Hi , Started with severe lumbar back pain /radiating left leg pain 6 months ago and have been in pain 24/7 ever since. For first month it was 10 out of 10 pain and could hardly walk or sleep . G.P put me on Gabapentin and Naproxen which was changed to Amytriptyline after I had stomach pain. An MRI ( which I had to pester my GP for) showed minimal disc protruesion L3/4. I have seen 3 different Physios and have religiously done the prescribed exercises every day. BUT am still suffering with pain . I eventually was referred to a back assessment unit and saw a consultant. I had a lot of hope that this appointment would give me some answers but after a 5 minute consultation ( NHS ) was gruffly told my MRI didnt support the pain I was in and I probably had a soft tissue injury. I didnt have any sort of accident 6 months ago but I do have a sit down job with repetitive movements ( dentistry) Im at a loss to know what else to do. I take OTC pain relief every day and am starting to feel depressed about this. I have no other health issues and was fit before this ( Im a 52 year old female ) I have been offered a pain clinic referral. Just wanted to see if anyone else has any insight /advice. I dont feel the consultant was particularly sympathetic or helpful and I waited 10 weeks to see him đ
Even if you had a private consultation it would not have been much better as my wife and I found. Physio is all the NHS will offer and that is usually for quite a limited period.
You could ask about hydrotherapy. When I did the physio thought was a good idea and said that he would have to ask his boss. He came back and told me that I would need it three times a week and they could only offer it once 
Hi Alison, I fully understand your frustration. I am also 52 and i had back pain for approx 12 months. i still suffer now but it has become more manageable for me in the last few months. I felt Gpâs etc were not particularly helpful at all. My Mri showed general wear and tear in L5/S1 and L4/L5 but i think as far as the neurologist i waited 6 months to see, the pain i seemed i was in wasnât backed by sufficient mri evidence so he really made me feel like i was a middle aged drama queen. My GP just wanted to prescribe me more pain medication, nortiptyline in my case, which I am still weaning off now. i did stumble accross an Osteopath who i found to be very good. I also bought Stuart McGills books and did his big 3 exercises every day and walked twice a day. Stretching is also my saviour and i have to do it or the pain in my back builds up. In my case stretching my hip flexors was imperative particularly if i had been sitting a lot. Although i had thpught i was stretching my hip flexors properly, it was only when i was shown an assisted hip flexor stretch that i really started to improve. People have lots of advice for back pain and every case is different but if i were you i would find a good Osteopath and go from there. Massage and manipulation can work wonders at freeing up tense muscles etc as in my case the more pain i was in the more my spine tensed and it became a vicious circle. Not sure if any of that helps !
My recommendation is to take the referral to a pain clinic. I have had similar symptoms and the spinal pain clinic has helped me. I still have back pain but it is more manageable.
first of all youâre lucky you donât live in the US. here in the US where I live they have begun treating chronic pain patients as if they were drug addicts seeking opiates . I know itâs not a lot better in the UK but it is a little bit better. Iâve been in pain for 15 years from lower back pain . I was in my late forties and my initial MRIs didnât show anything significant. That changed as the years rolled by. I did have to finally see a pain management specialist who did put me on opiates. But by that time I was in so much pain it was ridiculous. the Gabapentin that youâre on is supposed to help with the nerve pain. If itâs not helping, you might ask to try something called pregabalin or itâs also called Lyrica. I get very frustrated with doctors because if they donât see something on an MRI then the problem must not exist (in their minds anyway). When in reality I think that sometimes the problems are just not visible to any kind of Imaging that we have available yet. even if the physio is not helping your pain it will help you to not progress further. Trust me on this I know from experience. in the US a lot of our pain management specialist will dig deeper into your issues and will have alternative treatments to help with the pain. some common ones done in the US are steroid injections in the back and nerve ablation to help with the pain in your leg. good luck to you and I really hope that you get to a point where you can manage your life.
Thanks for reply. Reading your experience is comforting in a way as I know someone understands what Im going through.
I know what you mean about the "drama queen " reference. !
I ll look at Stuart Mc gills books.
I suppose I could take the reassurance thst its nothing serious causing my pain but it doesnât make the pain any less ! I cant remember when I didnt have painđ˘
Maybe I ll have to change jobs - or retire 
Thanks derek. Yes hydrotherapy could be good I ll ask when I get my pain clinic appointment - whenever that is ! 
Thanks for reply.
Yes I will try the pain clinic as at the moment Im taking pain meds everyday ,which I hate doing. If I could reduce those Id be happier I suppose .
Hi,
Yes I suppose we could be lucky in the sense we have healthcare available to us but its a lottery. Im sorry you been in pain so long. I agree with you about imaging limitation.I suppose MRI s dont show pain and so unless something obvious shows like a tumour /massive disc problem then conservative treatment is all there is. I suspect in a lot of cases our GPs hope that our backs will resolve in time.
I have gained helpful advice from this forum so will have to try find my own solution, but will attend a pain clinic.
Thanks 
Our local pool has hydrotherapy sessions three times a week for groups from a private hospital that any one can ask to come with. About ÂŁ10 a time.
