All I can afford is exersize and an occasional masage from a certified massage therapist with strong hands. Both help. Ive had back problems along time and keeping fit, working and strenthening the mucles, keeping loose is all I know that works for me.

Well in my back pain research for class I learned that the best treatment is to stay active and not focus on the pain.. distraction can help, but resting doesn't as it can lead to disuse and disability. But if you do exercise don't make them back-orientated as this could cause more damage, but do exercise the body as a whole. I was pretty confused by what they were saying, myself!

Anyway from what I know, surgery has a weak correlation with an affective outcome.. CBT, NSAIDs and weak opiods are the best things to help, as well as support and guidance form a trained physician.
I'm really eager for someone to find out the cause and get it sorted, as it really annoys me that so many people are going through this!

Hope you do not mind me saying this, but can you go and see your Doctor? You can get so much advice from him/her. The Medical Field has come so far the in the past 12 years.
Kase

Guess I'm noone to give advice as I have given up on pain relief. I just do the wrong thing, I avoid activity. I am very limited being able to stand up.

Gosh, go to the doctor, there are so many specialities out there. Try one at a time, or several and see what they say. Get some new tests done and see what the results are now.

Good luck.

hard to help when i cant seem to find where you say exactly what your back problem is? i'm still learning to navigate everything here.Thanks for founing this site it has been my saving grace I think I'd havehad myself locked up (seriously) if I hadn't found such wonderful people to help and be helped by.Hugs to you God Bless Sue

Staying active works well for me. Unfortunately, the only way I can do that is with the help of weak opioids, otherwise I tend to sit or lay around because of the pain. Getting the drugs is always a problem. Whether or not I get them is pretty much at the whim of my doc. That is just wrong, but it is a very common problem. Good luck.

gentle stretching excercises is good for your back. I would seek a professional concerning your back pain. Then you will know which way to treat the pain.

I have suffered from lumbar pain for almost 2 years. The same old bulging disc diagnosis, sciatica etc etc. In researching I found out about Dr. John Sarno and his theories on TMS - Tension Myositis Syndrome. I read his book "Healing Back Pain, The Mind Body Connection" and it has changed my life. My pain level has gone from a 5-6 to a 1 in just one week after reading the book. I stopped doing the "back strengthening exercises", stopped taking Celebrex and stopped restricting my activitiy. I'm ordering his other books asap. Although not all back pain is a result of TMS, alot of it is, including other chronic pain conditions. Read the book! You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain!