Steroid/Cortisone injections for back pain

[Break90]

Having suffered with lower back pain for years, I decided to do something about it rather than just dosing up on Ibuprofen.

Unsuccessful course of physio led to MRI scans, and ultimately a day in the Nuffield yesterday having 7 injections of steroids and cortisone into my spine and surrounding nerves and joints.

Feeling very sore this morning mainly due to bruising where the needles went in, however the painkillers are proving very interesting, apologies for any spelling mistakes or wandering trains of thought....

So has anyone had similar treatments for back pain? Successful or not?

Thanks in advance

 

[pendodave]

My friend had this done. The idea was to loosen up his back enough for him to get going on exercises etc which would give long term relief.

I think it was successful in this. He had it done a couple of times and now maintains his lower back as best he can using physio, pilates etc.

My understanding is that you really need to take advantage of the pain-free period to do enough exercises to get things improving. If you just use it as pain relief, the issues will still be there when it wears off and you'll be back to square one.

Once you have a dodgy lower back, it's all about managing the decline as best you can. They don't tend to get better with age....

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Never had any injections. I went the chiropractor and personal trainer route.
These have been very successful in allowing me to improve core strength generally but also my recovery time when I have spasms has seriously come down.

 

[TerryA]

I had this done several years ago and I must say it was very successful. I used to have regular chiropractor treatment as well but I then bought myselfaConcept2 Indoor rower and in the 12 years I have had the machine and used it regularly - min 3 times per week - I have only had to re-visit the chiropractor once and my back has been fine.

 

[Break90]

Yes, the idea is to use the (approx) six month period whilst the effects of the injections are working to undertake a core strength programme to build up and strengthen the core, so that when the injections wear off the joints and spine are able to cope.

I've got a 2 week recuperation period, followed by 1-2 month of light core work, (yoga/pilates, rowing, cycling)then assuming there are no issues 3-4 months of heavier stuff including free weights etc.

Painkillers are awesome at the moment.......

 

[dewsweeper]

Is this an NHS treatment?
If not can you give an idea of cost please.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

When I was in the RAF I damaged my lower back - started off with painkillers and sports physio whilst doinf stretches.

After a year or so of not getting better i was booked into a spine rehab course at Headley Court - about three before I was given 5 injections around my lower back - as you say was sore the next day. I was then able to do the lower spine course as the pain eased a lot which helped me increase my core strength. I still now do the Pilates plus sessions of underwater running. It's helped me a lot - still suffer from spasms and sciatica, when I drive anything longer than an hour and my back seizes up plus still have the odd painkiller but it's a great deal better than 6 years ago when I was in pain on a daily basis

 

[stevek1969]

I suffer from a condition called Syringomyelia which basically is a cyst in side my spinal chord, the symptoms of this include muscle stiffness and muscle weakness amongst others, my right leg has very bad muscle wastage so need to exercise at 3 times a week to keep it from wasting away altogether . The stiffness will go if i move about as soon as i get up in the morning but some days i need to take tablets to easy the pain. My cyst is in the Thorasic part of my back and and i follow exercises i have gotten from a TPI instructor which have helped strengthen and stretch the muscles.

Not condusive to playing good golf at times or golf at times but you just battle on, i get MRI scans every 6 months to make sure it hasn't gotten bigger or moved, an op is out of the question as the benefits gained out way the risks, so when people say there back hurts i can relate to it .

 

[Break90]

Is this an NHS treatment?
If not can you give an idea of cost please.

No real idea on costs, sorry, it's all on a private healthcare policy through my company. I did read somewhere though that just the MRI scan would be close to a grand if paid for independently, not sure how accurate this is though.

i suppose it could be done on the NHS, although I would think it would take a lot longer than it has done privately.

 

[Break90]

When I was in the RAF I damaged my lower back - started off with painkillers and sports physio whilst doinf stretches.

After a year or so of not getting better i was booked into a spine rehab course at Headley Court - about three before I was given 5 injections around my lower back - as you say was sore the next day. I was then able to do the lower spine course as the pain eased a lot which helped me increase my core strength. I still now do the Pilates plus sessions of underwater running. It's helped me a lot - still suffer from spasms and sciatica, when I drive anything longer than an hour and my back seizes up plus still have the odd painkiller but it's a great deal better than 6 years ago when I was in pain on a daily basis

Got to the stage where I'm prepared to try anything, has really been causing me lots of issues recently.

