Back Saga

[AJT]

Since the beginning of the year I have been suffering with a stiff & slightly sore back.
When I was at our site in Lauterbourg for SAP User Acceptance testing at the end of July I ran into real problems and could hardly stand upright, had to visit a local doctor who immediately prescribed painkilling injections 3 times a day as well as some pretty powerful oral painkillers, this really helped me get back on my feet until I was home.
I then attended my doctor at the local health centre, sent for an x-ray and sent to the physiotherapist for the practice, got an appointment within the week so decided just to use this instead of going through the private health care of my work, big mistake, initial physio consultation lasted barely 20 minutes and I left with 2 or 3 simple exercises and told to come back in 2 weeks she also said her goal was just to make the condition liveable . Anyway this went on for about 5-6 weeks with no real improvement so decided to get referred for a scan and use the private health care. Aviva set me up with their back care specialists and I was sent to a local physiotherapy practice. What a difference, he carried out an appraisal that lasted for 40 mins and at the end he said I had a serious problem in my back due to the neurological symptoms I was showing, pains in my hip, knees and leg, pins and needles, numbness in my foot and weakness in resisting pulling on my feet & toes. After this appraisal he refused to let me leave without carrying out some treatment to try and relieve the symptoms.
I was also referred to a neurosurgeon consultant at Murrayfield Hospital and managed to get an MRI scan before the consultation. As you can see from the scan picture there is a fairly large rupture of one of the discs in my lower back.

After the visit to the surgeon I decided the best option was to have an operation as this should mean I recover from this rupture quicker and the chance of it re-occurring is much less.
So at 7.15 on Friday morning I head of to Murrayfield and should be on the table by 8.00, all going well I will be out on Sunday morning. Recovery is no sitting for long periods, walking and lying flat for about 3 weeks. No driving for at least 2 weeks .

Apologies for the long post but if you are in a similar situation do not accept the NHS just get you bearable solution, press for MRI scan and referral to a good consultant.

[kevham]

Good luck with the op. I had a large central prolapse last year which resulted in similar symptoms and managed to get a scan on the NHS. Fortunately the prolapse subsided but I am still getting physio (not NHS).

[mikeyb13]

Thats a massive prolapse. Amazed this wasn't diagnosed as your symptoms are classic. Which Neurosurgeon is doing your operation?

[meatball]

Good luck!
Calling tenkfeet!!!!

[AJT]

mikeyb13
That is my big dissapointment with the treatment I recieved from my own doc and the NHS physio, even although they were both told the symptoms and had the chance to do an assesment it was obvious that there was never going to be any quick referal and just doing the minimum was going to be their solution.
Surgeon is Mr Patrick Statham, he came highly recommended by the physio and even the nurse at the pre-op visit on monday commented that he was one of the best for this type of operation.

[DJ]

Good luck Alan. When I injured my back over 3 years ago I went to the local medical practice (the one near you) when I lived in Polmont. Never got any treatment other than referred to the physio classes. Like you found them a waste of time. A very young and inexperienced girl trying to give me basic exercises. I only went to the classes about 3 times before going private. The classes appeared to me more like a club/drop in centre for pensioners to go on a Wednesday afternoon! I ended up paying a lot to the chiropractor in Linlithgow for treatments and an x ray showed I have reasonably pronounced scoliosis. Hope op goes well.

[mikeyb13]

mikeyb13
Surgeon is Mr Patrick Statham, he came highly recommended by the physio and even the nurse at the pre-op visit on monday commented that he was one of the best for this type of operation.

I was hoping you were going to say that. In the past I was one of his scrub team and he really is as good as it gets.
He's a former Elise driver too. Burgundy 99 S1.

[Rusty]

Kat (my other half (Sports therapist) ) says she likes the picture!

hope the op goes well!!

[tenkfeet]

Massive hardcore respect on being able to stand after that let alone make it home.

That is really shocking treatment by the NHS.

I crushed my T11 vertebrae back in April and was fitted with a body cast then a brace at Ninewells. At the spinal injuries specialist at the Southern General in July the first thing the consultant asked "Where did you get that ? " referring to the removable brace as they do not work. What is done is done ! As you say getting the right treatment is so important. Basically I have been left to my own devices bar regular x-rays which I am a bit surprised at. Having done another 5 vertebrae in 98 I know what to do . That was the pensioner drop in club experience.

Good luck with the OP and recovery. Enjoy the drugs . Er I mean hope they relieve the pain. I would recommend getting a butt wiper stick and sock fitter .

