back pain

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Schmutz

Active member
Joined
Apr 6, 2013
Messages
72
Reason
DX UMND/PLS
Diagnosis
06/2012
Country
US
State
NY
City
Rochester
Hi folks-

I fell Monday when going out to have dinner and celebrate our wedding anniversary.
It had snowed and the street sweepers had pushed the snow to the sides of the road and made it almost impossible to get to the sidewalk without walking through a big pile of dirty snow. When I fell I simply landed on my butt. I was able to stand again by pulling on the door handle of our car and my husbands hand. I didn't feel any immediate pain but in the days since then it feels like my whole skeleton got seriously shaken and my lower back is very painful.

I'm beginning to think I should see an orthopedic specialist - or could this be related to PLS? Does anyone else feel like their bones have been seriously disturbed?
:(

Thanks for any help.

Anne
 
yes, falling does damage even when we dont realize it. the last time i fell my legs went in opposite directions and i damaged something in my hip. still today getting in and out of cars hurts really bad when my legs are separated beyond a certain point, like one leg is in the car and other foot is still on ground.
 
The spasticity from PLS really messes up your muscles "relax on fall" plan, and you end up stretching connective tissue in a bad way at the least. It does complicate falls. :/
 
I have a lot of back pain if I have stood for too long
 
I agree with Beky. Falls certainly complicate what is ALREADY a "huge mess".....:eek:

In my world muscle spasms are my norm anyway - lumbar, thoracic, neck.

Falls do nothing less than jostle those muscles et al. that are not already actively hurting from spasm or from some other pain phenomena...

Anne, so sorry -- if the pain is new, it's likely due to your recent fall -- and not specifically due to PLS....although the two taken together probably come together to create exponentially greater pain than is usual for you.

It's like 1 + 1 = 3 (or 4, 5, or even 10)!

I hope you feel better soon, Anne!

Mike
 
Falls always cause more pain. Sometimes it takes a day or two to feel it. I agree also with Beky. Ice is your best friend. Use ice packs (or cold packs from the fridge) on the effected area. I personally have a good chiropractor who will use ultra sound waves as therapy on the effected area. This will reduce the inflammation and speed healing. Give it a few days of ice to see if it improves. If you do decide to see a chiropractor that you have never seen before, be sure that they understand what PLS is and how it effects you. They should not be doing really hard movements with you like they would a normal person. For me, I only see them when I have an injury because it helps heal it faster.
 
Thought I should add here that only this past Thursday, I spent several hours sweeping and mopping the downstairs floors, doing a few loads of laundry, and doing a few other varied and sundry tasks....you know, doing stuff that most healthy people would do on any given day.

BUT....as a consequence, I've paid for my undertakings as well. Clean house, yes....but yours truly has now had several days of pretty severe neck and back spasms and soreness (I am so sore, in fact, that I can't take a deep breath without feeling muscular pain).

All of this is inexplicable to me, really -- it's as if I'm in this new body (excepting that I regret to say that it doesn't feel very "new" to me at all) and I'm surely not liking it very much either. Only several months ago, after I helped my son unload his moving truck, I experienced only mild to moderate muscle discomfort.

What happened to that person who used to work work 18 hours a day, sleep for 4-5 hours, and then get up and do it all again? And do all of this for days on end?

Whatever the answer, I suppose it's best not to ruminate....because as we've established elsewhere, the science cannot (or maybe it will not?) explain any of it.

Mike
 
I never used to get startled by any thing. (I was in an Artillery Battery (4 big guns) and at any time one of the other three guns would fire without me knowing... I lost my "jumpies" over there.) For the rest of the years, up until recently someone could slam a door behind me and it wouldn't startle me. Anyway, I can no longer tolerate an "Adrenaline Rush" from a loud noise or incident. This past summer as I was standing near our hedges a huge Black Snake came out and went right between my feet... It startled me so, I was weak, dizzy and had a headache for several hours afterwards. I am not afraid of snakes. Five years ago I would have tried to pick him up. I've held and showed Black Snakes to kids years ago.
A few weeks ago a car ran a stop sign right in front of me, I slammed on the brakes, got off the brakes and made a sharp swerve. I had to pull in a parking lot and just sit there for about 25 minutes, even then I struggled with my driving getting home. Yes, this hits us in many different ways.
 