Hoping that the strength exercises will make the difference.

Feel like I've been given a good kicking at the moment though.....

 

[dewsweeper]

ThanksI will ask my doc

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Got to the stage where I'm prepared to try anything, has really been causing me lots of issues recently.

Hoping that the strength exercises will make the difference.

Feel like I've been given a good kicking at the moment though.....

The Pilates or yoga plus other strengthening exercises will help massively - get yourself a burst resistant ball and use that to sit on to improve posture and strength core. Got to use the pain relief months to really strengthen everything up.

Also find a good chiropractor who can also do sports massage - I have one every three months and it works wonders.

 

[lukeysafc100]

You may laugh at me for this.
I used to work on an elderly Rehab ward/service - doing OT and physio work with older patients. Being 6ft 2 - you can imagine I was stooped over a lot and did a lot of heavy moving and handling and lifting - as the conditions, abilities and size of patients varied. Also I had to fit a lot of equipment into patients house's to help restore independence which didn't help my back issues (and that was when I was 25).
I went on holiday to Cyprus and had a full body massage - the lady said I had issues and to start doing YOGA or Pilates. that was May 2015 and I kept it up ever since and haven't had any issues, pain eased, posture improved and felt good all around - it has also helped with my golf swing!

So go see a yoga instructor and get into it! Its really good!

 

[chrisd]

I don't suffer much from back pain other than the odd strain from golf but in the village i live a lady started a pilates course for men. Most of the 10 or so attendees are of a certain age, and 5 of us play golf, without exception everyone says how beneficial the 6 months or so has been.

 

[Nickrat]

My friend had this done. The idea was to loosen up his back enough for him to get going on exercises etc which would give long term relief.

I think it was successful in this. He had it done a couple of times and now maintains his lower back as best he can using physio, pilates etc.

My understanding is that you really need to take advantage of the pain-free period to do enough exercises to get things improving. If you just use it as pain relief, the issues will still be there when it wears off and you'll be back to square one.

Once you have a dodgy lower back, it's all about managing the decline as best you can. They don't tend to get better with age....

I'm a physio and this sums it up perfectly, I also suffer from back pain now and then and Pilates + core strengthening exercises always help clear it up. If i stop doing the exercises or am quite sedentary (had to do desk work as broke my finger) I notice the pain creeps back in.

I do exercises everyday (probably about 10-15 mins) for my back, I don't find it a chore as pain free golf is much more enjoyable! Also good core helps with the golf swing so bit of a bonus

 

[hovis]

Having suffered with lower back pain for years, I decided to do something about it rather than just dosing up on Ibuprofen.

Unsuccessful course of physio led to MRI scans, and ultimately a day in the Nuffield yesterday having 7 injections of steroids and cortisone into my spine and surrounding nerves and joints.

Feeling very sore this morning mainly due to bruising where the needles went in, however the painkillers are proving very interesting, apologies for any spelling mistakes or wandering trains of thought....

So has anyone had similar treatments for back pain? Successful or not?

Thanks in advance

I've had this done and it worked for about two months. I ended up having "facet joint abletion" (spelt wrong). They basically cut the nerves in the joint area. Apparently they can grow back but 3 years on and I'm still good. Haven't had a spasm of related pain since.

 

[Foxholer]

Ah! the joys of 'newby resurrected' old threads!

 

[jim8flog]

I hope the injections worked.

 

[Turtleboy]

I've had steroid injections on my elbow, worked for about 20 years, second time worked for about 18 months, last one was 3 years ago & still working

 

[Mandofred]

Couple of bulging disks about 10 years ago. After about 6 months had several injections....helped a lot with the pain. Almost a year later had the shots again....about a third less pain relief......another year or so later more shots, didn't help much, but things were steadily getting better anyway. Use an inversion table occasionally that helps a bit.....medical people aren't too positive on them, but at least for me it makes my back "feel" better for a while. Not a cure though.