It will get better, it just takes time and i know it feels endless and frustrating and like you will never be out of pain but you will. Hurting your back takes longer to heal as you use your back for everything - sitting, standing etc but as the Osteopath said to me its a very complex but extremely strong structure and the problem for me was my gp kept telling me that it should be getting better at 3 months whereas the Osteopath said it takes about a year. That comforted me as it gave me a realistic time frame to work to. Try to keep positive you will get there x
Thanks for supportive words ,means a lot I totally agree about the recovery time scales.my GP said 12 weeks also ,so when I was still in pain at 5 months It felt hopeless. A physio said to me about a year !!! Seems he was right then . . X
HI Alison96
You could ask your doctor to refer you to have pain blocks in your spine.
They are injections into the area of your pain which should give you some relief for about 5 months.
Thanks for the timescale advice form the osteopath. I injured my lower back in January (bulging disc and flare up of old back injury) and have been seeing an NHS physio who said it should be better within 3 to 4 months. Iâve been doing all the stretches sheâs given me and have seen some improvement but itâs far from normal and I still have bad sciatica down one leg. I have my last appointment with her in a couple of weeks where she said if itâs still not improved Iâll need to be referred to hospital to get a scan down and see nerve pain specialists, etc. I went through all this years ago when I first had a back injury and they said there was nothing they could do after wasting my time with loads of hospital appointments! It eventually sorted itself the following year when I started doing yoga stretches. Iâm wondering if Iâd be better just waiting to see if it improves itself with stretches or seeing an osteopath rather than putting myself though all the hospital appointments again. I might try one of the books you recommended. Thanks for the tips!
Hi Alison I hope my English is good enough to help you.
The reasons of severe pain is very numerous. If active physiotherapy does not help and the pain has the same pain level or even got worse after several therapies and over a timezone from 4-6 months, then there must be something been overlooked. My experience is that most doctors only trust the radiology report and do very seldom have a look theirselves at the patients MRI. The medical evidence describes only the MRI facts which are corresponding with the interrogation of the transferring doctor. In some cases they would describes severe bone edema as a normal finding, like a ânormalâ wear and tear in the spine. But in VERY rare cases it can be a abnormal and VERY painful finding and most doctors do not know about this, because there are three reasons and the third one is known since a couple years. Do you get in the UK your MRI as a CD to take it at home? I have several MRI Scans at home and can have a look at my home computer if I would like to. I did see there these white spots in 2 vertebral bodies, between a damaged and VERY small disc, this is only in T1 white, in T2 is it dark. I did not have pain because of the damaged and very thin disc, I had massive pain because of quiet big bone edema in the vertebral bodies and I did not even get effectiv pain killers. It took me 4 years to find a doctor who would give me the right therapy and I had even to travel abroad. Because of loosing to much time, I could not get painfree anymore (the nerves are to much damaged now) and I will never be able to live a sporty and activ life like I did before. Now I am in my fifties ⌠Because we donât know the reasons of your back pain, I would suggest you osteopathy instead of physiotherapy (if you are still in pain after physiotherapy) and of corse hydrotherapy. If you have sever pain (maybe you have a nociceptive ache-I donât know) ask your doctor about âPalexiaâ, this does not make medication-dependent and maybe you are a candidate for this medication. If you have a ligament laxathy because of a weakness of the connective tissue, you should be very careful with manipulation and longtime stretching. In some cases the pain comes from lax ligaments, and the muscles are overworking. If lax ligaments could be your (pain) issue, you can get help by a good and long experienced prolotherapist. I hope I could help you a little bit and wish you good luck!
Hi I empathasise as have been suffering chronic back pain for the last 18 months. I have just seen the NHS physio for the 2nd time and she has given me 3 different exercises to do (different from the 1st lot). She asked me a lot of questions and did a physical investigation. She told me it is manual and I need to build up my core strength. She also said it was degenerate and when I asked her what that meant she said it is probably osteoarthritis. I know at least 2 of my discs have been worn away but she said you can live quite happily with none as long as you build up your core strength.
I did ask for an x-ray but she explained that it wasnât necessary as that is usually done before a back operation and the back can be fused. That sounds horrible so I donât want that. She told me to go back in 4 weeks and she if it is helping.
I hope you find some help. x
I did not mean to imply that your health care system was better. Iâve heard of people in the UK having to wait several month just for an MRI. I was only referring to our opiate crisis and the way our government is blame those with chronic pain for starting it. it has gotten so bad that doctors are afraid to prescribe opiates for pain even if in their best judgement the patient should have it. Theyâre afraid of losing their license or Worse, going to jail. because of this doctors are forcing patients to have treatments even if that treatment isnât helpful and hold some pretty significant risks such as epidural injections. some doctors are stopping their patients opiates without titrating them, causing the patient to go through withdraws and terrible debilitating pain. and this is being done to compliant patients. it is a terrible country to live in if you suffer from chronic pain. in fact our own soldiers who have come home injured are being told by the government that they are not entitled to have any opiates. and theyâre being told they have to find some other way such as âpain acceptance.â I hate that term. It is exactly as it sounds, we are supposed to just accept that we have pain and live with it.
Hi Nia, thanks for your input,some interesting points.
I think when we are assessed as being non- urgent the care offered is varied. We have to fight for our NHS treatment sometimes and it causes more stress.
I am grateful for all the replies and Ive already looked at some alternatives.
Hi Elaine,
The stuart McGill exercises lis reccomends are on you tube - I just searched the name. Its basically 3 core exercises you do every day .Ive already started them. Nothing to lose right !
Thanks for that - will look them up and give them a go. Will try anything to see if it helps!!!