Hi Clearwater AL,

Your last post above is an interesting one. A few years ago, I also became more easily startled -- e.g., a slamming door, the dryer bell going off, dog barking, etc. I do know that folks with M.S. tend to have this as a symptom, and so I imagine that it affects individuals with MND as well.

Strange, though.....because the symptom went away. I don't have this anymore (I[m not complaining.... :)).

Mike
 
My husband is extremely affected with adrenalin rushes as well. That is why we ultimately started to use a lift to transfer him, as if he even had a slight trip up, not even close to falling, he was done for a couple of hours. He is not startled by loud noises though, and has not had this problem since he is a total lift.
 
I'm "ok" with loud noises if I have somewhat of an awareness (suspect environment) like a thunderstorm coming. A month or so ago we had one where a couple lightning strikes were so close that the flash and bang were nearly at the same time. That wasn't a problem. I guess it's when I'm nodding off in "my chair" with my headphones listening to 50s & 60s on XM. (It's not talking a nap... it's listening to songs with my eyes closed. Couldn't tell you what songs I heard but I was NOT taking a nap.) :) :) :)

PS One nap in the afternoon is a good thing. The other ones aren't naps. :) :)
(And.. around here a lot of my listening sessions aren't too long before something interrupts them)
 
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Yes,

I have fallen many times and had lower back issues several days later. As our abdominal muscles go it is hard to stand or sit straight for a neutral spine position.
I hate to do it, but 800mg of Ibuprofen after food for a day or two usually helps things right.
 
I always seem to feel the effects of a fall a day or two later. It seems to be just the normal soreness from a fall in the area that I hit. The good news is, it almost seems like I've learned how to fall. Sure I might reach and grab for anything nearby and I eventually hit the floor, it just seems in slow motion sometimes. The hardest part is getting to my knees, then find something I can grab and pull myself up with. Then I look back at the fall and think "wow" my head was close to this or that, just seem to always miss things. Although I do have a medical alert button for when I'm home alone just in case (too stubborn to push it so far). As far as being "startled", I have an extreme sensitivity to anything quick or loud that I was not ready for. I have way to many examples to list. But things like taking a drink and the phone rings and it ends up all over my shirt (lol). Other things that make me jump when I'm not ready...garage door, door bell, dog barking, and on and on. It is amazing how quick the body can go from relaxed to jumping and tense/stiff...not a big thing, but not fun either.
 
When I first got out of the service I worked for American Bridge Company out of Tampa. Without saying, I was not afraid of heights. Now, at the top of a full set of stairs... I can feel my legs shake. Sometimes I put both hands on the rail and go down kinda sideways until I'm fairly close to the bottom. My, my... how things change. :)

Being honest, not "sometimes"... all the time. Guess I'd like to think I could still use one hand.
 
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When I first got out of the service I worked for American Bridge Company out of Tampa. Without saying, I was not afraid of heights. Now, at the top of a full set of stairs... I can feel my legs shake. Sometimes I put both hands on the rail and go down kinda sideways until I'm fairly close to the bottom. My, my... how things change. :)

Being honest, not "sometimes"... all the time. Guess I'd like to think I could still use one hand.

I agree 100%...I have a stairlift for one section of my house. But from my middle room to my upper level there are two sets of three steps each, with the front door entrance in between. So basically they can't put one there because it is not a straight angle. Back to your point...I have to grab the railing tight going down or I just can't go down. An outside downhill slope is even worse with nothing to grab onto, my body goes faster than my legs can...lol
 
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