How to diagnose Low-back pain?

Question

I've been to a chiropractor and massage therapist for over 3 years, nothing has helped. Who should I see to help my low back pain that keeps getting worse? If I stand too long in the wrong position, I find it hard to move again. When I've been standing too long and go to lay down, I feel like my back is on fire, it hurts so badly. What can I do? I'm a baby about needles, no needles!!

I wanted to add that I have not seen a back orthopedic or physical therapist yet, I wanted to know what was the best doctor to diagnose it? Should I get an MRI? How do they diagnose disc problems like herniated disc or whatever?

Answer 1

Your primary care doctor will probably be able to tell you if your back pain is coming from a medical problem (such as kidney stones, etc), but will not be very good at differentiating between the different types of neuromuscular skeletal types of back pain. Referral to a physical therapist will help to diffentiate between the problems. It's not necessarily that the physician lacks the skills, but that their time is so limited. Most likely, they will listen to your basic symptoms, perform a few special examination procedures, such as assessing for costovertebral angle tenderness (a sign of kidney dysfunction) and then send you to physical therapy as long as the problem does not appear medical (I could say the same about an orthopedist as well). A physical therapist, on the other hand, is typically given about 45 minutes to perform a very thorough exam...examining your muscle and nerve function, what happens with movement, etc.

As to whether you need an MRI, it is not necessary prior to a physical therapy examination unless a serious medical condition is suspected (such as cancer). A physical therapist who has received signficant training in mechanical back pain, has been able to demonstrate an accuracy close to 90% of an MRI when trying to diagnosis the presence of disc derrangement.

If you did have a referral to an orthopedist, they would most likely send you to physical therapy anyway. Only if you didn't respond to treatment should an MRI be necessary.

Answer 2

If it is a lifting injury, I believe it would show up within 24 hours of lifting. If you are still doing dead lifts, does it follow that routine regularly? In this case, you may need help to diagnose the problem. The new mattress could certainly be the culprit. Ours wasn't firm enough and my hubby's back hurt consistently until we went a bought a board, oops, I mean new bed that was Super firm. One more thought to consider is your chair at work. If you even sit in a chair at work. Make sure it has proper lower back support (your lower back should be pushed inward). Physical therapists can give you little exercises to do to help with the back posture muscles. I personally like a chiropractor for this. I takes a few sessions to get it fixed but then you can go in on an as needed basis. But please note that I have really bad chronic back pain from spinal disc problems. :) Ironically, I find that when I am in real pain that ice works better than heat. I tried heat repeatedly before I went to ice and I am serious, it works! The ice reduces swelling that helps with the pain on the area. Use ice for 20 minutes then take 20 minutes off, then another 20 minutes of ice. It is also wise to lay flat on the floor with the ice under your back and your legs raised during this process. This is the only relief that I find. Hope some of this info helps. It stinks to be in a pain and I hope that you can be free of it! God's best to you.

Answer 3

You need to go see a Doctor of Osteopath and/or see a good Orthopedic Spine Surgeon and ask about an MRI and Scoli X rays. A regular xray most likely wont show much and if you are hurting down low its a good chance you've hurt yous self previously and/or have a progressive and probably a degenerative condition going on .I'm speaking from experience here in that you don't want to put this off to long. You don't neccessarily have to have ( or choose to have) any kind of surgery done or at least not at this time --BUT-- you need to find the source of the pain. If the pain is bad enough to get your attention and is getting worse you need to know. You may have a minor problem or be advised to have minor surgery. What ever they tell you "REMBER" get more than one opinion. You may have some thing so severe it requires major surgery( as I did this past summer) and you need to know and go over allthe options with the doctors. Some will want to cut on you right away because they are in it for the money and may try to talk you into an operation not neded or at least not needed right now. You need to find the one who wiil give you the "straight skinny" about procedures, recovery and just what kind or how much improvementyou can expect when all is said and done. Point is , at this time and place those chiopractors and massuse are NOT the people you need to talk to for these answers. You may be advised to continue with them for now so don't just dump them yet.

Answer 4

Have you had an x-ray of your back? It may be similar to my issue with scoliosis. Chiropractors and massage therapists can lend a quick fix to the pain, but it's hardly lasting. If you do have this condition, there's nothing you can do to fix it, unfortunately. Properly stretching and working the muscles of the back may strengthen your spine slightly and reduce the chances of it degenerating much further but won't stop it entirely. Unfortunately, I have more experience in personal training than medical science, so I wouldn't be able to give you any further advice on back pain.

Answer 5

Try seeing a medical doctor. They can refer you to a dr that can help. It sounds like you may have a pinched nerve or nerve damage. It could be a bulging disc or a herniated disc. I'm not trying to scare you, but your condition is not something to play with.
I had a wreck about 3 years ago, and I have nerve damage to the scyatic nerve (???spelling). I suffer from burning sensation and numbness in my lower back and in my right leg. Your symptons sound very familiar to me. So, its better safe than sorry... see a doctor. They can do tests (no needles involved) to pinpoint your problem.
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Good luck, and I hope you get to feeling better.

Answer 6

See a physical therapist. They have LBP specialists and are much more qualified (and use much more evidence-based practice) than chiropractors do. And LBP, by the way, is a lump term for any kind of pain in the lower back. The more important thing is what is causing it and how to treat it.

Answer 7

First of all, please please forget the chiropractor and go to a medical doctor. I took care of a man with exactly your complaint of low back pain & was also seeing a chiropractor with no relief. Come to find out, he had cancer of the appendix that had spread to the lining around his abdominal cavity. The oncologist said he'd never seen anything like it. He had a couple of years of surgery and chemo before he finally died. He was otherwise healthy and in his 40s.
Sure hope you take my advice. God bless.

Answer 8

Have you seen an orthopedic doctor for a proper diagnosis. You need to see a doctor to find out what is causing the pain so they can decide what might help.

Answer 9

Have you tried Back Pain Relief 4 Life system? Check out at this place : http://BackPainInstantRelief.com/ . This might definitely manage one and all!

Answer 10

Have you ever had an MRI? I have had back pain for years. Chiropractor sent me to get MRI, and It turned out I have 3 protruding discs. I have the same pains you do. It kills me to just wash the dishes.