r/backpain

Before this, I was very active and athletic. I ran almost every day and did marathon distances, and for the most part had no back pain except for an occasional flare up. Now I can barely walk around the house for a few minutes or stand long enough to brush my teeth or shower.

It HAS improved some because now I can rest without pain whereas before it was very bad 24/7 even resting in any position. I was also not walking at all. I was crawling to the bathroom, and any weight on my left leg was pretty unbearable. Now I can stand up and walk to the other room, albeit slowly and awkwardly, kind of dragging one leg. The pain is shifting up the leg which I hear is good, but it's still very sharp. I still get some dull pain and tingling down the leg, but mostly really sharp pain right where the top of the glute muscle meets the pelvis. Sometimes I shift a millimeter on the couch and gasp involuntarily from the pain, then it hurts for hours after. I can't tell if it's nerve pain or muscle spasm.

Walking seems to be the biggest trigger. I keep seeing advice to walk so I'm not sure what I should be doing. Swinging my leg forward seems to be the worst, as well as leaning forward at all while sitting or laying. I think any movement in the pelvis really. Bending over while standing actually feels ok, although obviously I keep my back straight, bend my knees and avoid bending over far. I tried virtual PT but could not do any of the exercises without pain. Even very light movement like cat-cow stretches hurt. The only thing that feels good is a glute bridge. I'm honestly kind of afraid to go to in person PT because of the pain it will cause just to get there, wait in the lobby, walk in the office, etc. Any amount of standing or sitting or walking becomes pretty painful after a few minutes and just gets worse and worse if I can't lay down. I used a wheelchair at my last Dr appointment and it was still very painful but I think walking would have been a lot worse.

The virtual PT recommended trying the epidural injections so I can get moving more and do PT, but my PCP is saying they're more for chronic cases that have been going on for months as they do have risks. The PCP just keeps saying to move as much as I can while keeping the pain manageable even though I keep explaining that literally everything hurts. And as an endurance runner, I'm totally capable of pushing through the pain if I should, but it certainly seems like anything painful is setting me back with hours or days of increased pain afterwards, so I'm not sure I should be pushing through it?

Currently I'm taking 1500mg of gabapentin and methocarbomol as needed. I've already tried a shot of toradol, a pack of steroids, three weeks of ibuprofen, oxycodone, Tylenol. There was no accident and I have no idea what caused this. It almost just seemed like it was caused by sleeping on my side since it was always worse in the mornings but I don't know if that could really cause a herniated disk. I'm wondering if I have some hyper mobility that could have contributed, and maybe taking muscle relaxers while continuing to run and exercise made the injury worse? They did say I have mild scoliosis. Back problems do seem to run in my family as well. I have taken the soft mattress topper off in case it was that, and currently I can only sleep on my back. It's very uncomfortable because I used to be strictly a side sleeper but now if I try laying on my side it feels very bad, not painful right away but it feels kind of like a joint somewhere is being pulled out of position or hitting something else. I have always used a pillow between the knees but I'm not sure my spine is staying straight. It always feels like my pelvis has to roll forward or backward, it doesn't just stay straight on its own. I always thought the mattress was too firm, like it actually made the hip touching the mattress ache, but somehow my spine still feels like it has a curve through it rather than staying straight. So I don't know what to make of that. Maybe a scoliosis/hyper mobility thing?

Any advice appreciated.

I’m in my late 20s and used to go to the gym about three times a week. About a month ago, I lifted something heavy, and immediately got lower back pain and sciatic nerve pain.

I thought I had recovered, so I went back to the gym and turned out to be a huge mistake. The pain got so bad that I ended up crying at the gym.

Now it’s been a month. The sciatic nerve is better, but I still can’t sit or stand for more than a few minutes.
The pain and discomfort have completely disrupted my life.

I saw a doctor who recommended physiotherapy, but it hasn’t really solved the issue.
What concerns me most is that the pain doesn’t seem to be gradually improving over time. It’s almost like an on/off switch. If I spend most of my time lying down, the pain can almost completely disappear.

Is it normal for the pain to keep coming back at full intensity even after a month?
What should I do?
Can I go back to the gym? Do I move?

