Lower back pain

[cmcgee]

I had back surgery on my l4 and l5 (diskectomy?) last March and I was back to work, pain free several weeks after surgery. I went the entire summer, fall and winter without any issues and then in January I "tweaked my lower back" and it went into spasm. I stretched it out, rested it and it went away within days. I then end up hip tossing a combative prisoner (yes I am a cop) and a few hours later my back went into spasm again. After about a week or so the pain went away. May 10th of this year, I yet again tweaked my back from an awkward landing in beach volleyball and I have yet to fully recover. I was feeling better and ended up with a "deep tissue massage" that left me feeling like someone had broken my back at the belt line. The pain was brutal. Three days of muscle lock before it finally loosened up somewhat. It was much worse than the previous injuries and now a month later, I have been to a chiropractor who tells me that I have scoliosis and an uneven sacral base (2mm) that is to blame. My physiotherapist thinks that it is a muscle/ligament issue and has been giving me stretches and exercise as treatment. To top it off my doctor wants to give me meds to dull the pain. Both the Chiro and Physio guys are telling me that the suggested treatment being recommended by the other is just plain wrong. I am just plain frustrated and confused.

Is there such a thing as an MRI that would be able to show whether it is a spinal issue (chiro) or a weak ligament or muscle (physio)??

Since my back surgery I have always felt like I needed a good lower back stretch and that my lower back muscles are very weak. This in my opinion has lead to some poor posture which amplifies my pain when seated in a police car for several hours a day. I seem to get a few days of pain free movement and then it goes into spasm again. I would like to get properly diagnosed for the actual problem, get the treatment required and follow up with daily stretches and exercises need to maintain a healthy back.

I am open to any and all comments or suggestions as I am completely confused and frustrated at this point.

Tks,


Chris