appt Tues with my back specialist

I can speak from a fair amount of experience here.  I have had 2 back surgeries - fusion of L5 S1 and fusion of C-4-5-6-7.  MRI's are a routine diagnositic and have to be repeated at a minimum annually but certainly if you notice significant changes.  My docs have gone through a process with me - anti inflammatories, physical therapy, steriod injections and then surgery.  For me the 1st 3 put off surgery for a long time before I had to have surgery.  Many times there steriod pack would calm down the issue.  PT and injections prevented surgery for 5 years before I finely had to have surgery.  My recommendation would be to find another ortho doc.  There are exercises you can do to strengthen you back muscles and better support your back.  You should also be practicing good body mechanics - such as bending with your legs rather than at the waist even for little things.  Also the 'golf' lift protects the back too.  You don'****n to be wearing a skirt or dress for this one but you life one leg behind you to balance out your reach.  You need a lot of room for this one.  Keep looking for a good doctor.

I know how you are supposed to bend and lift things safely.  I used to be a nursing assitant and lifted patients.  I cannot do it the proper way now, though, due to extreme pain.  If I have to bend over to pick something up, something as light as a piece of paper off the floor, it works best if I can hold onto a counter or the back of a chair or something with one hand and then very carefully lean forward and pick up the item with the other hand.  Sometimes I can do that.  If there is nothing for me to hold on to with one hand, or if it's an item that requires two hands to pick up, I usually just cannot do it at all now. 

My posture and balance and everything is now affected due to the pain and I'm sure that's making matters worse.  Sometimes I can not stand up straight and am walking kind of hunched over because the pain when I try to stand up straight is sometimes excrutiating.  I mean, it's not something that just hurts some but you can make yourself do it anyway, it's like I try to stand up straight and cry out in pain.

This is not good (stating the obvious).  There has to be something pressing on a nerve - I can't imagine an MRI coming back clean.  They really need to order another one and proceed from there.