could I get a little help please?

  • Thread starter Thread starter CTdee
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CTdee

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Hi everyone...

I posted, Oh sometime in Nov/Dec, and I told you all what was going on. Not that you would remeraber, so I will give a quick recap. I am a dog groomer.. I had 2 large breed dogs jump off my table, and I caught them both.. this happened within a week of each other. Went to My Dr and he prescribed me a muscle relaxer, and a anti- inflamatory. That worked for only a week before the pain was back. We had a few days with horriable rain, snow, sleet and I could barely work, I called the Dr back they prescribed me Vicoden for the pain..that helped, but I was not able to work really well on it, so I was taking a 1/2 every 4 hrs for the pain.. well, as I am sure you know, that didn't last very long. I am now taking a full pill every 4 hrs, I am sure I just needed to work up to that because I feel OK working on the pills now. So Now I am getting Xrays done on Monday and starting PT after that for 2x a week for 2 weeks. OK 1st question, What will the XRAY show?? I was under the impresion that a MRI would be better.. and question 2, what the heck is 2 weeks of PT gonna do after being in pain for almost 6 months?? Any help would be greatly appreciated~!

Dee
 
Well, I know x-rays can show fractures & breaks & some degeneration such as bone spurs on the outside, i think it can show disc space loss, or other structural problems. But an MRI is better because that can show the soft tissue. It doesnt mean an MRI will catch everything but it sure shows alot more than x-rays. I think many times x-rays are done first because of insurance. MRI's are very expensive - at least mine have been in the $1000 to $1500 range depeding on body location and if I had contrast.

I don't know exactly where your pain is or how you describe it, but maybe you might have did something to a muscle or maybe have a herniation. But x-rays won't show these sorts of things as far as I know. Personally I had 2 cases where I got x-rays first that didnt really show much of anything. With regarRAB to my back it was almost a year (I think) before I was sent for an MRI and my back turned out to be mess. I also had long standing ankle problems, x-rays showed all looked normal. The MRI though showed severe damage to my tendons as well as some spots of bone death on my talus bone. In my opinion, anyway, if you've had this pain for 6 monhts now, you probably do need an MRI.

As far as PT, I don't see how much 2 weeks would help either being that PT is usually one 2 or 3 days per week. Usually it's at least 4 weeks, depending on the problem from what I have seen (from others and myself). This April I will have been doing PT exercises for 2 years and it's not solved my pains, though I bet I would be even worse off if not for that. I did my 30 days thru insurance, but my PT offered me to come use their facilities on my own for a small monthly fee, so I kept going.
 
Hi Dee,
Sorry you're still dealing with this. Back problems can be elusive, and there's kind of a path you have to go down for diagnosing and treatment. X-rays are unlikely to show what's wrong, but then again, they might. You always want to go the simplest route first. PT might be a help. You may be favoring different muscles due to the pain and need help in re-teaching the proper muscles what to do. Or, more likely, it won't be of much help at all, but the insurance company has to see that you tried PT before they'll be willing to pay for more extensive treatment. Unfortunately, it's all part of the process and takes time.

Don't give up. Do your best at PT, let them do regular x-rays, and then you'll be able to go on to the next step, if necessary.

Hope you get some answers and relief soon,
Emily
 
Hi Bay

thanks for you response. I have lower back pain that goes down my left leg, that ranges from a 3-8 depending on the day. I would have rather had the MRI so I can get some answers to this problem. But I guess your right insurance Co. run the world.. so I should have guessed! I'm only 35 and on most days when I am done with work, I feel much, much older. I didn't think that 2 weeks of PT would do much either.. I swear my Dr thinks I am lying to him. I went in for a exam and he had me bend over... I could bend a little, and he said Oh well thats good I don't think you have a disk problem or you wouldn't be able to bend that much.. I only bent over a very small amount.. touching my toes is impossable. well anyhoo.. thanks for your help!


Dee
 
Hi Dee, Sorry to hear you are still having problems. You might ask your doctor for a referral to a Pain Management doctor. They ( at least in my experience) get to the bottom of things rather quickly. Good Luck and I hope you get relief soon!!! Dee
 
Hi CT Dee. Your docs protocol is typical. The xray is to identify or rule out any easily visible fractures or abnormalities. Doesnt show much at all for discs. You are correct.. an MRI is what you really need. PT may help you feel better by stretching and strengthening. Two weeks granted isnt much time though to really know if it's helping your or not. But jump through his/her hoops for now and see if you get any relief.

If you dont, then tell him you want to be referred to a orthopaedic surgeon. The ortho will then order an MRI for you and is much better qualified in diagnosing you and if something is found, they can treat you from there. Of course, the cream of the crop is a spine surgeon (ortho our neuro).

It's a bit early for you to be going to pain management, as you really dont even know what's going on back there yet.

But again, if in 2 weeks you are no better, 'insist' on the MRI and a referral. Some GP's think they can tackle it all and they just can't. Be in charge of your care.

Hope you feel better soon and keep us posted.
 
I just recommended Pain Management because my Pm has been the one who sent me for Mri's and referred me to my Orthopedic surgeon. Maybe the protocol is different in other areas.
 
Thanks everyone!!

I am gonna go ahead and do what my Dr asks of me.. I really need some relief, As I'm sure some of you know owning a business isn't a 9-5 job.. my days are long and sometimes hard, and I really don't know how to do this day to day in the pain that I am in.. On a good day I am able to at least function, but somedays its just to painful. Thanks again for you help and I will keep you posted on the outcome..

Dee
 
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