I am only 25 and have chronic backpain, usually in my upper-mid back area around the shoulderblades,where my muscles are in knots, but more and more often in my very low back. Every job I have had so far has done a number on my both my upper and lower back, plus on my legs and knees. I also often feel extremely fatigued and although I can do an hour of intense cardio at once, my body just does not seem to have any endurance when it comes to every day chores.

Just today I had to quit a retail job that I started a couple of days ago because I found it absolutely unbearable to stand or walk around folding clothes for 8 hours. Even after as little as 30 min., I would start to feel the know in my shoulderblades begin to bug me and the pressure on my lower back beginning to build up, which would leave me exhausted. In addition, I started getting pain through my left hip & knee. All the jobs I've had so far were physically demanding in the sense that I had to either stand or move around a lot and I've always been able to hang in there somehow. Not anymore, though.

I am not a lazy person and I have many goals and dreams for my future. Right now, all I know is that I never want to do another job that requires standing or being on my feet for long. What employment options does this leave me with, considering that I'm still a student and not qualified for office work? How does everyone else here deal with their backpain on the job? I really don't want to turn to medication unless I absolutely have to. Chairopractors and massages help but only temporarily and I can't afford them on a regular basis.

Please tell me how you deal with your situation. Does your backpain cause you to feel tired? How does this interfere with your career?

Thanks much.

I can understand your concern about working. I have been on disability for 3 years now. I did office work. Lots of telephone work, computer work etc. I have a number of issues. I am like you I can't stand for long periods of time. I have leg problems as a result of my back problems. But working in an office is a problem too. I can't sit for long periods of times. I develop severe pain in my legs and if I sit too long my neck gets real tight and difficult moving. Even if I get up and walk around every so from sitting I find sitting to be a problem. And once the pain gets severe, I am of no use for the rest of the day and bed rest is the only thing that works. Wish I had a solution for the both of us. Good luck.

Allan

Having had a imilar experience I had to retrain in an area of work that fortunately I found both satisfying and enjoyable. I use to be a project worker - lots of research, report writing etc - lots of sitting down. Lasy year I completed a Graduate Diploma in Primary education (elementary in US) This has given me the freedom to work on a short term basis or as a casual relief teacher and the more I work the stronger my back becomes. I am doing a lot of walking exercise and fel that slowly but surely I am returning to normal. I had a double fusion at 23 (L4/L5/S1) and while I have had a few probs with L3/4 I am on the right track. I use a range of meds to deal with pain. These allow me to be active and by being active I can see improvement

Hope this is of some help

Losy :bouncing:

Hello. While I don't know that I can actually help you, I can at least sympathize. i am 27. I have a physical job, and it is very difficult to do. Right now I am on light duty, mainly doing office work. -Which I'm really not qualified for, but luckily I work for a company that is understanding and found work that I can do. I will have to go back to my regular job in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how I will do it. It is very painful for me to stand after a couple minutes and my job requires me to stand all day and lift and so on. I don't know how I will do it. I'm trying to figure out if I will need to find different type of work. But I hate to do that, because I like physical work.
Are you seeing a doctor for your pain?
Perhaps you could try something like telemarketing. As far as I know, you don't need experience for that sort of thing. Just a thought. I hope things get better for you!

My first question is - what is wrong with you? What does the doctor say is the problem. Until you know that, you can't make decisions.

well like another post said u need to know what the problem is first.as for what i do after a injurie and surgery i found i had to change professions and with the help of a good pm doc i work full time.and although the pm doc reduces my pain by 50% i am in constant unrelenting pain but i keep going with a smile glad that i am able to do what many ppl cant,i am thankful for the pain free years i had i didnt relize just how good it was until after my injurie and faceing the fact that those days were over.but at ur age u need to know what is causeing ur pain.find a good doc and try to fix ur pain not figure how to live with it until ur sure u have too.

i was a police officer for almost 10 years and lost my job because of back pain and nerve compression. i've been on disability for 1 1/2 years. i feel so worthless because i'm not working. i have a wife and two little girls. i'm like you, i want to find a job i can do. most don't pay well so i stay with the disablility since i hurt so bad.

my problem is that sitting is my most painful position. i can't sit for more than ten minutes without severe pain. i feel for you. hopefully you don't have family that depends on you.

i have already had one surgery, an adr on my l4-l5. my neck and back are still giving me problems. good luck, jason

Hey Jayboy,
I am a police officer and just had a L4-L5,L5-S1 anterior fusion on 10-17-05. I was wondering if your doctor gave you any hope of returning to work after your surgery? I am getting mixed signals from the doctor and my work comp case manager. I can feel the lost range of motion that I hope will return. With 8 screws and 2 plates I know why I feel tight. I know a adr and a fusion are different but just wanted some feedback.

Dan

doc said no on returning to work. be glad you were approved for comp. they denied me because of ddd. i hope things work out for you. that gun belt was a tough weight to carry for ten years and finally did me in. i have other back problems. i believe my surgery was successful and i would have been able to return to work if that were the only problem. jason

Jason It's hard to fight wc when they think they are right. I also am fighting wc because I got hurt on the job but they are saying it is pre existing because of DDD also. When people age that is a natural thing that happens to our spines. It doesn't matter that we can do our job and never call in sick, work 10 a day, come in on our day off, just to take care of someone that needs extra help. They did a exam on me before I started work in this nursing home and they knew I had a problem in the early 90's. I wished they would have told me that if you ever get hurt while working we are going to fight you because we won't pay for any back injuries if you have DDD. Which is most of the employees at this nursing home. I worked my *** off for them and then they stab me in the back. Someone needs to overhaul the wc laws.
Terri