Back Pain and Fibromyalgia
By Helen Watts
It’s said that back-pain is one of the biggest causes of time taken off work. This led me to thinking about it’s prevalence in people with fibromyalgia and wondering how many people suffered with their back so I turned to the Facebook groups and asked.
‘ZK’ “I think mine is part of fibro, it’s worse from my lower back up to my bra strap... I feel like I’ve been kicked in the back by a horse”.
‘SH’ “I’ve suffered with backache since having my first child 15 years ago but it was only ever mild and was mid back. Then I fell down some concrete steps a few years ago and developed Fibromyalgia. With it came pain in my lower back like nothing I've felt before. I was convinced I'd broken it. I have aches and joint pain everywhere but my back and hips are the worst”.
‘ST’ “I suffer from backache, been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the neck and lumbar spine, it’s degenerative”.
‘MCP’ I have severe back pain constantly. The worst part is my lower back, it’s so tender I can’t touch it and have to wear larger size trousers as can't stand the waistbands touching it. It has been like this from about 1994. I had physio in the beginning but have always been told there is nothing wrong and ' just keep smiling and carry on'”.
‘MF’ “I suffer terrible back pain. I have a frozen muscle by my right shoulder blade which drives me insane”.
‘SB’ “I suffer from backache really bad . I have arthritis at the base of my spine with a prolapsed disc, my doctor thinks I have arthritis in my neck too, also get cramp in my back all the time”.
‘JH’ “I have degenerative disc diesese. I know it’s not part of my fibro as I had the back problems first. But it doesn’t help having both. When I’m having a flare it starts in my neck and shoulders then it goes into my back”.
‘BL’ All this started with back ache for me mri shows mild protruding disc which I recently got told has improved but it doesn’t feel like that. Back hurts everyday. Ive learnt to manage it. Bending is a no no hoovering is a no no, food shopping online. Definitely can’t clean bathroom.
‘HF’ “I have back pain as part of Fibro. It flares up when I'm not being active enough and my core needs strengthening. Within days of doing core strengthening exercises the pain starts to recede. Over the years the quicker I've addressed it and started exercising, the quicker its resolved and the milder the pain has been. Rest and lack of movement is the enemy!”.
‘CL’ “Yes, though i have had prolapsed discs and have arthritis. That said i have the usual tender points in my back that are horrendous. Heat, vickes, light stretches, tens machine and spa/jacuzzi all help”.
‘KR’ “I have lower back pain, I have a lump that swells to the size of tennis ball when I bend down to much, consultant said it was a cyst but I'm not sure”.
‘AT’ “I get awful lower back pain and was told it is part of my fibromyalgia. I’m on medication for it”.
‘DW’ “yes but find it’s very different types of pain, fibromyalgia feels like acid in my joints and muscles, stabbing and shooting pains down my nerves, (all over my body) whereas back pain is more a deep burning, throbbing pain (in one place)... like a severe headache!”.
‘SB’ “Yes. Very much! Have been through mill last 6 months with various diagnoses... from facet degeneration to spondolyolythesis.... lot of lower back pain and numb legs and they suggest fusion which I’m concerned about”.
‘NW’ “Yes definitely back pain is a huge part of my life and sadly partly where I believe my fibro began! Having said that I have always had back pain and issues even with exercise (which currently is non existent!) I feel this can be tied in with my periods too although advised ALL the time it is a separate system one doesn’t affect the other.
Currently I have issue with debilitating discs and fusing of discs”.
‘KB’ “I have had lower back pain for several years, due to osteoarthritis. The pain I get now goes further up my back and to the sides, this I think is fibro related. Between my back and my legs these are the most debilitating”.
‘NR’ “Yes I do and have had numerous MRIs which are all ok so can only be Fibro related”.
‘GG’ “I’ve had a degenerative back condition since my teens after a sporting accident. Being so fatigued and resting a lot certainly hasn’t helped and my back is a lot stiffer and more painful since Fibromyalgia and CFS”.
