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Back Pain

Hey all,

I have for a while now had quite severe back pain and have yet to find anything that helps it. I have tried a number of muscle relaxants and they only seem to help for a week or so and then become ineffective.

My gastro doc seems to think this is caused by crohns, so I wonder if any of you have back pain as well? If you do, what, if anything, do you do to help it?
So far the only thing that helps me is to have someone walk/jump on my back. But this only helps for a little while.

Thanks all!
 
P

picsiechick

Guest
Have you tried yoga? I've been fortunate and haven't had much for back pain so far, but pains in other joints, and general fatigue are helped by daily gentle yoga each morning.

Good luck!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~
 
Have you tried adjusting your posture. If you are not standing up straight then it could cause back pain. Also do you have flat feet, if you do then you may want to try some supportive insoles. I had real bad backpain a few years ago and it was due to not having enough support in my shoes. Also try walking a lot barefoot as it will put your body in a better position.

Best of luck
 
A

andilynn09

Guest
I had horrible back pain when I was first diagnosed. For me, it was because I was flaring and having such horrible stomach pain, that I couldn't stand up straight or walk correctly. Since I've started feeling better, I have not had the pain because I could walk and stand more normally.
 

Kev

Senior Member
Welll, there's back pain, and then there's back pain.. I've had a bad back since the summer I tried lifting my uncle's car just to impress some local cuties. Live and learn, and pay the price forever... However, with the onset of my Crohn's, my 'back' suffers a new form of pain... I think, but can't provide medical evidence, that it's associated with either inflamation of the bile ducts or the pancreas/liver. I first noticed this persistent form of agony when I developed pancreatic cysts. For me the location is the right quadrant of the back, above the kidneys yet below the shoulder blade... Essentially feels like a knife blade is stuck in there practically 24/7

Now, I've had my gall bladder removed, (after the cysts subsided) and with it gone
I shouldn't have anymore cysts... Yet the pain that I've come to associate with them still persists... This is all anecdotal, as I've said.. just my symptomology and the explanation I give myself for the pain.. I could be way off base in my diagnosis
So, it could be from inflamation due to Crohns in the bile ducts or liver or pancreas
OR it could be from adhesions or scar tissue from any of my operations, OR it could
be just my aged and decrepit body showing the signs of the use/abuse I gave it..

I do know that because I take 4 g of Salofalk a day, my 'bad' back flares aren't as bad as they used to be, BUT this other back pain is totally unaffected by my meds..

Dunno if any of this is of use to you...

As for help... nothing I do helps this pain.. I just sort of get used to it being there..

But I vividly recall dating a Phillipino gal back in the 70's who walked on my back!!!
 
MY back pain is somewhat like having a knife stuck in me all day as Kev said..and at other times I get shooting, electrical like pain. No ammount of drugs helps it, only being walked on.
Yoga I have not tried, may consider it if I cant find relief as this has become a serious problem for me.
As for my feet and walking I really dont go out much so I am usually walking around the house barefoot. I sit most of the day and I cant sit correctly because my back hurts too damn bad. So i am sure that doesnt help at all.

Thanks for the replies all :)
 
R

ruthymg

Guest
I too at times suffer with terrible back pain. Just before I was diagnosed the pain in my back and stomach used to be so intense that I would pass out and as some of the others have described, it was like a knife being stabbed right through my tummy and through my back whilst being twisted at the same time. Upon diagnosis I was told this back problems are quite common in crohns and thought that the medication would sort it out. For a couple of years afterwards the back pain never eased so I went for a couple of xrays on 2 seperate occasions which showed nothing. So I put the pain down to muscle pain and used muscle relaxant creams like Movelat and a couple of others that I can't remember the names of. These creams also didn't do much so I mentioned the pain to my GI doctor and he explained that the pain I was getting sounded very much like trapped wind. As we all know trapped wind can be very painful at times but I really did think he was talking rubbish at the time as I didn't think it was possible to get pain in my back from trapped wind. He put me on Mebeverine which helps with trapped gases and bloating and low and behold they really helped. I now find that if I have bad backache its usually because I have had some fizzy pop or loads of gassy vegetables and after a bit of a walk around as this gets gases moving and a bit of a back rub from my beloved plus the medication it soon subsides. Does the pain in your back ease at all if you manage to pass any wind? By wind by the way I mean belching, not the other form as that wouldn't ease it. It has been known that crohns has been referred to as adult cholic before because of the amount of trapped wind. Things like soda water (just plain fizzy water) or Angustora bitter which is a drink made of a mixture of herbs that is usually added as just a couple of drops to cocktails. If you add a couple of drops of this to fizzy water it also eases trapped wind. By the sounds of it your pain is similar to mine and no amount of muscle relaxants are going to work, try eating smaller meals if you don't already. Gulping air when eating can cause this type of pain too so try to avoid drinking whilst eating, have a drink afterwards instead. Hope this helps.


Ruth
 
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