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Bad back / massage?



HalifaxSeagull

Active member
Aug 24, 2010
772
Good morning all,
I've suffered a bad back for some time which comes and goes. At the mo it's not too bad, just twinges in the background that are more a nuisance than anything else. I've been to the docs and they have said just treat it with painkillers etc when it flairs up.

A mate at work has massages (not dodgy ones!) and swears by them, particularly hot stone therapy.

Anyone on here had hot stone (or other) massages and has it helped?
 




blue'n'white

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2005
3,080
2nd runway at Gatwick
Got the same problem (including sciatica which flares up too) - got painkillers from doctor which sort of help.

I have had massage and it did help but I found acupuncture to be really good. If you can get acupuncture on the NHS go for it as it takes (well it did for me) a couple of sessions before it works and at the prices non NHS practitioners charge that's a fair wedge.
Good luck
 




Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,867
Guiseley
I've been meaning to post something about this for a while, this seems as good a place as any.

Was pretty much incapacitated by back problems for four years. Had numerous MRI scans, was told that a disc was fecked, etc. etc. Tried various different treatments... Was unable to do any of the sport I enjoyed or anything and was in constant agonising pain.

Then I read Dr Sarno's "Healing Back Pain" and it changed everything. And within a couple of weeks! Now I can happily cycle fifty miles and have virtually no pain, ever. If there's any chance that your pain could be the result of either stress or repressed anxiety (you may not even realise you are anxious), then give it a go. There's a pdf here: http://ayurvedavignan.in/freeEbooks/Healing Back Pain.pdf.

The trouble with a lot of physical remedies (massages and exercises) is that they actually focus your mind on thinking that there's something physically wrong.

BTW I'm not at all into "holistic" or alternative medicine, which is something else entirely.
 












Surf's Up

Well-known member
Jul 17, 2011
10,151
Here
Just a note of caution: if you do suffer from acute and regular back pain go to your GP first and get a scan done to check whether there is anything seriously wrong. I had suffered from back pain for a number of years and had been treated by osteopaths and chiropracters for symptom relief. Eventually, when my back pain was really bad and after a particularly bruising osteopath session, I went to my GP and had an MRI scan which showed that I had lumbar spinal stenosis, caused by one of my vertebrae compressing the spinal canal - in my case by a factor of 95%. I was admitted for surgery within 2 weeks of the diagnosis and had a decompressive partial lumbar lamaninectomy, a 4 hour micro-surgical operation involving shaving off some the bone from the offending vertebra in order to reduce the size of the offending vertebra and re-open the spinal canal. I was lucky, I could've ended up in a wheelchair but now, thanks to the skills of an excellent neurosurgeon, my back is fully recovered. The moral of this tale is to always make sure you know whether you have a more serious underlying problem before having treatment on your back. The treatment you have to cure you of pain may actually make it worse not better.
 


Meade's Ball

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,612
Hither (sometimes Thither)
I had an odd and disappointing appointment with a GP at the surgery I'm registered with just last Friday. I took the morning off for it after previously having a phone appointment with one of the GPs there who advised to come in and maybe refer me for my painful back of more than 6 months. Like so many surgeries now the doctors come and go and any appointment made is too often with a stranger. I received a reminder of the 9.50am appointment and that the person I would see was Dr Petya Stefanova. I was called into her temporary office at 10.50. A lady of seeming Russianness, which I have nothing against, but the accent made her a little tricky to understand at first. When I finally grasped her query, I informed her of my longterm sort of lumbago. HMMMMM, she purred, turning her bespectacled head toward me. YOU WANT MEDICATION? Um, no thank you. HMMMMMMM. YOU WANT ME TO SIGN YOU OFF WORK? Eh? No thanks, I want you to let me know what is wrong with my back and refer me to a physio to try and help cure it. HMMMMMMMM, WELL I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO REFERRALS. Pardon?
She then calls in a woman from reception to help her use the computer system that bepuzzles her. The woman comes in and says SO WHAT SORT OF REFERRAL WOULD YOU LIKE? Eh? I don't work here, you know. I came to ask a doctor to first check my back, identify the problem and then refer me appropriately.

After the doctor is told that MSK stands for musculoskeletal, she spends a few minutes struggling with the referral form and then asks me to complete it for her.
What a mess. I could see why the appointment was delayed for an hour.
I felt for her in ways, as she had no clue what to do, but she's likely been shipped in to cover for the retiring number GPs we now have and the lack of young replacements brought in. So it's the system as much as her. She was useless though and what a waste of a morning off. I will likely wait for 4 or 5 months to get the physio appointment, so in the meantime I will book one privately and hope they can ease the pain and allow me to run and play footy again.
I won't go back to see Dr Stenafova though, wherever she ends up.
 


