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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Back pain, with X-ray showing normal/arthriris

dragonslayer428

Bluelighter
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
917
Location
Chicago
I went to my Dr. for severe back pain, in which I was taken by ambulance to the hospital a day or 2 before.

He did an x-ray that showed my lower back was normal but showed some arthritis.

My question is, is it possible to have damage to my lower back that wouldnt show up on just an X-Ray? I am in terrible pain.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Yea there is. Infact x rays are inferior in detecting alot of back problems. An MRI would give them a much better view of what's going on! Good luck!
 
I'm going to bump this because I UTFSE and dragonslayer's first post sounds exactly like what I was going to write. Unfortunately, there's not much advice here.

I keep spraining my back, or so that's what they tell me --- apparently the xray was normal but showed arthritis. There has been a lump on the left side of my back for a long time, and I was told that was the arthritis. They said an MRI was NOT necessary. But this keeps happening, today I can't walk at all. I have now had two almost unbearable episodes in the last few months. I'm going to a chiropractor (new one) on Wednesday to see if they can give me any insight, because the GP just scripts muscle relaxers and painkillers. I want to get to the bottom of this, and stop just masking the pain --- plus, the pain gets so bad that stuff barely helps.

Any insights, anyone?
 
They did a X-ray then a bone scan on me, finally they did an MRI which was the only thing that showed a torn disc. So yeah see if you can get your doctor to get you an MRI.
 
Get an MRI... and there is no "Normal Arthritis".. that's as bad as my ex dr telling me degenerative disc disease heals and my collapsed disc will heal too.. Your dr is an idiot get a refferal to a pain mgt dr who will order an MRI and treat you appropriatly. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to see what the new chiropractor has to say. I need to see my GP at the end of the month, so if the chiropractor can't give me any kind of referral, she probably can. Also, I don't think my insurance is going to cover an MRI, they bill me for all sorts of things due to lots of loopholes in the health insurance...but its my university's insurance so I'm stuck with it.

Violenza, I don't really wanna go to a pain management doctor because they're just gonna do what everyone else does and script pills. I don't want more pills...I just want to know what's actually wrong, and things I can do to fix it that don't require constantly taking highly addictive drugs.
 
Yea there is. Infact x rays are inferior in detecting alot of back problems. An MRI would give them a much better view of what's going on! Good luck!

This. That's why the majority of people faking pain for pills say it's their back. You could have 8/10 pain, have an x-ray done and it come out with your back looking totally normal. Just be persistent with your doctor and make sure you get proper treatment.
 
OP, muscle spasm can be incredibly painful. get a referral to physical therapy and find a good PT to work with. if you're not getting the results you need from PT, keep looking for a therapist who listens and teaches you both short term and long term methods to relieve the problems you are experiencing. strengthening your back muscles equally will help your spine stay aligned and reduce spasm and pain significantly.
back pain sucks but learning how to manage it as much as possible w/out drugs will benefit you much more in the long run.
best of luck to you.
-izzy
 
So I was doing some research online, and the reason I figured it could not be sciatica was because it is in both legs...apparently, there is a rare condition called bilateral sciatica, where the person experiences the weird traveling pain/tingly thing down to their calves in BOTH legs..I may just phone up another chiropractor tomorrow and make an appointment for the same day, maybe use it as a second opinion.

Kurrupt, the doctor should be able to tell if they were actually in pain or not. I know if my pain hits 8/10 you can see it in my eyes and face, and I overall look uncomfortable...others, especially a trained doctor can see that it's legitimate. This is why I'm trying a chiropractor, because they don't prescribe medications...I feel like they would be more eager to actually find the problem, since they can't just toss me a script...been to several in the past and it helped me greatly.
 
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