I also suffer from bad back pain and numbness/tingling/pain in my leg. I have a disc prolapses at L4/5 and L5/S1 as well as dehydrated discs and over curvature of the spine (Lordosis). I have radiating pain and numbness from the spine due to nerve impingement and disc injury..

So, after over ten years of researching ways to help myself, here are what I consider to be the most effective tips, maybe they could help you too.

1. Take Glucosamine Sulphate (you can get this from a good health food store). This reinforces your intervertebral discs and would help regarding your disc proplapse/bulge.

2. At night, sleep on your side with a pillow between your legs. This will keep the spine in better alignment.

3. See a Chiropractor. They are often very helpful, although relief can take some time (especially if the pain has been there for some time). Dizziness and sickness can be caused by a misalignment of the vertebrae in your neck, as pain in your legs/bum can be caused by lower back problems. Chiropractic adjustments would help greatly with this. They will look at your history )take any MRI scans etc with you and they will tell you whether or not they could adjust you with your specific issues (like the osteoporosis). Hopefully they can.

4. Avoid any activities which bring on or increase your pain levels – listen to your body. Pain is a signal not to be ignored.

5. Stay positive – believe me I lknow how hard this one can be, I struggle most days with sciatica and back pain and it gets me down, but you have to try not to become absorbed by it if you can help it. Easier said than done though, I know……….

6. Take anti-inflammatories during any acute phase, then gradually reduce them if you can. Your doctor can give you something specifically for your spine like Diclofenac Sodium Enteric tablets, so ask for them if you are in agony!

7. DIET. You can incorporate many anti-inflammatory foods into your diet. Eat lots of raw fruit and veg, lots of anti-oxidants! Ginger is good, as is Rosehip (you can get herbal tea with this in). Normal tea and coffee are not good when you have a bad back as some research has shown that it interferes with the healing process in the nerves of the spine. I definately noticed an improvement when I gave up these.

I hope that this helps you a little, sorry for the long reply, but there is no short answer to back pain – I could go on for ever!! I really hope that you find the answers that you are looking for and get some relief from your pain.

All the best, Isabel.