At the end of my rope

[elegantfood]

Hello to all, I have been suffering from a pain in my middle spine that radiates in to muscles of right side sometimes bad spasm after work. I am a chef, and it has about killed my career. When I work bending and stuff I am in misery can hardly get out of car. I also have pain in right sholder and it radiates to my right thumb and first finger, constant pain down right leg buttocks, back of thigh, calf outer side and inside of foot. I am scare to death this is something more serious, does this sound at all like some kind of disc problem. So so long, and have not had Med insurance hence dealing with it

[BP4MS]

Sounds like you've got a couple of things going on, if you've got pain both down your leg and in your shoulder and down your arm. If it's discs I would of thought it's a couple of different discs - one high one lower.

What have you tried doing to ease it?

I find various exercises can work, but you have to try different ones and see what feels good for you. This area of the forum has various back pain exercises, including some yoga. I'd never done yoga until recently, but liked it and found it helps.

[Augustine5I]

Hello Elegantfood,

It is quite unfortunate that you lack the proper medical insurance to get an accurate diagnosis.

As a physical therapist, I can only tell you that without some intervention your condition is likely to get worse.
You definitely have some neurological symptoms, my guess is a pinched nerve(s) is most likely the cause of the problems you are having. Possibly a herniated or bulging disc in your cervical and lumbar spine.

I would recommend the use of an ice pack or cold pack three times a day for about ten minutes. Getting control of the inflammation will most likely improve your symptoms. Cold packs are also an excellent way to manage pain symptoms because they slow down the nerve conduction velocity.

Lower back exercises should be used if tolerated. In your case, those geared towards extension. Please see the exercise on page five of my “Lower back pain exercises” located on my website.

Lastly, quiet your activity whenever possible. More is less. Give your body a chance to heal.

Best Regards,

Tommy Hoffman, P.T.
http://www.backpainfirstaid.com

[Pauline]

I have been through all of your symptons and more, the advise from Augustine51 is great, I would suggest though hot pack instead of cold, and if the pain is very acute taking anti inflammatories is a must until the pain subsides as it is hard to do any real exercise.
When you are feeling up to it, you need to start working on your core muscles, I recommend seeing a pilates instructor, it is a great way to avoid the need for surgery.
I kept my symptons under control for years with this method, and swimming or walking is good too. The best and quickest way to get relief though is to get yourself a back brace, the one I use I bought from a medical supply shop and you can wear it under your clothes at work, and it will help you to think about controlling your core muscles and when they are strong enough to support the back you will have less problems. Trust me, I know.