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Suggest Treatment For Chronic Back Pain And Vitamin D Deficiency
Question: Hi.
I have a complaint of back pain for the past 3 years and am on pain medications and Physiotherapy as well. I am 29 years old. My last MRI which was in XXXXXXX 2015 showed a mild disc bulge in L5-S1 and surprisingly i have found that i have a Vitamin D Difficency (Level was 7). I am started on Vitamin D tablets.
Will the Vitamin D tablets help in the pain and symptoms of the back pain? Can it be related to my condition? What are the complications of this Vitamin D Difficency
I have a complaint of back pain for the past 3 years and am on pain medications and Physiotherapy as well. I am 29 years old. My last MRI which was in XXXXXXX 2015 showed a mild disc bulge in L5-S1 and surprisingly i have found that i have a Vitamin D Difficency (Level was 7). I am started on Vitamin D tablets.
Will the Vitamin D tablets help in the pain and symptoms of the back pain? Can it be related to my condition? What are the complications of this Vitamin D Difficency
Brief Answer:
Will need a bit more information to separate these issues.
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX! Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.
I see that you have chronic back pain and Vitamin D deficiency. Two very common problems that are difficult to separate from each other since their symptoms are similar.. pain. So before I give you too much general information.. i'd rather like to try and understand the nature of your pain more.
Could you describe the back pain for me?
1) Which part of your back is it at its worst?
2) Does it move?
3) Does the pain extend into your legs or around your torso into your abdomen?
4) Does the pain get worse when you bend in any direction? Or does it get better?
5) Do you have any feeling of weakness or numbness in your legs?
6) Do you have any neck or shoulder pain?
7) Have you every had an accident where you hurt your back?
8) What is your Height and Weight?
9) Do any medications help with this pain?
10) Do you have any other medical issues that you haven't measured so far?
11) Do you smoke?
12) What kind of regular exercise do you get, beyond the Physical therapy that you are doing.
13) Has the physical therapy helped at all?
The more information you can give me the better I can help you.
Generally disc bulges don't cause localized back pain. They press on nerves which cause shock like pain that travels into the leg. This is not ALWAYS the case though, just the average. On the other hand, Vitamin D deficiencies can cause localized aches and pains. So you see why I am asking for all the information I asked.
Thanks for uploading the reports have gone through them once and will go through them again once your answers come back.
I look forward to your response.
Vinay Bhardwaj, MD
Will need a bit more information to separate these issues.
Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX! Thanks for coming to HealthCareMagic.
I see that you have chronic back pain and Vitamin D deficiency. Two very common problems that are difficult to separate from each other since their symptoms are similar.. pain. So before I give you too much general information.. i'd rather like to try and understand the nature of your pain more.
Could you describe the back pain for me?
1) Which part of your back is it at its worst?
2) Does it move?
3) Does the pain extend into your legs or around your torso into your abdomen?
4) Does the pain get worse when you bend in any direction? Or does it get better?
5) Do you have any feeling of weakness or numbness in your legs?
6) Do you have any neck or shoulder pain?
7) Have you every had an accident where you hurt your back?
8) What is your Height and Weight?
9) Do any medications help with this pain?
10) Do you have any other medical issues that you haven't measured so far?
11) Do you smoke?
12) What kind of regular exercise do you get, beyond the Physical therapy that you are doing.
13) Has the physical therapy helped at all?
The more information you can give me the better I can help you.
Generally disc bulges don't cause localized back pain. They press on nerves which cause shock like pain that travels into the leg. This is not ALWAYS the case though, just the average. On the other hand, Vitamin D deficiencies can cause localized aches and pains. So you see why I am asking for all the information I asked.
Thanks for uploading the reports have gone through them once and will go through them again once your answers come back.
I look forward to your response.
Vinay Bhardwaj, MD
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Dear Dr, Thank you so much for your reply. please find the answers on the questions below.