‘CC’ “I have bulging discs and fused discs, cervical spondylosis and widespread OA as well as a host of other stuff. The fibro just adds to my widespread pain”.
‘BNS’ “I’ve had a bad back for many years, different pains in the back and sometimes with flare ups not able to hardly walk because of it. I thought I read some where that back pain was one of the symptoms you had to have for diagnosis of fibromyalgia”.
‘EG’ “I've had five slipped discs, all predated fibromyalgia, suffering hugely at the moment with muscular pain in between my shoulder blades, my rheumatologist told me it would only improve with muscle strengthening as it is due to muscle weakness, and my osteopath said she didn't understand why I was in so much pain and she had no more ideas. It is a disabling level of pain”.
‘SB’ “I have lower back pain and hip pain believed to be part of fibromyalgia. It is worse after sitting or lying down after long periods of time. It was causing me a lot of pain whilst trying to sleep. I have after doing a lot of research found 2 things that have alleviated the pain whilst sleeping and that is a Panda memory foam mattress topper which is about 3 inches thick and a leg pillow this is also memory foam. The difference is amazing and well worth the investment. The leg pillow actually takes the pressure of the legs and hips.
‘MLH’ “My main cause is my backache to my fibromyalgia. It started off with just my back, then it got worse and the pain spread to other parts of the body. My backache is the main cause of my limited mobility. Which means I am pretty much housebound.
‘AW’ “I can't touch certain points in my lower back. Had it xrayed and nothing wrong.
Also if I do anything strenuous at work (im a nurse) I get like a freezing cold pain trapped in my top half of my back whixh only goes away if I dont move for a few minutes and then be very careful after”.
‘JL’ “I’ve had back problems since early childhood and since the fibromyalgia diagnosis it's been put down to that. I just get told that I need to keep moving and stretching it will eventually help. I have pain killers when it is really bad. I have to be careful how much I do”.
‘SS’ “Back pain that starts in the lower back radiates up the spine and into the shoulder blades. Very painful. I think its fibro connected. The pain is really awful. Ive been referred back to the rheumatologist”.
‘FG’ “I had a bad back since a girl jumped on my back in PE at school in the 5th year.
After having sciatica three years ago, I had x-rays taken told I've got a compressed disk in my lower back. I had a flair up earlier this year with my back, just as Covid hit. Couldn't get any MRI booked as it wasn't available. Now, I've finally got one in early November as my back is grumbling almost all the time now”.
‘JJ’ “I have very bad pain in my back when I try walking it sends more pain sometimes it makes my neck and shoulders worse. I spend most of my time in an electric wheelchair but I had an occupational therapist tell me you’re not that sick so stopped my care temporarily that was 8 months a go even my doctor is confused”.
‘ED’ “I had a herniated disc at l4/l5 which required surgery in May 2019. Since then I do still get the occasional bout of back pain but nothing like it was”.
‘AP’ “I started with a bad back quite young soon after my first child, I honestly believe the 4 epidurals I had for childbirth started my back. I’ve since had another 5 due to ops and injections but also had a distectony and spinal fusion x I have DDD, spinal stenosis and nerve damage plus osteoarthritis and fibro. I need 2 crutches and can’t walk far now”.
‘SM’ “I have a continuous backache now that I have only had for the last 3-4 months. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgiaa year ago but it still seems to be developing for me and I do believe it is part of the Fibro. The backache can be the worse of the pain at times. I now have oramorph and diazepam for breakthrough pain. I use it sparingly - only when I really have to. This is on average 2-3 times a week when the pain gets absolutely unbearable. My GP trusts me to use it only when really required because as you will know they are all very wary of prescribing these drugs on an ongoing basis. I had a scan at the onset of the pain and there was nothing there that would explain the pain that I am in”.
‘ATP’ “I suffer lower back pain and upper back is the worst between my shoulder blades, when I come in from work I have to lie flat on the floor”.
‘JR’ “I have backache from fibro, arthritis and spinal stenosis. Believe it or not I can sometimes decipher which is worse”.
