(No subject)

[Guest guest]

Hi, Margie,

<<<Hello all,

I've been having a new problem for the last year and would like to know

if others have experienced it and whether they have come up with any

answers. I developed sacroilitis, a problem with the joint where the

hips and spine come together that can take a long time to resolve, last

year and it caused me to have to sleep only on my back with a pillow

under my legs. As I result, I stopped moving while sleeping. Now, when I wake

up and get out of bed, sharp pains will shoot through the

muscles of my upper back. They are quite severe, feeling like the

muscles are being ripped from the bone. The shooting pains don't last

long, probably less than a minute or two, but then the muscles ache for

several hours, sometimes all day. I have found that I can reduce the

shooting pains quite a bit by moving gently to stretch the muscles

before I attempt to get out of the bed but it doesn't help the aching.

It wouldn't surprise me if no one else has experienced this. I have had severe

problems with muscle spasms in my upper body for many years due

to a motorcycle wreck 30 years ago that smashed my left shoulder. The

bone fragments tore up the muscles and now they are so full of scar

tissue that they don't work properly. I had joint replacement but they

can't do anything about the muscles. The muscles in my back, especially around

the shoulder blade, try to compensate for the damaged muscles

and that results in muscle spasms so I'm very restricted in how and how

much much I use my damaged arm.

>>>

It sounds similar to the pain I feel when one of my ribs (always the same one)

starts dislocating from the socket along the spine. While heat does help, it

doesn't keep the aches and pain away. I have found that when I leave the rib

dislocated for too long, it can cause a trigger point to appear over it, and

that has a constant ache as well as pain whenever it is touched or moved. The

best treatment I have found is an osteopathic doctor (DO) who is

specifically trained in osteopathic manipulation. This is similar to a

chiropractor's adjustments, but more focused on the body as a whole

rather than just the individual muscle or vertebra.

(a DO is similar to an MD, but with more training on musculoskeletal problems

and their treatment. The DO I go to is doing only osteopathic manipulations, and

teaching how to do them, so she is quite well versed on them.

I have found that DOs in general tend to be more accepting of chronic

conditions. MDs are by training generally better at acute conditions, but tend

to get frustrated by anything chronic.)

Jerry