I got a tranforaminal block ESI at my L5 today. I was given light anesthesia iv and local pain meds ( lidocaine and marcaine). The injection happened around 3 and I got home around 5. I noticed after the injection on the way home, that my crotch and butt are completely numb. When I got home I tried to pee and it was difficult. I had a little pain and a lot of pressure. Also had a difficult time starting and stopping.

I tried to get ahold of my doctor through their emergency line but it is basically just an answering/ note service. I called 2 hours ago and still haven’t heard back. I don’t want to rush to the ER if this is normal but also don’t want this to get worse if it’s not.

Please help.

Last Friday, I was doing a deadlift and felt my back strain due to shitty form 🤦🏽‍♂️

It’s now day 6 and I’m still in LOTS of pain when moving

Getting up from a sitting position is hard

Getting out of bed is excruciating

Twisting my body is imposssibke

Putting socks and shoes on is basically impossible

I can barely even get into my damn car 🥴

wtf is going on and is it normal to be 6 DAYS IN with basically no improvement?

I don’t feel pain in my legs or butt randomly

I haven’t been to a GP (yet) because he’ll probably just say to “give it time and rest”

Is this normal?

I’m in my mid-30s and have had chronic low back pain for several years. I’m otherwise healthy and fairly active, but the back pain has gradually become more limiting despite a lot of conservative treatment.

Over the years I’ve tried physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, naprapathy/manual therapy, exercise/rehab, anti-inflammatory medication, muscle relaxants and other pain medication.

I’ve stayed active with things like walking, cycling and swimming, but the pain never really goes away.
My symptoms are mainly axial low back pain rather than classic sciatica. At its worst it can be around 7–8/10. Neurological examination has been normal.

My MRI shows mild degenerative changes in the lower lumbar spine, most pronounced at L5-S1. There are mild disc bulges, but no significant spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis or nerve root compression. The latest MRI also showed new mild degenerative bone marrow edema at the lumbosacral level.

My spine doctor suspects L5-S1 is the pain-generating segment. Because I’ve had symptoms for such a long time and have already done a lot of conservative treatment, I’ve now been referred to a spine surgeon to discuss a possible single-level L5-S1 fusion.

The difficult part is that my doctor was very clear that this is not an obvious surgical case. There isn’t a major herniation, instability or nerve compression that clearly needs fixing. Surgery is basically an option because of the duration of the pain, failure of conservative treatment and the suspicion that L5-S1 is the pain generator.

So I’m struggling with the decision.

For those of you who were in a similar situation, mainly chronic discogenic/axial pain, without major nerve compression:
* What ultimately made you choose fusion or decide against it?
* How much did your pain and function improve after a single-level L5-S1 fusion?
* Did you develop adjacent segment problems at L4-L5 later?
* How long did it realistically take before you could work again, especially with a desk job?
* If you could make the decision again, would you do the same?
* Is there anything you wish you had asked your surgeon before deciding?

I’m not looking for Reddit to make the decision for me. I’m mainly interested in hearing how others in a similar grey-zone situation thought through the trade-off between living with chronic pain versus accepting the risks and uncertainty of fusion.

I've worked with back pain for 13+ years, and the thing I see most often isn't people lacking treatment – it's people never getting a clear explanation of what's actually going on. "Your MRI shows a bulge", "it's your posture", "it's degenerative" – and then nothing more.

So: what's the one thing about your back (or neck) pain you still don't really understand? A scan finding, why it flares, why it moves around, why it hurts when nothing seems damaged – anything.

I'll answer as many as I can in the comments in plain language. Not medical advice or diagnosis, just explanations.

Been dealing with lower back pain for a while and I’ve noticed something weird. After sleeping at a hotel for a few days, I wake up feeling better and painless than I do in my own bed! So now I’m wondering if my mattress is causing my back pain? I’m considering getting a new bed but I’m not sure how to choose. Can you help me find a good mattress that’s comfortable when I switch between my side and back? I’ve read briefly about Helix Midnight Luxe but it’s a bit expensive. I can actually afford it but I’d rather stay closer to $1-1.5k.

