|
Question:
For a couple of years now I have been
waking up with lower back pain, hip
pain and feet pain. By the end of
the day I'm feeling pretty good but
every morning its hobbeling around
for awhile. About a year ago I started
working out. It helped my feet but
my back still hurts. I exercise through
the pain. (I do stairmaster, racquetball
and bball 6 days a week.)
Basically my back feels tight. I'm
surprised about sleeping because I'd
figure that laying down should relax
things not tighten things. In fact
I find that when the pain wakes me
up that it relaxes if I curl up rather
than straighten up. This seems strange
to me because I'd think that curled
up stretches (tightens) things.
The pain seems like nerve stuff as
it shoots from the center down the
hips. As the day goes on the hips
are ok and it is more just in the
center of my lower back. It really
ticks me off as I am otherwise in
pretty good shape. I have taken naproxen
but it doesn't seem to make much difference.
Anyway someone said it sounded like
arthritis. Does it?
Answer:
I have similar pain to what you discribe.
I also have RA and MS. Whether or
not you may have arthritis will have
to be answered by a physician but
I can tell you that if I don't keep
those areas properly stretched they
will hurt when I wake up. You can
go to physical therapy to learn the
proper stretches. Low back pain on
waking can occur because you hamstring
muscles are tighter than you think.
There is a muscle that connects you
hip and lower back that needs stretching
for a healthy lower back too.
On to the feet, the heel cord stretch
will help with feet that hurt, at
least it did for me. This is an easy
one. Sit on the floor with your feet
strait out -Wrap a towel around you
foot to hold it like a sling and press
your foot away from you. then do it
in the opposite direction. Try these
you will be surprised how helpful
that is.
And yes, it does sound like arthritis
- the pattern you're describing sounds
very much like inflam- matory arthritis.
I have rheumatoid arthritis, and at
onset had a pattern very like yours
in particular, the bilateral morning
stiffness and pain are typical of
inflammatory arthritis. What I'd recommend
is that you consult with a rheumatologist
a specialist in arthritic disease
and have your- self evaluated. It
may not, in fact, be arthritis, but
it's enough like to make such a consultation
reasonable.
As for naproxen, it may be that this
is not 'your' NSAID. After awhile
with arthritis, we all tend to become
connoiseurs of NSAIDs, as there's
a fair bit of individual variation
in how we respond to them and there
are many different kinds. Further,
what I've found with nerve pain associated
with my RA is that it can be remarkably
complex. The last bout of sciatica
I suffered appeared to be due to:
(a) inflammation around my lumbar
region and hips, from the RA, which
(b) resulted in 'compensatory' movements
to protect these painful areas, which
resulted in
(c) muscular tension in the region;
which
(d) pinched the sciatic nerve, which
hollered which in turn resulted in
more pain, more compensation, and
more pain.
I've also found that curling up can
relieve some of the pain, possibly
because it stretches out the lumbar
vertebrae and the muscles surrounding
them, thus reducing the compressive
action oin the nearby nerves. But
that's only my hypothesis.
 |
|
|
