What on earth have i done to my back!

[Deacon]

Since about September last year ive been watching what I eat and managed to loose 2 stone also been smoke free for 3 months!

Thats all good but when the weight loss stopped falling the next step was giving up the car for work - So now I walk in now ive moved from Frome to Bath.

Been walking into work for about a month now and had a bit of an issue over the last couple of days that seems to be getting worse. Its a pain ive had in my back before and its happened on and off for years.

The walk is about 1.2 miles each way .. one way down hill the way back - up hill.. but really up hill!

Now what happens is the more I walk the worse a tightening and dull pain in my lower back just above my arse gets - I feel my body shifting its weight backwards to compensate the pain ( looks stupid - like more of an S shaped spine) - it gets worse and worse and the pain is also felt in my hamstrings and calf's - the pain is pretty excruciating and once it kicks in I can only walk about 200 yards at a time before having to stop and basically stretch out my back - or sit down ....the moment I sit down the pain goes - It almost feels like a lactic acid build up but it isn't!

I know im pretty hefty but im not that unfit and while this is happening my heart rate isn't high nor am I out of breath the only reason im stopping is because of the pain.

I dont wanna stop losing weight however i dont wanna damage myself if its gonna cripple me... - yet i feel if i goto the drs im gonna be told "loose weight fatty" - err... im trying!

What is the cause ? - is it just the fact im carrying extra weight ? or my body adjusting to the new work load every day after being a car jocky for quite a while!?

Any good exercises for training the lower back that anyone knows ?

Now - If i google the shit out of it - ( never a great idea but you know ....)

possssible cause: Isthmic spondylolisthesis

" Pain that radiates into the buttocks and back of the thighs (also called sciatica or radicular pain)
Pain that worsens when bending backwards
Pain that feels better with sitting, especially sitting in a reclining position
Tired feeling in the legs, and possibly leg numbness or tingling, especially after walking
Tight hamstrings, making it difficult to touch toes"

^^^ I have all those symptoms

Isthmic spondylolisthesis occurs when a vertebra in the low back slips forward on the disc space below it. It is most common at the l5-s1 level and can cause low back pain from instability and nerve root pain due to compression of the nerve root. The fracture occurs in childhood, but normally does not create a lot of pain until a patient is in young adulthood.

[Chriscooke]

What shoes are you wearing while walking? That can have an effect.

[Deacon]

What shoes are you wearing while walking? That can have an effect.

Normally a pair of global high tops

[jakeymears]

Google is not your friend on this one mate self diagnosis can be a horrible thing, so get yourself to the doctors. if its anything to do with your spine they take it pretty seriously and its something that if you have damaged it and carry on without seeing some one you can do a lot of damage trust me i know i spent 3-4 years getting my back fixed and i wouldnt have been able to sort it my self. keep up the good work it sounds like your doing well minus the obvious

[Mark]

Sounds like what I have/had for the last half of last year. Your muscles are going into spasm and they are gripping the nerve that runs into your leg. Get yourself to an osteopath and get assessed I am still having trouble but its nowhere near as bad as it was.

[madcowman]

Sounds like a daft question , but do you ever have problems getting your socks on? That was the first sign for me when I had a herniated disc a couple of years back.

[Deacon]

Sounds like a daft question , but do you ever have problems getting your socks on? That was the first sign for me when I had a herniated disc a couple of years back.

I have to sit to put socks on but put that down to being a fatty

will an osteopath rape my wallet?

[Mark]

will an osteopath rape my wallet?

Yes

You are looking around £30-60 a visit depending where you go.

[Deacon]

Yes

You are looking around £30-60 a visit depending where you go.

Ouch!

[madcowman]

Yeah - Osteo / Chiro is not a cheap thing. I still go for Chiro once a month for a bit of maintenance. There is a bit of a debate as which is most effective between the two ( and a heated one at that ) - I think which ever one works for you is the best. But its worth getting sorted though , you've seen how bad Paul's back gets.

[Marcos]

Yes

You are looking around £30-60 a visit depending where you go.

But believe me, it's worth every penny.

[Deacon]

But believe me, it's worth every penny.

Think i will seek one out

[Sidewaysfun]

I would say that £60 (hell even £600!) would be a small price to pay if they were able to diagnose what's up and give you advice on how to make it better

Look at the long term benefits it would give you... Makes £60 a pop seem like pence when you think of it that way?

[Jem]

It may not help you back, but have you thought of cycling to work. Just thinking it may give you less pain. Do get to the docs though

[sideways14a]

I had the same exactly a year ago as well, massive and i mean massive pain in the leg and lower back - a bit like tooth ache combined with giving birth ... er i suppose.

Anyway it was awful and the doctors were .. how could i put this polity ... utterly useless. Gave me anti inflammatory and pain killers that i would needed to have taken three times the dose just to feel a little difference.

After struggling for a month i went to a chiropractors and... well lets just say i saw the light.

[RyanH]

Get some proper supportive trainers/walking boots, as a fellow hightop wearer with sporadic back issues, it's beneficial if walking any distance. Just save them for chilling around, driving etc as chiropractos/oesteopaths are costly.

[Deacon]

I gonna get some decent shoes

I would like to bike it but i cannot be dealing with all the extra paraphernalia for riding a bike in winter/rain

[Jonny Wilkinson]

It does sound like sciatica and there are some simple, basic stretches you can do to help stretch the muscles in the feet, legs and bum.

I'll PM some details over if you like.

If its worse going up hill, is there a longer but more gentle incline you could use to get home ?

[sideways14a]

If it is sciatica or similar then get to a back specialist, my whole back from top to bottom wasnt sitting right apparently and once it was all worked on over the whole of last year i now have little problem with it.

Its unlikely to go away and is likely to get worse.

[Mark]

Yep I put mine off for about 6 months thinking it would sort itself out and I woke up one morning and couldnt walk I literally had to use furniture to hold onto to get about. Osteopath looked pretty shocked when i walked in

I still have a tight muscle in my right arse cheek (no Daz jokes please ) which is gripping the nerve in the leg so i get pins and needles in my leg when i sit down. Its getting better but if I had gone sooner it wouldnt be so bad and it would ahve cost me a lot less