Hi all,

This problem has been going on for a long while now.. i'm talking nearly 3 years - since before I was expecting my second child, its got worse as time has gone on..

I have regular extreme back pain, middle lower back, very near my bum. I can describe it as like someone has their knee poking in my back very hard constantly. I can't lay flat or stand tall & the skin around the area is also very tender. The pain is a constant nagging burning sensation which radiates round to my hips & pelvis. When I get out of bed on a morning my partner almost throws up when he hears my CLICKING! I can't move & have to wait a good 10 mins in bed doing gentle stretches before
I get out of bed. The noise & pain is unbelievable & makes me want to cry.. Its getting me down as I just want to find the energy to do normal things like bending to pick clothes up or toys but cant.. :confused:

I went to see a doc about it & all he said is its quite normal & I have to rest it when it hurts & exercise it when its good. I wish I had good days.. :yawn: but all I seem to have is pain..

Has anyone got any suggestions? :dizzy:

Hi, sorry to hear about your pain etc, i am a bit alarmed about oyur doctor saying this is normal!? If it was me i would be looking for a second opinion which i have had to do, first doc i went to see told me i had pulled a muscle, second one just told me to take painkillers and finally third one sent me for xray with diagnosed spondylolisthesis. i mean how long would it have gone undiagnosed if it wasn't for that third doc!? It is ridicuous! i am currently waiting for an appointment with the spinal clinic at the hospital to find out what they can do for me. :wave:

Thx for the reply :) I have been thinking about making another appointment at the doctors, it will also be my 3rd time going about this problem. I was advised to take painkillers & do what I put in the last post but i'm at the end of my tether with it now. I have been sent for an abdominal scan & have been sent for internal exams as the doc said the lower back & pelvis is where 'womens problems' show symptoms! These tests all came back ok, hence why he said everything was 'normal'

Yes, I reckon I should ask for further investigations on my back - its stiffening up at the mo while typing this :mad:

I'm pretty rigid typing here too, sitting ain't good for the back! Maybe you should ask for an xray of your back. I have a slipped vertabrae at the very bottom of my spine and get the pain , discomfort right above my bum crack! Sorry that's not the most ladylike way to describe it but the only way to that i can think of! Mine all started when I stood up and i heard a pop! My back gradually just seized up and i thought i had just pulled a muscle the pain was horrendeous though and debiliting enough for me to take time off work something i have never done, usually i would have just gotten on with it but this was pretty unbearable. I went to see a chiropractor who in my opinion just made things worse. After seeing him i kept going to the toilet and got stabbign in my legs like pins. The pain in my lower back got worse and was like a burning, radiating pain. It has gone through many phases but finally i was sent for the xray. Now the pain is still there but it is more the discomfort, feeling like i have someone elses back basically that infuriates me the most and i know all about the clicking! You say about the feeling of someone pushing their knee into you which i can relate to aswell, it makes it very uncomfortable sitting! Sometimes you simply just can't bear to sit! I call it the bum thing! The prickling is also still there. now it's just a waiting game for the hospital.

Sneezymonkey, (love that ID!!!)

You describe classic sciatica symptoms. My docs also tried to blame my female anatomy for it as well. over the past 3 years, I was sent there 4 times I think. I will admit one time was legit.. as an MRI did find a cyst on my ovary which was adding pressure there, but that was it.

The "knee" pressure and burning you have.. is Sciatica. The cracking sound you here could be bone or also tight muscles. An MRI is really in order to help better see what is going on in the lumbar region spine wise. If a disk is an issue it will more than likely show. If it's muscles.. MRI's dont really do much to show that. Your sciatica can also be coming from your piriformis muscle. Which runs on the backside involving thigh leg and into the lower spine. IF that spasms or is overly tight, it can also press on the sciatic nerve, causing you pain. Your body is the most hydrated in the morning from being in a rested state. That is why you are more stiff upon initial wakening. The body is more full and it takes a bit for that to level off upon rising.

Either way, take charge of your health and go see another doctor. I see you are in the UK; so I dont know if you need to be referred to a specialist or can see one directly. But IF you can see a specialist.. try and find an orthopaedist that specializes in backs.

My story short.. 3 years of that awful pain you described with more. Almost could not walk toward the end. Now fused at L4/L5 14 weeks ago and am on the road to recovery (I hope). I am 90% better than before the surgery, sciatic pain is gone!! This does not mean you need a fusion. Hopefully you can get relief with non-surgical techniques.

I hope this helps you some, you get the proper treatment soon, and please post back and let us know how you are doing. We here on the forum understand what you are going through and you have our complete ear and sympathy. All the best. Hang in there. Tammy:wave:

Oh.. I forgot an important tip for you. While heat initially feels really nice on the back, it brings more circulation to the area, thus causing "swelling".

I had been heating for years prior and did not like ice. But last year went through a therapy program where heating was prohibited and could only ICE. Let me tell you what a HUGE DIFFERENCE it made. It soothed the area, reduced the swelling, and was able to move better following ICING DOWN.

So I recommend, ICE ICE ICE ICE. Oh... did I mention ICE? hahaha. They make packs today that ice up beautifully that are flat and soft. I highly recommend these type as you can sit on them, lay on them without compromising your posture (no bulkiness). My greatest tool for my back woes, next to my grabby stick to get things out of my reach!

Sorry so long! Just had to throw that in. Tammy:wave:

Just to update on this:

I have finally been referred for an x-ray of my lumbar area as the doc isn't too happy with the amount of time i've been suffering & the amount of painkillers I take for the pain. Hopefully things will get sorted soon.. :)

It sounds like possible sciatica to me also. My lower back pain started 3 and 1/2 yrs ago. I go to a rheumy quite often due to lupus flares but I had started having lower back pain and it would kill to stand for too long in a store, I couldnt roll over in bed sometimes, it was hard to get in & out of the car, etc...It would come and go. Sometimes I would get some swelling in my spine and it would travel up and down. But I never thought much of it and my doc didnt think it had anything to do with the lupus. I never made a stink about it cause I thought maybe I just got that out of shape from not moving while in my flare. It wasnt until I woke up in severe, nauseating pain one day that was like lightning going down the back of legs to my feet. I could kind of pinpoint where inside my spine it was coming from and it was so bad it felt like it was radiating to my abdomen, hips, everywhere. Then I told my doc how bad it was and he had me get an MRI right away. Lo and behold, I had 2 disc herniations, 1 tear, OA, DDD, and sever lumbar spinal stenosis (at age 37). After that lumbo MRI, he also had me get another one of the sacroiliac/pelvic region because he was checking for Ankylosing Spondylitis. Turned out down lower I just had minimal arthritic changes but incidentally they found some large ovarian cysts. So it was then he wanted me to have that checked by my gyno to make sure nothing else was going on or make sure I didnt also have pain coming from that. ( I didnt think I ever had pain from the cysts...at least I never noticed anything that usual monthly cramps). Gyno gave me the all-clear on the cyst problem, but good grief...now she found something else that need further investigating.

So anyway, at least my doc knew something was wrong in my back when my bad pain started and didnt refer me to the gyno until my lumbar/sacro MRI's showed I had other things going on. I just hope the gynecological issues don't turn out to be anything serious! So i guess one never really knows what could be going on inside until everything is checked or ruled out.


I'm glad you are finally going for the MRI...please let us know what you find out about your back.