For the past ten years, about every two years, the muscles parallel to my spine go into spasm. It can happen from lifting something heavy, or it can be triggered by banal things such as standing up from a sitting position, crouching, leaning over, or for no apparent cause. The pain can vary from an inconvenience, to being so bad I struggle to walk and once I even fainted. Right now, my back muscles have been spasming for a month, and every time things feel like they're improving, something triggers the spasms again. What can I do to prevent this?
I'm a mid-50s male.
I've been to doctors and have had x-rays. This is all muscular; nothing neurological seems to be going on. I've been seeing a physical therapist. In fact, when the current spasms started, I was seeing a PT for both knee issues and minor back pain, getting some bodywork and doing exercises and stretching to help the back pain. Right now, I'm only getting bodywork and some time with a TENS unit at the PT, and doing some very mild stretching as my back can't really handle the exercises at the moment.
The pain is in my lower back, mostly one side, but sometimes the other. Luckily, it's mild when laying down or slouching, so sleeping and TV binging has been reasonably comfortable. Sitting is painful, and standing or walking is even worse. I do try and move around regardless of the pain as I know moving is helpful. At its worst, to walk I had to use two hiking sticks.
I am naturally very inflexible; my muscles are always tight. But with the spasms, the muscles are contracting and aren't releasing. I've been told that the muscles are in a feedback loop preventing them from calming down.
As for medication, I've taking a prescribed high dosage of naproxen (Aleve). I've tried some muscle relaxants, but although they mellow me out, they don't help the problem. I was prescribed hydrocodone, but I've found opiates only help me not care about the pain, and given that slouching and lying down are positions I'm relatively pain free in and the side-effects of opiates, I prefer not to take them. I've had some cannabis edibles, and like the muscle relaxants, they mellow me out, but haven't relieved the spasms. I've also had some acupuncture and mild manipulation by an osteopath.
I've used both ice packs and heat on my back (with a heating pad in in baths). The ice does seem to calm things down a bit, and the heat does seem to reduce the tightness, at least temporarily.
Yesterday, I would have said I was maybe 70% better. I could stand with only minor pain, and could walk at my normal pace. But this morning in bed, while turning to my side, I triggered another spasm, and much of my progress regressed (although it's not as bad as it was before).
The fact that I was already in physical therapy and doing exercises for my back when this hit me has been quite discouraging. I imagine some people will suggest yoga. I've tried it before and it just doesn't work for me due to my lack of flexibility, even gentle yoga classes. I've previously injured my back and shoulders in yoga from overstretching, which is too easy for me to do.
Any suggestions to help calm my current spasms and to prevent future ones? |
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