hello! Posting here to see if anyone has any suggestions on next steps to find relief for my back pain.
here are the stats:
-28, female. I’m semi active. hiking, skiing, before the most recent flare I was marathon training. Normal weight.
-pain has been on and off for 7 years. usually a week every month then goes away.
- recent flare up for 8 months straight.
-no injury or trigger.
-doctor/PT thinks it is SI Dysfunction. pain in my low back, basically my butt. Mostly left side, sometimes right.
-dull achy, tight pain. Usually a constant 3-6, it will spike to 8 with random movement.
WHAT I HAVE TRIED
-I went to PT for 7 months, very diligent on exercise. no improvement. I basically failed out of it. PT said just keep at it.
- steroid injection - got this like a month ago? worked for about 2 weeks (PAIN WAS GONE!!!) now the pain is back
-dry needling. Didn’t help it just hurt more
-SI belt. I got one recently. This seems to help. pain still is there
-heat helps, hot baths are really great
-stretching and walking helps if pain is moderate that day.
IMAGING
I had an x ray done at orthopedic doctor. they said things actually look perfect and normal.
IMPACT
im mentally exhausted. I’ve spent too many nights crying just wanting this to end. When I see people my age jump or run it just breaks my heart that I can’t do that.
it’s hard for me to find positions to fall asleep, I have trouble watching movies on the couch with my husband.
I‘m dedicated and want to challenge myself with sports but I feel so chained by my pain.
QUESTIONS ON HOW TO MOVER FORWARD
idk what to do here. This sucks.
should I see a different type of specialist? MRI?
TLDR: suspected SI dysfunction. failed out of PT. xray showed nothing wrong. Injection helped for only 2 weeks. SI belt, ibuprofen and heat are useful to help but don’t solve.
looking for next steps.