u/LargeAbroad7868

Hi all,

Just interested to see people’s take on this situation.

Just over 3 weeks ago ended up bed bound after couple of months of more manageable albeit still quiet bad back/leg issues.

This bed bound episode left unable to stand for 2 days. Then slowly started moving on crutches. Then couldn’t stand for more than 2 minutes without crutches which would take me a while to recover from after.

Since then I have tried to build up standing/walking tolerance by trying to push through the pain. The pain is definitely less intense now than at the start but the symptoms I have still start building quickly. In my head as soon I stand up it’s like I’m on a timer. its usually start with tingling in foot which spreads to leg, then turns into pain.

I feel the pain mostly where the buttock and hip meet around that area but also I do get foot/ankle and lower leg pain. I have calf weakness and a locked in hunched posture which is contributing to walking/standing issues.

I have today walked for nearly twenty minutes which sounds good to where I was at 3 weeks ago but as I say the symptoms I get start to build very quickly still when I stand.

I can only stand that long if I’m able to constantly lean over sideways (not against anything) to left away from painful side for a few seconds which seems to open up the space for the nerve and it relieves the pain and I have to do it to get some more feeling back into my foot/leg. It’s like standing and walking is choking my leg. I’m a least grateful I have a way of relieving the symptoms without having to squat or lay down.

I do at least feel ok after standing for longer periods now where as at the start it’d take me half an hour to recover from standing 2 minutes.

Sitting tolerance is also very limited unless I can use my hands to take pressure off spine. I spend most of time laying on my side or stomach with pillows underneath.

So my question is should I keep trying to push through the pain and keep doing what I’m doing or am I potentially harming myself. I feel like I need to push myself to recover or should I just be purely bed resting at this stage.

Thanks

Hi all, I made a post in the sciatica forum last week if you wanna read that for backstory and the symptoms I’ve been having

In a nutshell though I’ve been having this back episode for 2 months but Sunday/Monday it got a lot worse. Felt my ability to walk getting worse Sunday (I was already struggling with it anyway but could at least move around my house relatively normally) and then didn’t sleep Monday and woke up and basically couldn’t walk and had to crawl to toilet next to my room. I’m pretty much bed bound able to lay in one or two pain freeish positions (on stomach with pillows under stomach) I have no tolerance for sitting either. It’s Friday now and I can stand for a maximum of like 2 minutes before getting the urge to collapse to the floor to relieve the pain.

When I stand I get the pain in my lower back kind of off to side near hip and buttock area. My leg into my foot starts going completely numb when standing and really bad tingling/pins and needles.
I can use crutches currently to move about for a more extended period of time.

I’ve lost strength in leg again (unable to go up top toes) which happened in my original back injury. The issue with walking is the pain and numbness/tingling rather than weakness though

I have slight constipation and a slight struggle to start peeing but nothing bad and I think that’s more to do with the co codamol I’ve been taking for a while.

As I say I’ve this for 2 months now (off work 1 month) and it’s gone from a 7/10 then a bit better to a 5/10 but now it’s like a 9 or 10 out 10. I’m seeing a physio in a couple of weeks I have no MRI (you can’t get them in UK easily)

I’m sure other people have been this bad what do you do when it’s bad like this?

Thanks

Had bad back for 2 months now. It started one day at work (truck driver) when I got out the truck and became hunched over as if my body was trying shift away from an injury. I had an original back injury four years ago (probable disc bulge) which left me with some nerve damage. I lost strength in leg for over a year that never fully came back 100%.

Symptoms now after 2 months are:

- extension is what aggravates it. Laying flat on my back or stomach I start to get pain with numbness and tingling straight away. I just can’t relax my lower back in these positions. Even with pillows under knees I can’t lay on back.

- can’t walk for more than like 2 minutes without having to sit or squat down to relieve pain. Walking really irritates the nerve for me and I start getting pain and numbness and tingling radiating in back down the leg and into the foot and ankle too when walking. Walking feels a bit easier if I lean forward while doing it.

-very hunched posture which worsens after sitting for long periods. The sitting itself isn’t necessarily too painful although still uncomfortable, but after sitting I really can’t straighten my spine up.

- affected sleep, always waking up second half of night. Have to constantly move positions.

- leg weakness has returned so can’t go up on tip toes on affected side. Walking with limp.

I can get to a point where if I really watch what I’m doing I can feel ok. But as soon as I start to do something like walk too much or sit for longer than I should it really flares up to a bad point again

I’m off work for over 3 weeks now with no improvement. As I say extension hurts and flexion relieves the pain. Just wondering if anyone has or has had similar?

I’m 29M so not old. I’m in UK too where you get no help with these sort of issues.

Had bad back for 2 months now. It started one day at work (truck driver) when I got out the truck and became hunched over as if my body was trying shift away from an injury. I had an original back injury four years ago (probable disc bulge) which left me with some nerve damage. I lost strength in leg for over a year that never fully came back 100%.

Symptoms now after 2 months are:

- extension is what aggravates it. Laying flat on my back or stomach I start to get pain with numbness and tingling straight away. I just can’t relax my lower back in these positions. Even with pillows under knees I can’t lay on back.

- can’t walk for more than like 2 minutes without having to sit or squat down to relieve pain. Walking really irritates the nerve for me and I start getting pain and numbness and tingling radiating in back down the leg and into the foot and ankle too when walking. Walking feels a bit easier if I lean forward while doing it.

-very hunched posture which worsens after sitting for long periods. The sitting itself isn’t necessarily too painful although still uncomfortable, but after sitting I really can’t straighten my spine up.

- affected sleep, always waking up second half of night. Have to constantly move positions.

- leg weakness has returned so can’t go up on tip toes on affected side. Walking with limp.

I’m off work for over 3 weeks now with no improvement. As I say extension hurts and flexion relieves the pain. Just wondering if anyone has or has had similar?

I’m 29M so not old. I’m in UK too where you get no help with these sort of issues.