I have seen a few folk on this forum who have had some nasty back problems (I think Arnie is one). I could do with a steer if anyone can help

I get neck spasm every couple of years, sometimes for maybe a day or so then they disappear, sometimes however they get quite bad and I end up on pethidine and diazepam. Its starts of like a twinge at the back of my neck and over a period of maybe 2 weeks it turns into pain so severe I want to kill myself to end the pain, usually I am in hospital at this point where the good doctors will inject drugs into me to make me feel happy. I think the problem stems from me being so tall ... 6ft6, always ducking through door ways etc. and a violent rugby playing past

Is there a strain that could help the muscle relax to prevent it from going into a crazy spasm. I was doing around 70mg (From memory) of diazepam last time and I got really depressed when I came straight off them. I want to avoid those drugs this time.

Any help would be so so well received , thank you.

Martin

E2A I have tried reflexology, chiropractors, massages, acupuncture, exercises for the muscles and a host of other things to no avail. At the moment the only thing that works for sure is a large shot of pethidine and a course of diazepam.

Have you seen a chiropractor at all Martin,i get muscle spasms in my back caused by my job,i can live with it most of the time but when it gets too bad it restricts my movement and i cramp up which too much to take and i need manipulating. The relief doesn`t last long but it helps. Hope this helps.

Missus potatoes has a bad neck - she swears by eating pot cookies and a good chiropractor - I think they vary a lot, and it can take a little while to find a good one. Maybe you need to be manipulated on a monthly basis when you feel O.K to keep everything in line, rather than waiting until things have shifted and it really hurts?

Hope you feel better soon buddy...

personally i think its about time you stopped wearing those platform boots......especially looking like peter beardsley

sorry forgot to add i use Axsain(capsaicin) cream on my neck and shoulder....very very hot

hi ya martin .... have you had a diagnosis yet of the actual cause of the back problem...?.. you ideally need to find out what is wrong first to be able to treat the problem... the spasms may just be from general wear and tear of the mussels or they could be an indicator of something skeletal or other problem... you should really be trying to find that out first....

I have had 3 laminectomys on my spine now ...( I had another MRI today) and suffer badly with my back and to compound the problem ..I have a shit load of mercury based adhesions inside the meninges (arachnoid membrane) and have developed Arachnoiditis as a result of fucked up use of myodil in having a Myelogram xray of my spine .....you seem to have run through all the normal courses of action but to no avail ....

you can end up going round in circles trying to treat something that you don't even know the root cause of ......

for me at this stage its just pain management .. so I suggest you start looking for the cause .....

you need to try and sus out when you may be about to have a spasm... look for the tale tale signs of pre mussel tension (the spasm is a warning if you like)
and try to nip it in the bud before it becomes a full blown spasm...

there is only one smoke that I use to ease my spasms and that is pure gold (indica) its the only plant I have going all the time .. no matter what else I'm growing ,
its a full on couch lock ... but such a nice smoke and really helps my spasms

as for pain management well your doctor will help you with that ....

I started Thi chi about 8 years ago and I find this really does help.. let alone the fact that its good for you in general ... the simplicity and elegance of the movements all done in a very slow and gentile way ... are a plus for my back (lower.middle,neck)

good luck dude

riptd

Fuckin hell.... Gigantore!!

Thank you for the responses to this, thank you rip, rat, tight and andy

I will try all of these things. I am a lucky bugger really as it only happens maybe once every 2-4 years, I truly feel lucky I am not living with it full time, god help and bless anyone that is, I do not think I could hack it if I was.

Have had discussions with folk about the possible causes and had scans and whatnot on the upper spine. Nothing has been found as being untoward. A doctor who gave me pethidine last time told me he had seen other cases identical where there is no explanation for the spasm, it just happens and when it does its nasty. My gut instinct tells me its a mixture of stress, poor posture, always ducking through doors, heavy gym training in the past and years being in the 2nd row of the scrum.

Hiya Martin

sorry to hear about your back and neck man - last coupla years I've had severe back pain, secondary to other stuff. I'm assuming you've thought about physiotherapy to pre strengthen the back and neck muscles Might be worth a thought if you havn't gone down that route. If you have and you just said so my apologies. I'm tall too and my posture's never been much good - and I played 2nd row - that just excacerbates current back problems, a life of not really thinking about it till I've had to. My physio appt took ages to come through but has been well worth it

As far as instant relief when it's acute goes, I'm glad the pethidine & diazepam do the trick mate Sorry if that's a little incoherent

Can't add to what Rip has said, its bang on the money.
Ti Chi, you say Rip? Must give that some thought. Hmmmm.....

Thanks Arbs

Yeh I tried physiotherapy a few years ago but the problem still came back, I don't think muscle strength is the issue though I might be wrong.

Its hard to really know whether anything works as it only crops up every few years (It actually happens about every 6 months but most times it goes away again with only very mild discomfort for a short time) but when it goes bad it goes really bad. I saw a doctor yesterday and he told me to stop holding my neck the way I do when it starts to hurt, he said I must keep moving it otherwise the spasms will get worst but its hard to move it normally when it hurts like fuck. I look like Dr Evil when I turn around, no head movement just a whole upper body turning round.

Horrible things these spines eh

It is unforgivable that anyone is left to come straight off 70mg diazepam. Diazepam has direct effects on the brain, and causes small but significant changes as a response, as many medicines do. Stop taking diazepam requires the brain to revert to it's normal state, but that takes time, which is why coming off should be a slow monitored reduction of dose, otherwise anxiety and or depression will almost always happen.

I don't think any emotion/feeling can exist without two parts, one thought, and the other a physical expression, so it could well be stress/anxiety.

I think having a look at the Alexander Technique might be worthwhile. Never used it myself, but the few people I know who have recommended it. You see the techniques that you have tried are mostly someone else administering them. The Alexander Technique requires your efforts. Ultimately, no one can possibly know your body as well as you, you've got twenty four hours a day to watch it after all.

Would you fekin believe it,i was admiring my plants this morning just before lights out and i had a sharp pain shot down my neck and into my back,now i`ve had this before but strangely it has always happened just as i woke and not before i got up so i used to put it down to sleeping awquardly,well today it has really pissed me off,i managed to make it till 3pm until i had to take painkillers,and oddly enough the last script my doc gave me he upped the codine in the tablets to 30mg and is doing a good job so far. I haven`t had it for a while and i think this is similar to what you were talking about Martin,only it has only lasted a couple of day max. Funny how pain jogs the memory!

Sorry to hear ratdog, neck pain aint nice.

Mine seems to have righted itself now. I quiver with fear every time it flairs up because I know what it could end up like. It was a bad run of it this time, not tragic but pretty grim, but it seems to be over with now, still walking and moving like a freak but can live with that till its totally better.

Gonna try some of the things mentioned in this thread before it next kicks off.