Could you describe the back pain for me? The pain is an aching pain (not a shock pain) in my lower back and sometimes refers to the right and left side (more in the right). sometimes it also referes to my upper back (thoracic spine area)
1) Which part of your back is it at its worst? the lower part is worst
2) Does it move? moves only in my back, but not the legs or any other area
3) Does the pain extend into your legs or around your torso into your abdomen? No
4) Does the pain get worse when you bend in any direction? Or does it get better? I think it gets worse when I bend but not for a long time
5) Do you have any feeling of weakness or numbness in your legs? No Weakness or numbness. never happened
6) Do you have any neck or shoulder pain? yes I have a neck pain as well. no shoulder pain
7) Have you every had an accident where you hurt your back? no history of an accident
8) What is your Height and Weight? height is 176cm and weight is 90 KG
9) Do any medications help with this pain? not really. only a mild relief. I also used Fastum Gel and also a mild relief only
10) Do you have any other medical issues that you haven't measured so far? No
11) Do you smoke? Yes, 10-15 cigarettes per day
12) What kind of regular exercise do you get, beyond the Physical therapy that you are doing. I do not exercise actually. only the4 physiotherapy when I did 5 sessions 3 months ago.
13) Has the physical therapy helped at all? physical therapy gave me a mild relief only but the pain is still there
Thank you so much and awaiting the feedback
Could you describe the back pain for me? The pain is an aching pain (not a shock pain) in my lower back and sometimes refers to the right and left side (more in the right). sometimes it also referes to my upper back (thoracic spine area)
1) Which part of your back is it at its worst? the lower part is worst
2) Does it move? moves only in my back, but not the legs or any other area
3) Does the pain extend into your legs or around your torso into your abdomen? No
4) Does the pain get worse when you bend in any direction? Or does it get better? I think it gets worse when I bend but not for a long time
5) Do you have any feeling of weakness or numbness in your legs? No Weakness or numbness. never happened
6) Do you have any neck or shoulder pain? yes I have a neck pain as well. no shoulder pain
7) Have you every had an accident where you hurt your back? no history of an accident
8) What is your Height and Weight? height is 176cm and weight is 90 KG
9) Do any medications help with this pain? not really. only a mild relief. I also used Fastum Gel and also a mild relief only
10) Do you have any other medical issues that you haven't measured so far? No
11) Do you smoke? Yes, 10-15 cigarettes per day
12) What kind of regular exercise do you get, beyond the Physical therapy that you are doing. I do not exercise actually. only the4 physiotherapy when I did 5 sessions 3 months ago.
13) Has the physical therapy helped at all? physical therapy gave me a mild relief only but the pain is still there
Thank you so much and awaiting the feedback
Brief Answer:
Not a spine issue. You need Vitamin D correction
Detailed Answer:
Hi there! Thanks for the response.
I'm pretty confident that this is not a spine issue. The Bulge noted on MRI cannot cause this constellation of issues. I would suggest you concentrate hard on the following.
1) Vitamin D supplementation
2) Weight loss (about 10-15kgs over the next year)
3) Quitting smoking.
This should solve your pain issues over time AND prevent worsening of the spinal issues.
Vitamin D is a hormone which has many effects in the body.... and its deficiency interferes with nerve and muscle impulses.. causing pain.
Weight loss will prevent that spinal disc bulge from worsening and maybe even make it smaller.
Smoking interferes with vitamin D absorption and causes osteoporosis which softens the bones.. which would make your spinal column even worse.
I hope that made sense. I look forward to your response.
V
Not a spine issue. You need Vitamin D correction
Detailed Answer:
Hi there! Thanks for the response.
I'm pretty confident that this is not a spine issue. The Bulge noted on MRI cannot cause this constellation of issues. I would suggest you concentrate hard on the following.
1) Vitamin D supplementation
2) Weight loss (about 10-15kgs over the next year)
3) Quitting smoking.
This should solve your pain issues over time AND prevent worsening of the spinal issues.
Vitamin D is a hormone which has many effects in the body.... and its deficiency interferes with nerve and muscle impulses.. causing pain.
Weight loss will prevent that spinal disc bulge from worsening and maybe even make it smaller.
Smoking interferes with vitamin D absorption and causes osteoporosis which softens the bones.. which would make your spinal column even worse.
I hope that made sense. I look forward to your response.
V
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj
Answered by
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