Arthritis of spine and muscle spasms 😥

Lindymary

Hi,

Anyone else here with arthritis in the spine or sacro illiac joint? I had a spinal fusion aged 30, I'm now 58 (eeeek!) and struggling with osteoarthritis to the spine and sacroilliac joint as a result of being fused for so long. I'm really struggling at the moment, I can't walk for more than 15 minutes and sitting is incredibly painful - but worst of all are the awful muscle spasms. The muscles of my low back frequently go into very painful spasms, which take days, or even weeks to settle. Has anyone found anything that helps prevent or treat these awful episodes?

I'm seeing a consultant at the moment who is arranging an MRI and also bloods for various autoimmune diseases as he tells me these spasms are not particularly common....

YvonneH

Hi @Lindymary ,

Lovely to meet you, I’m very glad you have found us, if there’s one thing we understand it’s pain. Your problems lie with your spine and sacroiliac joint, though you are worried about muscle spasms as your consultant isn’t sure what’s going on.

I can remember the 'not being able to put yourself anywhere' kind of pain as I managed to break my si joint twice (I know I’m a slow learner) and now it has fused itself but not in a painful way. I used to stand and lean on the back of a chair with a pillow on top to protect my arms, which did bring some relief.

Its great that your consultant is organising further investigations to get you sorted out, I hope there’s not too long to wait.

Here’s our information on osteoarthritis of the spine. I think you will know most of this but there may be a little nugget of fresh information that might help you

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-spine/

and here's information on pain relief

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

Take care

Yvonne x