UKC

In the last 6 - 8 months I've had a very sharp pain between my scapula and spine while I've been carrying a heavy bag (20kg) for more than a couple of hours, and even carrying a 8 - 10kg bag for 3 or 4 hours. After taking the bag off the pain is gone after a couple of hours, only to return next time I carry a bag (annoying for winter climbing). It's a very sharp localised pain, quite deep down. If I try to put my chin to my chest it spasms really painfully and I can't move my head. If I move my head down slowly I get a full range of motion with only a dull ache. I think it's a muscle spasm instead of a tear etc, based on how quickly it comes/goes. That's a guess though. I can't find any exercise/stretches that pin points it. Self massage with a golf/tennis ball helps very slightly. That's between my right scapula and spine. I've exhausted all the adjustments on the 2 bags I own, and using several other bags I still have the same issue.

I also occasionally get a pain in my right lower back just above my belt, again carrying a bag. This seems to gradually build over the first half an hour or so of the walk, and then fades.

I think my right shoulder is slightly lower than the other one.

My right foot points outwards slightly compared to me left, and I occasionally get very mild sciatica/piriformis syndrome after driving for a while due to the right foot pivoting on the heel between the brake and accelerator. Stretching my glutes helps this when it does occur. This has been around for 3 - 4 years and I've been through a few cars in that time with no significant change. I'm now driving a lot less and that helps, but it's still there occasionally.

Now I'm being more observant, I think my c6 or c7 vertebra sticks out a bit too, but that may be entirely normal!

That all sounds very dramatic, and it probably isn't. I thought that they were all unrelated as they've all come on at different times over the past 4/5 years. The shoulder pain/spasm thing is really starting to frustrate me in the last 6 months though and making climbing less enjoyable, and now I'm wondering if they are (all) related. I've been climbing/hill walking/carrying bags for 10-12 years and never had a problem before. 30 y/o now.

Should I see a chiropractor or a phsyio? Who would be best to give an overall view of whether my body is massively out of balance, and give advice of what to do? My understanding is chiros poke joints and get them realigned and physios give you exercises to balance muscles. Which would suit me better?

Any recommendations of someone to see around Edinburgh would be appreciated!

Thanks.

In reply to NottsRich:

Or you could try an osteopath. When I lived in Edinburgh, my partner and I used to go to see Glynis Fox and her husband (now sadly deceased), and I'd happily recommend her for all sorts of stuff.
http://eyreplaceosteopath.co.uk/site/about_us.html

In reply to NottsRich:

Physio, every time.

In reply to NottsRich:

A good physio should be able to do it all. I've used Balanced Physiotherapy before (their clinic based out at Heriot Watt as it's next to my work).

In reply to NottsRich:

Physiotherapist, not quacks.


http://www.csp.org.uk/

In reply to NottsRich:

I think you could see either a physio or a chiro. Best to find someone through a recommendation and go with this.

I used to use a physio based sports injury clinic for my aches n pains but this closed some years ago, so I now use a local chiro clinic which is just as good.

HTH Davey

In reply to Jim Fraser:



It's perfectly possible to be a member of the csp and be completely f*cking useless (he said, from bitter experience).

Thanks all, physio seems to be winning so far...

Keep the suggestions coming, they're much appreciated.

In reply to NottsRich:

A Chiro will make you feel better and use big impressive words for their "techniques" none of which are scientifically proven to work

Physios will make you better as long as you listen and do what they advise (do your exercises!). Physiotherapy has hundreds of years of scientific research proving its effectiveness.

In reply to NottsRich:

Having seen a number of physios and a couple of chiropracters over the years, I would say choose someone good, rather than worrying about what the sign above the door says, and you should be OK. This makes interesting reading about chiropractic treatment http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/chiropractic/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I had piriformis syndrome and sciatica caused by driving about 7/8 years ago and saw Richard Gassert, now at

http://www.bruntsfieldchiro.co.uk/

who treated it very successfully. With his advice I reviewed my driving position at the same time as being treated and have since had very little trouble. I should say I am a lot older than you!

Please PM me if you want any more detail

In reply to NottsRich:

I've asked the same question of a couple of GP friends and both have said to use "whichever works for you". There are good and bad in both sectors, it's just a matter of finding the right ones.

In reply to NottsRich:

An osteopath sorted my back out. Nothing quack about it, it was solid massage and technique that took me from permanent back pain and occasional days when I couldn't move to being pain free for the last 10 years. it cost a bit but was worth every penny. I never tried a physio to be fair though.

As for a chiro or an osteo - to quote Eddie Ezzard, the difference between the two appears to be mostly in the spelling.

Alan

In reply to NottsRich:

If you're in Nottingham you could try Seth at keyworth physio, he's very good.

In reply to tony:


and a total misanthrope

https://twitter.com/thegrumpyphysio?lang=en

In reply to NottsRich:

If your after Physio recommendation - http://www.ed.ac.uk/sport-exercise/fasic . I've used FASiC physiotherapists many times and they have been very good every time.

In reply to NottsRich:

Another vote for a good physio.. All a chiropractor will do is spinal manipulation, that you don't need as it's probably a nerve that's getting pinched (total guesswork on my part here lol), and you'll end up having to crack your neck forever more....

In reply to NottsRich:

Owen @ physiodirect in Arnold, Notts is a great sports physio. He has put me back together several times!

In reply to all:

Thanks for your comments everyone, they're really useful. It seems that in general a physio is recommended over a chiro, but more important is to get a good one of whatever I go for! Recommendations therefore are much appreciated, especially the ones for the Edinburgh area.

An osteopath is another consideration, so I'll add that into my search for a good whatever it is I end up seeing.

JPSC, thanks for your comments, I'll drop you a message shortly.

In reply to NottsRich: You see a physio/osteo, every time,

I recently had a conversation with a FB friend who is a chiropractor; I was asking for links to independent peer reviewed studies showing the effectiveness of CP (chiropracty). His replies were fantastically long and often somewhat off the point, but after a week he finally admitted that "research cannot show if CP works".

The links he supplied all showed that (at best and under certain circumstances) CP was no better than physio.

He also suggested that spinal manipulation was possibly good for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and implied that asthma could bve treated with CP too, even through he acknowledged that the research wasn't up to scratch (ignoring the fact that he said that research couldn't prove CP!). It's just so much quackery.

In reply to NottsRich:

See a physio.
I ignored niggles in that area for 6 months, then my back went.