‘SDLR’ “My fibromyalgia actually started as a back pain. I thought I had sprained my back. It was a sharp pain between my shoulders first and later became a very bad back pain especially at the lower back. It was so bad that I became totally bed bound and remained so for 8-9 years, because doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing it. Even after I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, finding the right treatment took ages.
I am now partially functional with the help of a lot of medication”.
‘MC’ “I suffer from terrible back pain, lower back is worse. I now struggle to move because of the pain, and standing is absolute agony, I cannot stand for more than 2 minutes, so I struggle to try and make a cuppa or do anything in the kitchen, showering leaves me crying from pain even though I have a shower stool”.
‘MO’ “I have collapsed discs T5 - T8, from an undiagnosed fracture in my back (found 2014). In the last year the pain has been so bad between my shoulder blades I have had to take tramadol and morphine. A scan saw no further trauma, so the pain had to be from fibro but I'm not convinced”.
‘AG’ “I had surgery on my lower back. I had a decompression with fusion and had to back into surgery the week after as one of my screws had come loose. I am now having problems again with the same screw”.
‘VHT’ “I was taken to hospital last week due to back pain and couldn’t walk still can’t they told me it was arthritis and mainly fibromyalgia last time I was in hospital 7 weeks with it and even then that was the diagnosis it’s all in my spine if this helps”.
‘CH’ “I fell in 1998 and fractured my coccyx, I was told it would heal but it's been over twenty years and I still have so much pain my mobility is poor. I have multiple disc hernias, chronic pain in back and legs and arms, weakness all over body. The pain never goes away and no painkillers work at all. Fibro was diagnosed about 10 years and has not improved only got worse. Then 3 years ago my daughter who was 11 at the time fell and hurt her back, earlier this year she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. No amount of pain killers work for her and because of her age they can't give her very much other than ibuprofen, Co-Codamol or paracetamol heat and cold products don't help so basically she's in pain constantly”.
‘GL’ “I’ve had spinal problems since I was 19 when I had my first prolapsed disc (now 64) and now have 5 prolapses including a large one sitting on nerve root at bottom of spine. Have cervical spondlylosis and in lower spine, had osteoarthritis from a young age. Spinal problems run in my family, mum and brother the same and have had many operations. The pain and debilitation has definitely got worse since having fibro and CFS”.
‘KDM’ “I’ve suffered with backache for years and was told it was pain due to fibromyalgia. But in May this year I fell over and broke my coccyx. I have been on constant pain relief and nothing touches it. I fell over again last week and landed on my back again and now finally I’m going to get an MRI scan. I’m fed up with putting everything down to fibromyalgia”,
‘JK’ “I've suffered with my back for some years but it was only after having an abdominal hysterectomy that it got worse. I've since been told I have facet joint syndrome, severe lordosis and disc herniations in my lower back”.
‘NB’ “I have 3 facet joints out of the 5 on my left hand side of my back this disables me, it rubs up and down on the nervous system from doing the normal such as putting washing in a washing machine, crocks in the dishwasher and certain jobs. I have got round these scenarios however, like a lot of famous people who have got fibro I was carrying a lot of stress with myself around about when I had the accident with my back, that’s when I believe that fibro hit in the back is neurological and so is fibro. Fibro plays with the nervous system from head to toe. However if you have an injury to the back at the bottom half of the body it will effect the legs, balance, things like sciatica will turn up and come and go. However if pain and stress is there it can effect the whole body and you get overwhelmed by pain and pain signals and end up totally foggy with brain fog, then the speech goes, trying to manage everyday stress on top of the injury and fibro proves to be a challenge”.
‘SW’ “I have Osteoarthritis from cervical spondylosis and and arthritis in thoracic, lumbar sacral/iliac plus fibro pain I also have dehydrated discs in limbo/sacral area”.
‘AW’ “I have back ache every day, I think it's with the Fibro and osteoarthritis”.
Thank you to all the members of the groups who shared their stories so willingly and openly. If these comments sound like echoes of your story why not come along to the groups and chat.