Horrible Pain Flare Ups when resting (low back, buttocks, thighs) anyone else?

Has anyone experienced this? I tend to be active, and when I go to rest my pain feels off the chart lately. I am using a heat pad. I discovered 2 very good stretches. The relief from the stretches is not long lasting but they DO help. The heat helps. 1 Vicodin is so/so for help. It's difficult to find a good resting position, but I am fatigued from walking and pain.

Hope this makes sense.

(I am waiting for a Rhizotomy in my L4 Facet joints in a few weeks, a week prior to Cervical surgery for 5,6,7 disc replacements with hardware.)

Right now the low back referred pain is so bad. Taking deep breaths. Posting here, talked with hubby about it, emailing with a fellow suffering neighbor...

Merrida, thanks for the suggestion. Probably a better idea than what I'm doing on the floor with the stretches. I am nowhere near needing surgery for my lumbar area. Still trying to treat this with meds rest, epidurals, and the rhizotomy. <---(I think I spelled it right.)

Also, I'm starting to keep track of activity level along with pain level, it makes sense.yesterday I took a 40 minute, slow, walk without the dogs, picked wild berries...later in the night I was paying dearly for all my extra activity.

Learning the balance is difficult. Staying active while resting in between...I'm so grateful to be part of this awesome forum. :)

CspineLuvr, I have no clue what you are asking me. I need the surgery, otherwise I wouldn't have it. How did I go about "getting" this procedure? Well, the procedure hasn't happened yet.

You are correct. There was just a hiccup in the communication/interpretation lines.

Actual *disc replacements* with artificial hardware which mimic real, organic discs, is extremely new. These new procedures of using mechanical discs to restore height and function as a natural disc are still being tested. I think that's what Cspine was referring to??

What you're discussing, as I see it, sounds like fusion for where the discs have degenerated, so they're going to join the adjacent vertebrae with donor bone or your own bone for grafting. (Is that correct?)

Picking berries = not good for the back. All that bending!

Walking = pretty okay for the back (keep a slow and steady pace, don't let the doggies pull you)

Activities = keep you mobile (try to avoid the BLT's! Bending. Lifting. Twisting.)

Floor stretches = more often than not will aggravate your back! (Unless you're super strict with your form and very vigilant with regards to how in touch you are with proper body mechanics!!)








M.