I’m 29F and have had persistent, almost entirely right-sided tightness, pulling, and pain for 10 years. It affects my lower back/QL, psoas and hip flexors, gluteus medius/TFL, outer quad and lateral knee, as well as my rhomboids, upper traps, and neck. Leg-workout pain can sometimes extend toward my foot.

I have normal range of motion, but my muscles constantly feel as though they are gripping or pulling, creating an urge to stretch, massage, or crack my back. The QL, psoas, and upper-back discomfort never fully disappears. Leg workouts may feel fine initially, but symptoms often worsen hours later or the next day; hip, quad, and knee flare-ups can take 4–7 days to settle. Reducing workout intensity helps.

I’ve been told I have mild S-shaped scoliosis, cervical disc bulges, right-sided scapular dyskinesis, forward shoulder posture, some shoulder hypermobility, pelvic tilt/rotation and hip instability identified in physiotherapy, and flat feet.

I’ve tried physiotherapy, stretching and mobility work, massage/muscle release, strength training, and chiropractic treatment. Stretching and massage provide only brief relief, also heating pads are a great tool to shut the pain and one chiropractic adjustment helped for about a month.

I’m wondering whether these symptoms share an underlying biomechanical, nerve-related, or chronic muscle-guarding cause. I’m planning to see a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist for a broader assessment.

1. Has anyone experienced chronic one-sided pain involving the QL, psoas, upper back, hip, and leg?
2. Did you find an underlying cause or diagnosis?
3. Has anyone recovered after years of constant tightness?
4. How did you return to strength training without repeated flare-ups?
5. Which type of specialist helped most?

I’m tired of treating each muscle separately and want to understand the bigger picture so I can exercise and live without constantly thinking about pain.

I’ve gotten the ball rolling with doctors, but I have a feeling it’ll take a while.
For the last year and a half, I’ll have these episodes that last a few weeks minimum. It is mostly in the T2 area but radiates EVERYWHERE to my head and chest. It hurts to move my head at all, but my arms are fine to move. Today, the pain was so bad from keeping my head still while driving that I threw up from it.
I’ve noticed it’s worse if I sleep on my left side that night. I sleep with a great supportive pillow and a large body pillow for my legs and keeping my shoulders from folding inwards.
I’ve gotten prednisone so far, which has hardly touched it. The doctor I’ve seen so far believes it is in the spine and not muscles.

Has anyone else had something like this? What would cause this pain and what I can I do to alleviate it beyond just trying to not roll on that side during the night?

Anybody ever delt with serious scapular pain and upper back pain in general. I don’t mean like small little knots here and there. I’ve been dealing with spasms, myofascial pain, and aches for about 2 years straight all over my mid to upper back. The scapular regions being the worst spots. The pain is the worst at rest like sitting on the couch or in bed or doing exercises that use my arms. Better when up and moving around a bit. Never any shooting pain or tingling

Following up on my original post since I don't think I was clear. The SPECT CT is a nuclear medicine scan overlayed by a CT scan of the same area. This was ordered after several injections including bi-lateral lumbar 2, 3, and 4, bi-lateral medial branch, SI joint and facet, which provided no pain relief. The SPECT CT will show which areas of the spine are metabolically "active" suggesting where there is ongoing bone/joint stress or degeneration. An MRI/CT itself will tell the surgeon which areas look abnormal, but the SPECT will show the exact anatomy responsible for the bone turnover/activity. Has anyone had one of these scans and was it helpful to your surgeon in determining what surgery to have? Thank you for your help.

A little of a year ago I was in a bad car accident that caused back pain with sciatica. I have been through PT, massage, non-invasive chiro, acupuncture, pain medication and 3 rounds of spinal injections. Best response with my spinal injections, pain mediation and massage. Pain aggravated with prolong sitting and prolong stationary. Since finding out about being pregnant I tapered off medication and the fatigue is kicking my A\*S and now, I have been feeling my sciatica more and really effecting my sleep and Unable to truly rest when the fatigue is hitting.

Has anyone else dealt with this before and how did you handle it?

I’m really concerned about how my symptoms will be as this baby grows. My pain specialist just told me to ask my OB what is safe. \*rolls eyes\*