03-09-2025, 11:29 PM
I have had lower back pain for a long time. My lower 5 vertebrae are "degenerative" which is essentially losing the fluid in and around the disks. It is just potluck, and I have learned to live with it. The pain is constant though, never ends. Sometimes it gets excruciating but that is generally when I have done something silly like overextending an arm to grab a heavy object or some other random minor event.
I have been on "Synthetic Morphine" patches for over five years, they last a week, and you just stick them on any part of your body and permanently have one on. I found them brilliant. They don't make you drowsy or anything and you go about your normal day. They are designed for that constant low level 3-4 out of 10 pain, not serious acute pain. But after five years I had a few Doctors telling me to take a break from them and start at the very basic level of pain control again but a lot of it. I now take eight 500mg Paracetamol a day (sound a lot but is a very safe tablet). But the advice is to take every four hours regardless of your state of pain as the effect is cumulative. I get on well with them and get good results.
If I know I will be on long sequential days on the bike I will often take one of those stretchy lower back supports that wrap around the waist and Velcro tight. You can buy from the Chemist/Pharmacy at a reasonable price. These make a considerable difference on long journeys.
It is easy to attribute hip, knee or leg pain to the back nerves and it is often not the case. I was convinced my back pain was going down the nerve into my hips, down the leg and to the knee. That turned out to be Bursitis in the hip and knee and some tendonitis in the knee, nothing to do with my back at all.
I have been offered back surgery to cauterize nerve endings but have always declined. My father was a Medical Doctor and told me that if a back surgeon ever tells you he can operate on your spine to get rid of pain “run a mile”!
I have been on "Synthetic Morphine" patches for over five years, they last a week, and you just stick them on any part of your body and permanently have one on. I found them brilliant. They don't make you drowsy or anything and you go about your normal day. They are designed for that constant low level 3-4 out of 10 pain, not serious acute pain. But after five years I had a few Doctors telling me to take a break from them and start at the very basic level of pain control again but a lot of it. I now take eight 500mg Paracetamol a day (sound a lot but is a very safe tablet). But the advice is to take every four hours regardless of your state of pain as the effect is cumulative. I get on well with them and get good results.
If I know I will be on long sequential days on the bike I will often take one of those stretchy lower back supports that wrap around the waist and Velcro tight. You can buy from the Chemist/Pharmacy at a reasonable price. These make a considerable difference on long journeys.
It is easy to attribute hip, knee or leg pain to the back nerves and it is often not the case. I was convinced my back pain was going down the nerve into my hips, down the leg and to the knee. That turned out to be Bursitis in the hip and knee and some tendonitis in the knee, nothing to do with my back at all.
I have been offered back surgery to cauterize nerve endings but have always declined. My father was a Medical Doctor and told me that if a back surgeon ever tells you he can operate on your spine to get rid of pain “run a mile”!
