back injuries

[artteacher]

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry to not have checked in often - I'll try and be better about it now that we're back from traveling.

An observation and then a question: I have noticed that my symptoms are worse when my back is giving me problems. Could this mean that a pinched nerve, or something, could be disrupting normal intestinal contractions?

How many of us have had lower back injuries?

For instance, when my first baby was born, she was pulled out with forceps, popping out one of the vertebra in my lower back.
The third baby was a C-section, & when they pulled him out, intestines came with - they pushed them back in and sewed me up.
When he was about 3 months old I fell rollerskating and couldn't stand upright for a few days.
8 years later I had a couple pretty significant falls on ice that required physical therapy and chiropractors.

Marsha

[Dee]

Hi Marsha
I can only speak from experience of attending my husband's and son's back doctor appointments.
Every time the doctors have asked them if they were having any bladder or colon problems.
My husband had and my son is now dealing with 3 ruptured discs that are causing him much pain because they are pinching on nerves.
So far neither has had any problems with their bladders or colons.
May be something that you want to get checked out!

Dee~~~~~

[tex]

Hi Marsha,

There definitely is a link with the nerves there. This doesn't really apply to you, since you haven't "lost control", but it illustrates the connection:

http://mybackpaintherapy.com/blog/loss- ... l-control/

I hope it's just a minor nuisance, and nothing serious.

Tex

[artteacher]

Thanks for the link, Tex. No, (knock on wood) no total loss of control yet. Just "going off the diet" loss of control, like we all experience.

Talk to ya all later! Marsha

[harvest_table]

Hi ya Marsha!

An observation and then a question: I have noticed that my symptoms are worse when my back is giving me problems. Could this mean that a pinched nerve, or something, could be disrupting normal intestinal contractions?
Marsha

Or..... could it be that your back is giving you more problems as a result of your MC symptoms acting up? Just curious, are you talking about symptoms of D or C?

I don't have a back injury however I had chronic muscle, joint and serious lower back pain for a very long time prior to my CC DX.

Have been following a pain site called Pain Medical Musings and the MD believes that any GI illness seems to cause psoas spasm and hence back pain. Here's a quote where he specifically is referring to those of us with MC and questioning whether MC is an undiagnosable pain generator.

There is a growing awareness that colitis can occur without any observable lesions on colonoscopy. Microscopic colitis is occasionally associated with spondylitis and may be associated with myofascial back pain by activating psoas and abdominal wall spasms. How then does one make a diagnosis?

You can read full text here

http://painmuse.org/?p=21

If you google psoas muscle it's easy to understand how this is likely to happen, and especially if you have a previous back injury like yourself.

Hope your doing well!

Love,
Joanna

[Delta]

I have had mild pain in the mid back region on and off for some months, I have had two different doctors tell me it is associated with swollen lymph nodes, the lymph nodes that I have that are swollen are mesenteric, described in the report as "non-specific mesenteric lymph nodes,predominately less than 1.3 cm, a few greater than 1.5 cm in the mid-abdominal region towards the right side" I spoke to the surgeon who did my hernia operation, but whom I was refered to in the first place for the swollen lymph nodes, it was his opinion that these were responsible for the pain in my back. Now if this somehow relates to your situation I have no way of knowing, but because I do have mild back pain, and a doctor did say it was associated with MC and these swollen lymph nodes I am passing along the little I know.
Dan

[crranch]

Hello,

Just had to drop our two cents worth in....Rick has been having lower back trouble for some time now, and when a doctor injected the muscle in his lower back with pred, his MC symptoms were completely gone for 2 weeks and he felt wonderful. But when the effect wore off, back to the same old symptoms. He is now having epidural steroid injections to help with his nerve problems in his back, they don't seem to help the MC symptoms like the first one did.

Carrie

[kate_ce1995]

I've been having back pain that at least partially relieves itself with bowel movements. I've been having a flare from a staph infection and whether its been the pressure from a full colon, or the spasms to get rid of the poop, I'm not sure, but it affects my back either right above my hips and/or at the bottom of my rib cage. Not fun for sure.

Hope everyone's backs feel better.
Katy

[artteacher]

Thanks for weighing in on the question everyone. I've never heard so many unfamiliar words before: mesenteric and psoas, and I'm sure there's a couple more in there. Some things to think about . .
Marsha