Hi Peachy, I've been in agony over the past 10 days or so with lower back pain in particular, but I do have pains & aches in my mid and upper back too, but it's worse at the lower.
Many years ago I had a absess at the very tip of my back due to heavy lifting & pulling when working in a steel foundry. My Doc told me at the time that it would always be a weak area from now on and told me to be very careful.
I had many sessions of Physio at the time and since. That was many years before PD came along. Every job I've had has involved heavy lifting of some kind.
I don't think you can get back pain totally due to PD, but it can affect your posture and that's when the problems start, PD can home-in on your weak points like my lower back problems that I'm having at the moment, it's really painful and only the strongest painkillers give me peace from it, but I'm going to have treatment tomorrow morning, a little massage therapy etc.... and I'll see how that goes for a little while.
There's an old saying "Once you have a bad back, you've always got a bad back" and I know that to be sooo very true.

Looking after your posture especially if you have PD and other movement disorders is vitally important.... "Look after your back and your back will look after you" my Dad used to say.

I hope your pain is short lived and I wish you well.

Yours Sincerely Dirky !!;O))xx hugs too...

Hi Dirky , my back is wrecked. Really hurting in the lower back.

I an friends in simpatico with the Agony part today

I had this thought recently, might be another one of my wacko ideas tho. I recently saw a show on the brain, and what part of the brain relates to what sense.

It came to me this thought, the part of the brain that PD comes from is the substantia niagra (yep spelled that wrong) in the lower part of the brain, down near the spinal cord area.

I had this thought, we all know if spinal cord damage is bad enough you cant walk. I wondered if bad back ache might affect that part of the brain, hence has something to do with PD.

Starting the onset of PD ?

I saw a chiropractor when l was in my 20's he made me stand on two weighing scales, eg left foot on one, and right foot on the other. He was shocked to see l was drastically out of balance, weighing 10kilos more on one side than the other. He said that if l was 4 kilos out of whack he would worry, but 10 kilos was a bad bad thing.

He told me l would have problems in the future. I did not believe him, as l did not have any back pain, nor any back problems at all.

I saw a video clip on youtube a while ago, where a chiropractor said many people with PD have certain damage to their spines around C6 and C7 vertebrae, he massaged them and PD symptoms greatly relieved.

I wondered how many people here had back pain. Wow imagine if l stumbled across something

Off to find my anti inflammatory pills OUCH

I think back pain was my first sign of early onset PD. Started in my lower back and left leg. The pain was awful. Had to sell my motorcycle because of it. After an hour of riding I was still and in pain. It hasnt gotten any worse since my DX but now i take hydrococdone to help control it. My MRI showed nothing. When it is at its worst it radiates up to my middle back and starts a burning type pain. This is no fun so I heop you find relief. Dave flyboy57

OT? ..... I have the PD, my poor wife has the chronic back pain. I guess, after carrying me for the last 16 years, something had to give.

OOPS ..... I did mean caring for me, not carrying me. Or did I? Chuckle chuckle!

I have neck pain that runs into my shoulders. My chiropractor encourages me to relax my shoulders, but I can't seem to get it done. The muscles seem to constantly contract, part of PD I suppose.My upper back seems to be affected by the stiffness in my neck, shoulders, and etc...

Faith - I used to have horrible pain in between my shoulder blades on the early onset of my pd. Chiiro told me to stretch my pectoral muscles in my chest. Seems funny but it worked. I stand in a open doorway (interior door) with my elbows on each door frame.Slowly i lean my body forward to strectch my chest muscles. Be very careful but slowly strectch for a count of 30.
Hope it helps.

You may be on to something sweet Peach. I have battled lower back pain for the last 2 years after never having back trouble. I said I would never get injections but after 3 mattresses, lots of exercise and PT I've had 3 different series. The only thing that helped was the wonderful IV drug (but that wears off) so now I've decided it must be PD.

Kind of ironic that I used to have serious neck pain (I blamed on work, kids, life, etc) but as soon as I began Azilect and Sinement - Gone!

Another PD mystery - take care....

Hello Peachybum,

I do have pain in my lower back and shoulders. The pains developed after I had been diagnosed with PD. In between DR. visits I started to take Ibuprofen (self-prescribed) which helped to alleviate the pain. When I saw my DR. she took me off Ibuprofen and prescribed Tramadol which I take first thing in the morning (25 mg) and right before I go to bed (25 mg). Tramadol has worked very well for me.

Take care,
Joe

Hi Peachy,

The first sign that my meds are wearing off is stiffness in my hand, neck and upper back along with pain in the neck and back.

Hi Peachy,

Yes, I think you're onto something - I've had lower back and neck pain at C6 level for years and have recently been told that PD has affected my posture.

Lots of brufen and exercises for me too I'm afraid!

I hope you're feeling a bit better,

Julie

Wow - some things may be falling into place here for me too. For the past year I have had an achy back when I sit too long at work. I chalked it up to getting older. Now I wonder - is it the stiffness from PD? Who knows! But It sure seems like this stinking disease has many ways to wreck havoc with our bodies. :(

I think it is very interesting that we all seem to suffer back pain. Has anyone had an xray on their spine, especially around the C6 spine area (being the neck)

I know I am grabbing at straws and trying anything to not have PD, so humor me please.

As I have early on set Parkinsons, with no history of it at all in my family, I'm wondering why I have it. I recently did a genetic test (which is free if you had PD) through 123and me,which came up with results that l had a 2% chance of developing PD.

Sooooooo basically I figure I should not have this

When I stumbled across some information on C6 spinal damage, being the spine and back area. I wondered if maybe, just maybe I have some compressed nerve, or something wrong in that area, which mimics PD

Well guess I'm wishing that was the reason.

So the question now is "Has anyone had an xray of the spine around the C6 or C7 area

Just curious

Hi Peachy,

I've had spinal x rays and an MRI of the cervical spine which shows a bilateral exit foraminal stenosis at the C5/C6 level, exactly where you're looking. I too have early onset Parkinson's with no history of it in the family and would love more than anything for your theory to be right.

But, I hate to tell you this Peachy, my Neuro tells me this could not account for the vast majority of the symptoms. To clarify things I had a DaTSCAN which was significantly abnormal - proving I have PD.

I hope you've got a firmer grip of those straws than me, a compressed nerve sounds like a walk in the park doesn't it? If you've got any real doubts you could always have a DaTSCAN too.

Take care

Julie

I know your 100% prob correct hopeful46, as my other thought is well if it is just C6 damage, why does Levodopa work (meds)

PS, what is a Datscan, I have never had anything explored , i was basically told Peach "you have pd" therefore you need medication. Nothing more has been done. No Scans, no anything really