MY
PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE
WITH
LOWER
BACK
PAIN
On
6th
September
2014,
I
developed
intense
lower
back
pain
without
cause.
Thinking
it
was
a
muscle
spasm,
I
rested,
alternating
the
rest
with
non-‐weight
bearing
exercises,
used
heat,
took
medication
and
had
physio.
After
a
few
days
I
went
back
to
work
only
to
exacerbate
the
pain
again.
I
repeated
this
regime
3
times,
each
time
adding
a
few
more
rest
days
(1
½
-‐
4
-‐
9
days).
After
these
3
episodes
of
rest
and
treatment
my
pain
was
under
control
and
I
could
go
back
to
work
and
treat
my
patients.
My
lower
back
was
comfortable
but
I
still
had
to
stand
and
move
carefully.
I
had
an
odd
swelling
across
my
lower
back
which
I
had
never
seen
in
any
patient
in
24
years
as
a
physio.
This
should
have
sounded
alarm
bells,
but
of
course
it
didn’t.
On
the
insistence
of
my
Mom,
colleagues
and
staff
I
went
for
an
ultrasound
(20
days
after
the
pain
and
swelling
had
started).
The
radiologist
insisted
on
an
MRI
after
the
ultrasound
which
confirmed
that
I
had
an
abscess
around
L3
level
spreading
into
the
muscles
and
between
the
L3
and
L4
spinous
processes.
It
was
not
a
muscle
spasm.
I
was
advised
to
see
a
neurosurgeon
immediately
as
he
was
not
sure
if
the
infection
had
spread
into
the
bones.
After
admission
into
hospital,
the
neurosurgeon
said
he
would
first
try
intravenous
antibiotics.Unfortunately
the
infection
didn’t
respond
to
the
antibiotics
and
I
ended
up
having
surgery
6
days
after
admission.
Luckily
the
surgery
was
uneventful.
The
infection
was
only
in
the
muscles
and
soft
tissue
and
it
could
be
removed.
I
was
sent
home
3
days
after
surgery
with
copious
antibiotics
to
continue
taking
for
a
further
2
weeks.
I
went
back
to
work
about
18
days
after
my
surgery.
My
condition
continued
to
improve
over
the
next
3
weeks
but
I
had
to
be
careful.
5
weeks
after
surgery
I
was
virtually
pain
free.
I
only
experienced
a
prickly
sensation
around
the
wound
on
extreme
forward
bending.
I
was
feeling
like
a
normal
human
being
again.