Pain in lower back/upper buttock, different sides

[jond]

1. When did the pain begin? Late 2008, early 2009.

2. What were you doing at the time? Or did the pain come on gradually over time? First noticed pain after kicking heavy bag (taekwondo), but nothing dramatic. Eased pretty quickly. Thereafter sometimes woke up and had pain with first couple of steps, sometimes not.

3. Where, anatomically, is the pain? Lower back/upper buttock. Initially it was sometimes on left side and sometimes on right, but now seems to have settled on right. Always 1 side or the other, never both at the same time.

4. What does the pain feel like? Sharp? Dull? Aching? Stabbing? Shooting? Stabbing (but not overwhelming).

5. Is the pain constant, or intermittent, or only on certain motions? Some days it's there, some days not. I know when I wake up if it's going to be a good day or a bad day with my first couple steps out of bed. If they're not painful, I'm probably good for the day. If they are painful, it will probably hurt all day with certain motions. No pain with sitting, but painful when I stand up and take the first few steps, then eases as I continue to walk. No pain standing in place.

6. What motions make your pain worse? See # 5.

7. What, if anything, makes your pain better? Walking for a while, sitting, lying down.

8. Does your pain radiate to any other part of your body? No.

9. What things could you do before, that you cannot do now because of your injury? Have been avoiding deadlifting type movements and compound leg movements out of caution. I probably "could" do these movements, but doubt it's a good idea.

10. What is your main concern regarding the pain and its consequences?
Curious about what to do next. I saw a chiropractor who took some x-rays and told me I had a disc pressing on a nerve and that he could fix me in 24 visits. I went 8 times but didn't really notice much improvement (hard to tell because symptoms were sporadic before I started seeing him and continued to be sporadic afterwards). My insurance pays for 12 visits, so it would become kind of an expensive proposition to continue seeing him after that. Wondering if I should see another doc or if there are some home techniques I could try. Also wondering if I have extension intolerant pain (since it doesn't hurt when I sit) or flexion intolerant pain (since it hurts less the more I walk, but does hurt after I rise from a seated position).

11. Have you ever injured that part of your body before? If so, how? I don't believe so.

12. Is your pain getting worse over time? And if so, how much worse over what time period? Yes, initially was very sporadic. Might wake up in the morning with pain once or twice over a period of weeks. Now I seem to have pain more days than not (although some days are still pain free).

Thanks for any advice!!!

[wil58]

Re. lower back pain, I'm not sure this can help with disk issues etc. but this worked for me and it was amazingly simple so I thought I would share: when walking make sure you consciously involve the glutes in the process (as simple as sending a flex signal)...presto, after that my pain was gone. Another quick fix, get on the floor and do a plank for a couple of minutes.

Do a search on the internet for Dr. Stuart McGill and the causes of lower back pain (attributed to core muscle imbalances, not abdominal muscle strength). A lot of people focus on their six pack and forget about the rest of their core muscles thus bringing on imbalances.

[Tin Man]

Does the pain radiat down your leg? Is the pain above or below the "belt line"?

I ask just because I'm on the mend from a Piriformis injury...and it started out like you describe until I agravated it kick a soccer ball with the kids. It pinched the sciatic nerve.

[jond]

Tin Man:

So far it's stayed above the belt line. Is that how your's was? What did you do for it? I've been doing McKenzie press ups every 2 hours for the past week or so and it seems like it's made a world of difference. I feel about 99% (knock on wood). I wonder if that means that my issue was a disc problem after all.

[jond]

WIL58:

Thanks! Yeah, I've come acrsoss some of McGill's stuff on the internet and he seems like "the guy" when it comes to lower back issues. I've found a routine of his on the Men's Health website and I've been doing that daily.

[UConnJulie]

Do a search for McKenzie exercises (I know I've described them in detail on here) ... they should really help you. Once you are painfree or close, then you really need to focus on strengthening the glutes ... IME 90% of those with LBP have weak/inefficient glutes.

[Tin Man]

Originally Posted by jond

Tin Man:

So far it's stayed above the belt line. Is that how your's was? What did you do for it? I've been doing McKenzie press ups every 2 hours for the past week or so and it seems like it's made a world of difference. I feel about 99% (knock on wood). I wonder if that means that my issue was a disc problem after all.

I couldn't do anything for three days...lay down stand up and walk...no sitting. My issue was the sciatic nerve was impinged by the piriformis spasms...gave me numbness in my leg and foot, just a lingering tingle now. I'm back to full activity now, TKD and hockey.

My therapy was chiro and light stretching until I felt pain.

[mac38]

I still have not been able to make out what could be the reason of such a pain and what could be the sure shot remedy?