Epidural back pain

by Tammy Holt
(Hoddesdon, Herts)

I have had 2 epidural anesthesia injections, could these have caused a weakness in my back leading to lower back pain? Is there anything I can do about this?

Hi Tammy, no, it is highly unlikely that the epidural will have caused a back problem. You don’t say whether these injections were as a treatment for lower back pain or to manage pain during pregnancy or surgery? I will assume they were not as treatment for lower back pain.

Either way, the injections won't have caused back weakness. This is not an unusual question though, I get asked it a lot.

If you have been in a situation to need an epidural then you have probably been off your feet and perhaps not well. I met someone recently who had been given an epidural for pain following surgery and then had an episode of back pain following this. The epidural took the blame but Im not so sure that it was the cause of the problem.

If you are off your feet and less active then normal several things are at play, firstly, a general loss of physical fitness and spinal flexibility happens. If we do not keep ourselves active we are more likely to get back pain. Secondly, what do we do with our bodies when we are less active? Mostly sitting in poorly supported chairs or in bed for long periods I imagine. This was the case with my patient and when her activity levels returned to normal her pain eased.

If you are concerned about back pain go and see a physiotherapist and take a look at The Back Fitness Programme for some ideas on lower back pain management.

Regards

Paula

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Epidural back pain

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May 29, 2010
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starstarstar 		My doctor says different
by: Anonymous

I have given birth to 5 babies. 3 of those births I had an epidural.
During my 4th pregnancy, they tried and tried to get it in. I told them to stop because I felt sick. The guy came back in a few minutes later and asked if I could move my legs. I said yes and he said GOOD!

He then came back in and by luck of the needle it was in. And I delivered 20 minutes later.. 10 minutes of pain relief...

My last pregnancy it wasn't so bad with the epidural. But I have had chronic lower back pain for the last 9 years (first epidural in 2001). There are times my husband has to pull me out of bed because the pain is so great and it takes me forever to get past it to move. I have tried sleeping in chairs, sleeping on my side with pillows between my legs, I've tried no pillows .. I have tried everything possible.

After 9 years of this I found a new doctor, she addressed all of my concerns and problems. And agreed with me that the epidural, or the multiple x's of it being inserted wrong, is the source.

I could never really understand WHY in the heck they do the epidural when you are in the most pain of your life. Wouldn't it be easier for the mom, less stress for the baby & mom if it were done as soon as you are admitted? They are doing that here at our local hospital now.

My followup appointment is in a week.
May 16, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Epidural RLS
by: Anonymous

I had an epidural 34 years ago and have chronic back pain ever since. I have now had it progress to restless leg syndrome....I hate the medical system big time....
AL
May 12, 2010
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star 		disagree
by: Natalie

I disagree with the writer of this.
I had my son in oct 06 and because they were losing his heartbeat they wanted to put an epidural in so could see if relaxed him a bit. The anaesthetist had to place my epidural in 5 times because getting wrong place so bent over whilst having contractions for bout 40 mins wasnt good.
3 and a half years later i still have problems, I cannot sit on a floor or at a computer desk, bend over for too long or carry things for long periods of time because i get pain in my lower back which aches and sometimes feels like contractions, I also get pulsating pain going from the lower spine all the way up along to the top of the spine which at times catches my breath.
I dont agree that you cannot get problems from epidurals as my back was perfectly fine before i got preg!!
Mar 28, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		P.S.tailbone pain
by: JD

I left the earlier comment about tailbone pain and wanted to add that I just returned from a vacation in Antigua. I swam quite a bit and have found that my tailbone pain has been reduced by about half ever since.
Mar 28, 2010
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starstarstarstar 		Tailbone Pain
by: Anonymous

I am with you ladies 110%. After not dialating for 2 days and 2 12-hour rounds of cervadil, I elected to deliver my daughter by c-section 2 years ago. I now have the most awful pain in my tailbone (coccyx) when I go to stand up after sitting. I believe there is a serious conspiracy going on in the obstetric profession as every singly ob/gyn I have asked about this insists it is unrelated to having had an epidural. On the other hand, I have met at least 5 women who say they experience the same pain and also immediately after having had an epidural- including my female internist! I have read: "Most coccyx pain is caused by the coccyx dislocating when you sit. Coccyx pain is often caused by falling backwards or by childbirth, though the cause of pain is unknown in about a third of cases. It makes it very painful to sit down. There are effective treatments available, and the great majority of sufferers can be cured." Best of luck healing!
Mar 21, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Years after the epidural...
by: Rachel (MN)

