Question
Hi

I am hoping you might be able to help. I am 28 and have had lower back pain and sciatica for approx 5 years.  The sciatica  does not happen too often but the back pain is there every night. After around 3hrs sleep I wake to a sensation that the whole of my back is tight and extremely painfull it can also affect my rib cage. There is no way of alleviating the pain other than taking NSAID's, after 5 years of this I really need to find a different solution. If I curl forward i can feel a painful stretching sensation travelling down the spine and this actually helps for about 10mins and then the whole of my back is in pain again.  Also if I am sat during the day i will feel a dull throbing sensation just above the left buttock.  I recently went to a consultant and had an MRI scan, the scan came up clear and i was told that it must be that the muscles are weak.  I have tried working out, back excersises, rowing machine, swimming, physio, chiropractic, but i cannot get rid of this pain.

Any idea what this could be?  Also if it helps my brother has the exact same problem.

Thanks for the help
Adam

Answer
Adam:

Thanks for writing!

This sounds to me like the entire spine is collapsing, the top end is pulling toward the lower end and vice versa. This doesn't happen too often but when it does, it does not respond well to any type of treatment.

I would suggest you investigate an upside down machine, one of those devises that hangs a body by the heels or hips so that the head is below the rest of the body. They are available at many garage sales or at a sporting goods store or on the internet or at one of the back stores that are springing up across the USA.

These are also called a anti-gravity machine. They are safe when used as directed if you have good circulation and arteries.

You might check www.sorsi.com and/or www.icak.com and try another chiropractor. The ones listed on these websites are specially trained to work with the spinal cord. They would be different from most chiropractors.

Does this answer your question?

Dr. Rozeboom