lower back pain

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melogna85

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My back pain started 2 yrs. ago when I was working at an assisted living facility for the elderly. I am 22 yrs. old. I began with lower back pretty soon into the job and by the time I got into college I was in pretty bad shape.

My pain spread from the lower back to my left buttocks and thigh, eventually down to my foot. Nurabness and tingling set in. I had an MRI which showed nothing, I had a chiropractor for 6 weeks using a type of traction machine which didn't help.

Physical therapy seemed to make it worse. Now a Neurologist told me I probably needed to see a Rheumatologist or Orthopedist. My pain is the same lying down, standing, and especially sitting. I take frequent walks as this doesn't cause me as much pain. Anyone out there have any ideas on what may be wrong with me?
 
MRIs done in a supine (laying down) position dont always tell the tale and even others. I had a blown disc that did not show on over 3 years of MRIs (it appeared healthy).

Get another opinion and more if needed. Some are better than others.

I suggest seeing a spine surgeon (neuro or ortho) at this point, before you seek out the Rheumy. Unfortunately, it is a bit of a process of elimination at times to truly get to the source of the problem.

Another MRI (with contrast dye), and possibly one where you are not lying down but are up and in motion (which there are machines throughout the US now) can better detect what's happening. You may have a disc that looks normal when you are laying down, but when put into motion, bulges out and possibly pressing or pinching a nerve (all of which can cause pain).

It sounRAB like you have sciatica type pain and that can be caused by the spine, muscles connected (lower back, buttock, thigh) etc.

Dont give up on yourself on this and just be steadfast in looking for the right spine surgeon that is willing to help you figure it out.

keep me posted.
 
In addition, sometimes a CT scan will show more then an MRI. My CT scan showed a nuraber of severe problems including a collapsed disc, the MRI said the disc was still in place and had height. Pretty bizarre, but I did switch to an orthopedic surgeon who felt it was important to use both as a diagnostic tool and there was no reason to ignore the CT scan over the MRI. The pain was so bad we opted for surgery, and surgery showed the CT scan was correct. Why might the MRI be different? It could have simply been that day, lying down, pulled the vertebrae apart and masking the problem.

My surgeon did take a quick standing x-ray before we scheduled the surgery to confirm the accuracy of one over the other, and sure enough even the x-ray clearly showed the collapse.
 
I had several MRI's done over the past few years and they always showed the bone on bone L5/S1 but they never showed the 4 bone spurs that the surgeon found when he went in and did my fusion surgery. I think it is probably a good idea to do both the MRI and CT scan if your insurance will approve them.

Linda:angel:
 
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