while in bed. This has given me much relief and when i deviate from it i invariably have back pain at night. Although i haven't seen any articles about positional manipulation at night causing relief with Schmorl's nodes this is the only thing that prevents the pain from occurring in my case.
I hope this testimonial has been helpful to some.
I must say after a deep tissue massage i usually do have relief for about three days and i wish i could afford to get this weekly but i cant so i have had to resort to other treatments. I have tried yoga, stretching exercises, pain medications, and muscle relaxants. The muscle relaxants and pain meds only help after i have the pain attacks but they usually make me groggy and disoriented. Motrin does not cause these side effects but can cause other systemic ones which i mentioned. The yoga and strengthening/stretching has not really yielded any results in terms of pain although it does have other health benefits.
The thing that has offered the most help has been sleeping with multiple pillows such that i am almost in a seated position while in bed. This has given me much relief and when i deviate from it i invariably have back pain at night. Although i haven't seen any articles about positional manipulation at night causing relief with Schmorl's nodes this is the only thing that prevents the pain from occurring in my case.
I hope this testimonial has been helpful to some.
I can relate to all who have had the back pain with swollen muscles under the front right rib cage. I had steriod shots in the front muscle which helped that pain but still much back pain. I recently saw a pain specialist who referred me to a VERY GOOD physical therapist. He cautioned me that many times physical therapy actually can make this worse however, I started a regime that seems to be helping. I've had episodes of this on and off since March 2003. The only thing that has ever relieved the pain is a week in the hospital under heavy pain medications. 2010 has been the first time since 2003 that anyone has actually correctly diagnosed the problem. Computer work makes the problem worse as well according to the therapist. My suggestion would be to find someone who can help you CAREFULLY strengthen all three muscle types around the spine.
Hi All I’m 26
A few weeks back after a wakeboarding session, I started to have really bad back pains that weren’t allowing me to move a lot, felt like I wanted to collapse at some times, I could feel nerves pinching. So I went to the chiropractor and they started treating me... they said I should feel relief after 3 weeks, last week was the fourth week and nothing has changed... I decided to go to the doctor to get a referral to get a CT Scan just to check things out if it was very serious... well the results showed I have schmorls nodes in my lower back L2 somewhere... the doctor has given me inflammation tablets and said everything looks pretty normal and all good it’s just inflammation in the muscles and some muscles that is pinching my nerves and that the medication will take care of this...
Since then it has been a little better the last 3-4 days... but then I stumbled across this site... reading all this, does it mean that the pain will always be there if I stop using the medication... I was under the impression that after the medication the inflammation would be gone and nothing to worry about and I can go about doing what I did before....???? Is it worth pursuing doctors’ recommendations on this or is this it...? Also if I can bare that pain would I damage anything if I continue doing sports etc...?
A few weeks back after a wakeboarding session, I started to have really bad back pains that weren’t allowing me to move a lot, felt like I wanted to collapse at some times, I could feel nerves pinching. So I went to the chiropractor and they started treating me... they said I should feel relief after 3 weeks, last week was the fourth week and nothing has changed... I decided to go to the doctor to get a referral to get a CT Scan just to check things out if it was very serious... well the results showed I have schmorls nodes in my lower back L2 somewhere... the doctor has given me inflammation tablets and said everything looks pretty normal and all good it’s just inflammation in the muscles and some muscles that is pinching my nerves and that the medication will take care of this...
Since then it has been a little better the last 3-4 days... but then I stumbled across this site... reading all this, does it mean that the pain will always be there if I stop using the medication... I was under the impression that after the medication the inflammation would be gone and nothing to worry about and I can go about doing what I did before....???? Is it worth pursuing doctors’ recommendations on this or is this it...? Also if I can bare that pain would I damage anything if I continue doing sports etc...?
sorry hate to burst anyones bubble but i have been suffering for over 18 months now and have finally accepted what my doctor has been telling me all along ,i have schmorls nodes T6 thru T11 and there is nothing that any doctor can do but treat the pain and believe me there is a lot of pain with schmorls nodes ,i now will be trying the spinal cord stimulator because i have to take so many drugs to deal with the pain and i cant take it anymore . i currently work full time but dont know what the future holds for me .please dont let anybody tell you schmorls nodes dont cause pain
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