I have 2 children, my son will be 6 in July & my daughter will be 3in June. When i had my son the epidural the placement was good & worked just fine, dont even remember 1/2 that labor lol. Then came my daughter, this was a totally diff. story. After her being a week late they induced me, and it was a very long 27hrs. of back labor! After reaching 4cm. i couldnt take the pain anymore, so i requested the epidural.
After the pain i had already been in for 12hrs. they tried the 1st placement, the doc. missed the space & had to try again. After 45mins. of sitting crunched over, while contracting.. and the 2nd & finally 3rd attempt, he finally got it in the correct place.
The contractions eased a little, but nothing too satisfying.. and they ended up coming on full force when it was time for her to make her entrance to the world.
Since then, especially around "that time of the month" i get severe back pain, that literally feels like im having back contractions again & i have to breath through them.
Im with everyone else on this topic when doctors say that there is no known relation to the epidural & the back pain we feel, i think its b.s.!! i NEVER had back pain like this before.. and now theres nothing i can do for the pain. it sucks, but my daughter is worth it.
Mar 08, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Back pain
by: Same Boat

Both of my pregnancies had their issues my first was breach so he was a c-section and with my daughter I just had a immense belly. I knew no matter what though that I didn't want anymore kids and discussed this with my doctor so I had the epideral got through the labor had her 3:30 in the morning and 5:30 that night was to be my tubal and since I was getting that done they left that dang thing in my back and just told me to move very carefully from the delivery room to my private room because the were just going to use the epideral for my tubal. Now years later my lower back is always bothering me a constant dull pain that intensifies with weather but every doctor I talk to always tells me that the epideral could not have caused this so it is very nice to know that I am not the only one going through this.
Jan 12, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		long term back trouble
by: Anonymous

I had an epidural with my oldest son who is now 6 years old. I have major back problems right where the injection took place, especially during that "time" of month. There was a study that said epidurals have little or nothing to do with back pain. I think the person who wrote that was either on crack or heroin because if i had to do it over again, i would never have had that done...Matter of fact, with my second son I didn't. The anesthesiologist was in a procedure..My mother who is now in her eighties had five of us. I was the only one born in a hospital, therefore she had a epidural with me...She still has back problems to this day and I'm 44 years old....so YES I think epidural can cause long term problems with the back...
Nov 30, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		epidural back pain
by: DANYEL

My youngest child is turning ten in four months each year my back pain gets worse and its where my injection for the epidural was. I had no back pain until the epidural. There is no one that can tell me its not from the epidural because im quite sure thats why my back hurts. Each winter when it gets cold the pain is so bad. It's actully getting cold where i live and ive been in excruciating pain for over a week now.
Sep 29, 2009
Rating
starstarstar 		post-epidural pain
by: Anonymous

I just had my 4th child, 4th epidural. The first 3 went fine, this last one only worked down the left side. The right side did not numb entirely. Now I am having lower back pain that comes and goes, but when it comes it is severe, throbbing almost debilitating pain. I have never had back problems before and all that I can figure is that this was directly resulting from my epidural.
Aug 09, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Epidural Pain
by: Anonymous

My name is Tammy I have 2 children and have had 2 epidurals. My first one went fine, but when I had my daughter when the needle first went in I felt severe pain. He then re-adjusted and inserted it again. I too only had numbness on one side and felt all of the contractions. For 4 hours after my delivery my left leg was still numb. I have had lower back pain ever since. It flares up and then will die down. I've never gotten a true diagnosis from my doctor or any that I have seen as to why I'm having this problem. I do believe it was because something went wrong with my epidural. I'm now pregnant with my 3rd child and for the past two weeks I've been in constant pain. I'm terrified that when I have this one it's going to cause more damage to my back. Honestly I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out here with issues like this. My doctor had made me feel like she's never heard of this before. Thanks for letting me vent and I hope this may help anyone else.
May 22, 2008
Rating
starstarstarstar 		Confused
by: Stacey

Just like Tammy I have had 3 epidurals. All of mine have been for labor. The first 2 went fine but the last delivery back in Nov 2007 gave me many problems. I was sitting uneven on the bed and told the doctor but he said that didn't matter. My epidural did not work. Only the left side was numb and I had full labor contractions on the right. When the epidural was given my left hip was higher then my right side. The first 2 days after delivery I could not use my leg or hip and was left in tremendous pain. For the most part it improved until this week when I was in the shower and evidently moved the wrong way. I have a hard time believing that my epidural did not cause this problem. Where do I go from here?

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