HalifaxSeagull

Active member
Aug 24, 2010
772
Just a note of caution: if you do suffer from acute and regular back pain go to your GP first and get a scan done to check whether there is anything seriously wrong. I had suffered from back pain for a number of years and had been treated by osteopaths and chiropracters for symptom relief. Eventually, when my back pain was really bad and after a particularly bruising osteopath session, I went to my GP and had an MRI scan which showed that I had lumbar spinal stenosis, caused by one of my vertebrae compressing the spinal canal - in my case by a factor of 95%. I was admitted for surgery within 2 weeks of the diagnosis and had a decompressive partial lumbar lamaninectomy, a 4 hour micro-surgical operation involving shaving off some the bone from the offending vertebra in order to reduce the size of the offending vertebra and re-open the spinal canal. I was lucky, I could've ended up in a wheelchair but now, thanks to the skills of an excellent neurosurgeon, my back is fully recovered. The moral of this tale is to always make sure you know whether you have a more serious underlying problem before having treatment on your back. The treatment you have to cure you of pain may actually make it worse not better.

Sound advice. Glad it's fixed for you now.
 




Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,867
Guiseley
Just a note of caution: if you do suffer from acute and regular back pain go to your GP first and get a scan done to check whether there is anything seriously wrong. I had suffered from back pain for a number of years and had been treated by osteopaths and chiropracters for symptom relief. Eventually, when my back pain was really bad and after a particularly bruising osteopath session, I went to my GP and had an MRI scan which showed that I had lumbar spinal stenosis, caused by one of my vertebrae compressing the spinal canal - in my case by a factor of 95%. I was admitted for surgery within 2 weeks of the diagnosis and had a decompressive partial lumbar lamaninectomy, a 4 hour micro-surgical operation involving shaving off some the bone from the offending vertebra in order to reduce the size of the offending vertebra and re-open the spinal canal. I was lucky, I could've ended up in a wheelchair but now, thanks to the skills of an excellent neurosurgeon, my back is fully recovered. The moral of this tale is to always make sure you know whether you have a more serious underlying problem before having treatment on your back. The treatment you have to cure you of pain may actually make it worse not better.

This is true, but be aware that some things that may sound serious are not necessarily so. E.g. many many people have herniated discs and it's a "normal" thing to happen as you get older. I know of people who've had spinal surgery (which itself is very risky) who may not have needed it. Neurosurgeons will generally only look for a physical cause.

Note that I'm being very careful with my words as I'm not a medic!
 


trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,357
Hove
Another vote here for Natural Balance in Hove if it's a massage you want. Personally, I'd opt for physio though. Had years of massages trying to sort out various back and neck aches and pains but the physios at the County Ground have been much more effective for me. So much is down to getting a proper diagnosis, then exercising and gently strengthening key areas.
 


severnside gull

Well-known member
May 16, 2007
24,540
By the seaside in West Somerset
I've been meaning to post something about this for a while, this seems as good a place as any.

Was pretty much incapacitated by back problems for four years. Had numerous MRI scans, was told that a disc was fecked, etc. etc. Tried various different treatments... Was unable to do any of the sport I enjoyed or anything and was in constant agonising pain.

Then I read Dr Sarno's "Healing Back Pain" and it changed everything. And within a couple of weeks! Now I can happily cycle fifty miles and have virtually no pain, ever. If there's any chance that your pain could be the result of either stress or repressed anxiety (you may not even realise you are anxious), then give it a go. There's a pdf here: http://ayurvedavignan.in/freeEbooks/Healing Back Pain.pdf.

The trouble with a lot of physical remedies (massages and exercises) is that they actually focus your mind on thinking that there's something physically wrong.

BTW I'm not at all into "holistic" or alternative medicine, which is something else entirely.

Great post and so right.
"Pain" has two key elements - physical cause and the brain's response and if you are able to engage your mind to overcome it then it is by far the best solution.

Sadly however not everyone can benefit. For example, my wife for whom massage provides some physical and emotional relief but who finds acupuncture counter-productive, is unable to engage her thought processes to fight pain because she suffers from dementia and has very limited short term memory.

I think most people would agree that avoiding reliance on chemical solutions and their potential side effects is the ideal if it is practicable (it isn't always). The important thing is that some things work and others don't. It's not the same for everyone so don't be afraid to give different techniques to combat pain a try
 






blue'n'white

Well-known member
Oct 5, 2005
3,080
2nd runway at Gatwick
I've been meaning to post something about this for a while, this seems as good a place as any.

Was pretty much incapacitated by back problems for four years. Had numerous MRI scans, was told that a disc was fecked, etc. etc. Tried various different treatments... Was unable to do any of the sport I enjoyed or anything and was in constant agonising pain.

Then I read Dr Sarno's "Healing Back Pain" and it changed everything. And within a couple of weeks! Now I can happily cycle fifty miles and have virtually no pain, ever. If there's any chance that your pain could be the result of either stress or repressed anxiety (you may not even realise you are anxious), then give it a go. There's a pdf here: http://ayurvedavignan.in/freeEbooks/Healing Back Pain.pdf.

The trouble with a lot of physical remedies (massages and exercises) is that they actually focus your mind on thinking that there's something physically wrong.

BTW I'm not at all into "holistic" or alternative medicine, which is something else entirely.


Thanks for that - I shall certainly try it
 







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