AH

[twisted2fit]

Hope u get better soon. I suffer with a bad back so know how disabling it can b. As a GP I've always thought the care pathways for back pain arnt the best. I regularly refer folk for mris but know lots of GPs dont:-( hope it goes well buddy:-)

[campbell]

Alan, sorry to hear of your experiences

Lisa suffered something very similar around 2001 and, prior to having children (!) it was the most traumatic thing we'd been through.

Linlithgow Medical Practice was actually excellent. Dr Boyle, who Lisa now worships, diagnosed her pretty well without much technology, but due to technicalities with our private medical at work, she couldn't go private with further treatment. Was therefore referred for MRI by Doc Boyle and about 3 months later finally got a scan via NHS. The results took another wee while and then the consultant appointment latency on top of all that, but finally we got in to see...none other than...Mr Statham! In our case during one of his "cooncil" sessions (!) at the Western in Edinburgh.

He took us through the scan results - they looked remarkably similar to yours - but commented that as Lisa had walked in the door with a straight back, he didn't plan to operate as Mother Nature seemed to be doing just fine!

Now to some this attitude might have been a catastrophe, but it's commonly suggested that if you can avoid surgery on your back, you should. Mr Statham said as much himself during this consultation. Whilst we would not have chosen for Lisa to go through the 6-9 months of h£ll that ensued after she first developed the injury, it was still reassuring to see what had actually gone wrong, but have the satisfaction that it HAD healed (perhaps thanks to the care Lisa took of her own back thereafter...and a large dose of luck maybe).

Every time she has a twinge today, she does worry that "it's coming back", but 2 kids and 10 years later all seems well, touch wood.

All in all though, big up Mr Statham. After Dr Boyle, he is Lisa's next greatest healthcare hero

Good luck Alan and you will be fighting fit again very soon I am certain.

[Dark]

Good luck with the recovery.

I had a similar experience with my knee. Physio at the local medical practice just suggested various exercises even though I had a big lump on the side of my knee and was struggling to walk more than a few hundred meters. Got the doctor to refer me to a specialist at the Murrayfield where I had a MRI, quickly followed by surgery to fix a big tear in the cartilage and remove a fluid cyst. Was back walking and riding my bike within weeks!

Any idea what caused the back injury in the first place? Can it just happen if you're sitting at a desk all day or does there need to been some specific trauma?

Cheers, Mark

[kerryxeg]

I hope all goes well for you, there is nothing worse, I've had plenty experience.

I've no medical background so can only talk from my own experience - generally lower back or neck problems with from sports injuries or lifting. I've used various osteopaths over the years and pay a visit whenever I get a twinge. Generally one session will correct the issue and within a few days I'm back at 100% although probably taking a bit of care. My approach is to try and get it sorted quickly as a small niggle can get a lot worse very quickly. This did happen once and I went to the doc to get painkillers to see me through until I could get to the osteopath. The result was poor - a basic mobility assessment, the ostepath was not considered appropriate, no pain killers, a physio session booked for 2 weeks time and a chat about not being as young as I used to be. Anyway the Ostepath sorted me out in a couple of sessions and I took up a better regime to keep my back more flexible - probably 15 years ago.

Generally my local health centre is fantastic, but I do think the NHS approach to back related issues could learn a lot from the specialists. And my lesson - if left it can get much worse.

[tut]

Sometimes there is no alternative to surgery as in my case, either life in a wheelchair or take the chance even if it could go wrong.

Had permanent back ache for the last thirty years so just had to live with it.

tut

ps:- all done under NHS at Aberdeen Hospital, but they were fantastic, took a while to pin the cause down, but then they operated the next day.

[BigD]

Sheesh even I can tell that x-ray doesn't look good. I think this is where PMI comes into it's own for chronic conditions.

I've never had any issues with my back until recently when I fell off my mx bike and landed on my backside on a fairly hard surface, rocks.

Anyway I've had pain down my right leg ever since and difficulty (pain) in extending it forward especially when slightly bent over. It also goes numb if I lie on my back in bed. Typical sciatic nerve pinching? It's not actually that sore although it was in the begining but seems to be easing. I've deliberately kept excercising and such to keep strength there but as yet haven't gone to see anyone about it. I don't have great faith in the NHS. However reading some of this I should probably get it looked at even if just to confirm that it's on the mend. I certainly don't want to do any long term damage to it.