Any long-term RA in lumbar spine sufferers | Arthritis Information

 

I don't know if I have RA in my spinal joints...but I get excruciating spasms of pain when I carry something or stand too long and then sit.. work too hard around the house and then lie down to rest.....  It takes a while for the spasms to stop...a nd the pain is horrendous... continuous for many moments after that.... 

I wish  you the best... long term w/ this DX. babs that is just what is just what I have. At first I started having a "pain holiday" for a day each week by avoiding activites that brought it on and realised after about a year that if I avoided bending twisting or sitting altogether the pain was more managable.  Last week I got the RA in lumbar diagnosis; now I think of my lumbar as another RA spot and treat it gently, so now it doesn't get to the excruciating pain levels it was before.

The real downside is the usual shock-denial-anger-acceptance cycle of progressive degeneration and all the tools for reaching, dressing, raising sofa height etc that is needed. It's been worth it for me because I have far less pain now.

Hi Jana, So sorry about the spine diagnosis.  I understand completely. 

I have bone spurs and stenosis w/ encroachment in the cervical spine......    I didn't get pics of the thoracic.... only the cervical and L-3-S1.... so I don't know about all the spine... I would bet something is going on there too.. because the thoracic area is where the painful spasms started......and are their worst.

crap, LinB... even in remission you're still "dealing" with it all aren't you.

My back is a mess. I have lost over 2" in height, have degenerative disk disease, spinal stenosis and 4 bulging (herniated) disks. Now whether this is from the Still's Disease (same as systemic onset JRA) or the osteoarthritis, is unclear -- all I know is that it hurts. Good luck with your back.I've been having really bad back problems as of late and my MRI was normal.  My pain comes on when standing too long or sitting in a chair that doesn't have good back support.  It is so bad at night that a lot of times I've had to break out the Lortab.  Sometimes it feels like my spine is going to snap right in two.  My GP gave me Flexerill, but it didn't really help much.  Shopping before Christmas just about killed me!  This makes me wonder if it's not RA related.This sounds like a common theme, and all of your experiences tie in with the information I found on the net. I wonder if the bone spurs are a sign of Rheumatoid Spondylytis (ankylosing spond.). There is apparently some difficulty for Rheumatologists in distinguishing between RA and RS because there is sometimes an overlap in symptoms.

LinB thanks for your info, that is the kind of surgery that has been described for RA lumbar damage and it's very helpful to hear from someone who is going through it.

kweenb I think my lumbar RA pain started just the way you describe your back pain. I had 2 facet joint injections in 2003 which were very helpful at the time, but now it seems to be in all of the lumbar region - add to this cortisone and osteoperosis link and "lets not go there again".

One of the reports I found on the web suggested lumbar RA often goes unrecognised purely because no significant recources have been put into researching it. Hi, I have facet joint RA throughout my spine but my spine is a car crash in itself, it is really advanced with osteoarthritis too!  The facet joint problems cause sharp pain when flaring and yes, twisting and turning are very painful, I use heat pads or electric blanket, (thats the best), and I can't take antiinflammatories so I am on constant Oxycontin and Tramal and panamax.  When really excruciatingly painful, I actually cry from the pain, and then I get steroid shots or nerve burning done, it helps for about 3 weeks only which is great in my opinion but my pain specialist said the benefits did not outweigh the risks so he won't do it again, but my RD said he could organise it in hospital for me.  Hope this helps but please remember you probably won't be the same as me, I have had spinal probs since I was a kid, I have also had a lumbar laminectomy at L5/S1.  Kind regards Janie. Hi Jan, thankyou so much, I don't think I have AS, I did for a while, my GP says I have so many overlapping problems, she feels I have it with the RA, I must admit, I sometimes feel like my spine is fused but it doesn't show that on XRAY, or CT scan or MRI, it shows lots of damage and inflammation, and that includes the S.I.joints too but RD said no its not AS yet?  Thanks again, Jane. I've heard that bone spurs are indicative of OA -- if that be the case, I am the undisputed OA/bone spur queen.

Bone spurs are indicative of OA but they also can be indicative of RA especially when bone scans have shown no evidence of OA, penia, etc.  Several years after the diagnosis I started to show some bone loss and it's continued unabated for the last 7 years.  You'll just have to pass that Queen's crown around.  Lindy

I did read a couple of reports that described RA eroding soft tissue between the disks and diminishing bone density in the associated vertebra.

Ok, so it sounds like back pain from RA has its ups and downs but there's an overall worsening over time - unlike some joints like the wrist, where once RA has destroyed all the joints the bones knit together to a degree and there's not as much ongoing pain.

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