Sorry if this has been done before, I did a search and went back a year but didn't see anything that I thought was similar.
I have been experiencing a great deal of back pain recently and I do have an appointment with my family physician but unfortunately the wait to get in is over a week so I can't get in until the middle of next week and I was hoping to get an idea of what is wrong so I know what to expect.
Basically it hurts all the time, at its best it feels like someone is taking their thumb and pressing against the spine in my lower back, at its worst it's alot of pain over a larger area. There is no numbness or anything of that nature.
I do know that a lot of people who have rheumatoid arthritis take antibiotic, preventing their immune system from attacking their joints, causing inflammation.
From my experience, back pain remedy included combination of pain reliever, muscle relaxant, rest, stretching, and/or preventative measures such as better posture, lifting technique, losing extra weight, and orthotic inserts.
Last edited by vtec260; 05-19-2013 at 09:06 AM.
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Orthotics significantly reduced my back and neck pain and allowed me to live a normal life. I am able to avoid neck surgery because of my orthotics. I believe anyone with back pain should visit a foot doctor to see if they need inserts. Bad feet is like driving on a flat tire, after your legs cannot compensate anymore your back starts taking the bulk of the unbalance.
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Not that I have noticed and I am guessing that I would notice that because that sounds really uncomfortable.
The reason I asked is that I had bad lower back pain that progressed into sciatica. It was brutal and the cause of it was a herniated disc. I had to have surgery but I feel 100% now.
Try stretching out your hamstrings, if they're really tight they can cause back pain like UBC mentioned.
I hope that your back is just really tight and nothing else.
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I get similar low back pain, and will sometimes see a chiro or physical therapist for relief. Other times, I can get relief by hanging upside down (basically unloading my spine, if that makes sense) Make sure someone else is home and can help you, if you try it though...learned that the hard way. Or if you have an exercise ball you can kinda do the same thing without the whole 'land on your head' possible complication.
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I've had lower back pain before but have it mostly under control now. About a year and a half ago it came up quite suddenly and was quite debilitating for about nine months.
Doctor explanation . . . . . your spine has large doughnuts in your lower back. As we age, these deteriorate. If we tweak our back wrong, jelly from the doughnut squirts out and creates pressure on the nerves in the lower back, which creates a great deal of pain and debilitation.
You need to keep the jelly in the doughnuts. I understand squirting jelly from doughnuts!!!
Went to physio and they stretched out the spine (cool device) and that was a great relief but only temporary. Eventually I'd tweak things again.
This wasn't getting much better for a long time and while I could still run my legs were definitely noticeably weaker . . . . which is scary.
Finally, after about nine months, I bought an exercise ball and did some situps as described in the instructions. Within the first two sessions - not kidding - of this my back was mostly fine. It was like something had snapped back in place. It was like a miracle cure.
Tweaked it one more time but got that back in place as well.
Legs are fine. Running lots. Biking lots. You can feel it a little bit on occasion but not much.
Keep your weight under control, tighten your core (stomach muscles), get an exercise ball (although that may or may not work in your circumstances as effectively as mine) and watch your posture when you are sitting or lying down.
Lower back deterioration seems more normal than not as you age. Its about management of the problem once you get it under control. Good habits. But its depressing when its not getting better for sure.
Hope that helps. Again, everyone is different. Just relating my experience.
EDIT: And strangely, cutting out salty snacks like Cheezies, etc seemed to have a direct relationship to back pain coming back or not. So, no salty snacks, which is probably a good thing to do anyway.
Cowperson
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Like others have mentioned, stretching and strengthening my legs were the keys to fixing my lower back. I really recommend getting a $20 foam roller to help loosen up your glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, and IT band. (It's not recommended to foam roll your lower back directly.) Foam rolling works as a deep tissue massage and it also helps work on flexibility in a different manner than stretching. There's lots of info if you look on google and youtube.
When you're in acute pain and can't do much, try to keep moving as much as possible. When I couldn't really walk I'd lean my elbows on the counter and walk on the spot or do light stretching rolling around on the floor. When things started to feel decent for just a couple hours a day, I'd get out for a 20-30 minute walk.
Eventually to get things on track for the long term I needed to add exercises like squats, lunges, reverse back extensions and a whole bunch more to the stretching and foam rolling.
I hope you have a speedy recovery. When things get back to being ok then you should keep working on the issue just as hard to fix things up for good and stop it from coming back again.
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If you don't have a herniated disk or other actual serious back problem, chances are your legs are tight, forcing your lower back to over compensate.
I also recommend the foam roller or even lacrosse ball to work on tight areas like the glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors and IT band.
Stretching the hamstrings directly is my 30 second fix to alleviating lower back soreness.
Icing is also not recommended. Might take away the pain, but doesn't fix the problem. Use heat to increase blood flow. Hot shower, and low-impact cardio like swimming is amazing. Hot tub is a life saver after the swim.
If you life a sedentary lifestyle, I would bet money on the leg tightness.
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I do know that a lot of people who have rheumatoid arthritis take antibiotic, preventing their immune system from attacking their joints, causing inflammation.
I am open to it and have seen them in the past. I an also open to accupuncture too, but before I do anything like that I would like to consult my physician in case it is something more serious and I am fortunate enough to have a family physician that will recommend trying other things before prescribing pills and suggesting I go under the knife.
I will also mention I have strained back muscles in the past and have had occasional back pain through the years, but this just feels different.
Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions, I will keep checking back until my appointment.
Do you have an office job? Sitting in an office allows your whole core to atrophy. For me chiro worked in the short term for lower back pain but the long term solution for me is to do a abs and lower back core excercises that also cover the hips.
First off, to those who have had back pain: 90%+ of back pain will resolve itself within 6 weeks. Back pain is extremely common and very manageable if done right!
Unfortunately GPs have little to no knowledge about physical issues. There are other health professionals for that. That's great to go and rule anything medically out, but chances are there's nothing there and you'll just get prescribed some muscle relaxants.
Go see a physio! There are many exercises and hands-on techniques they can do to help. This is their bread and butter!
Many people do "core" exercises, but are just further exacerbating muscle imbalances (ie doing crunches, or back extensions). The goal is core stability, which keeps the spine from aberrant moving during any kind of activity or even while you're sitting at your desk.
Finally: the worst thing you can do for your back is bed rest or avoiding activity. Stay active!
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Last edited by TheSutterDynasty; 05-19-2013 at 03:43 PM.
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Sorry if this has been done before, I did a search and went back a year but didn't see anything that I thought was similar.
I have been experiencing a great deal of back pain recently and I do have an appointment with my family physician but unfortunately the wait to get in is over a week so I can't get in until the middle of next week and I was hoping to get an idea of what is wrong so I know what to expect.
Basically it hurts all the time, at its best it feels like someone is taking their thumb and pressing against the spine in my lower back, at its worst it's alot of pain over a larger area. There is no numbness or anything of that nature.
An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.
Do you have an office job? Sitting in an office allows your whole core to atrophy. For me chiro worked in the short term for lower back pain but the long term solution for me is to do a abs and lower back core excercises that also cover the hips.
Actually I am standing 95% of my day at the front desk of my hotel. Despite having an office I rarely get to use it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSutterDynasty
Any trauma or injury to your back?
Where does it hurt?
What makes it feel better? Worse?
Any back pain before?
No trauma or injury.
It hurts 4"-6" above my belt line, right alone the spine.
I have found sitting up straight hurts and leaning forward a bit while sitting helps relieve a little pain. I have tried hot showers, heat packs and tiger balm but there was no help.
I have had occasional back pain for the better part of 15 years. But nothing that lasted more than a couple days.
Back Pain
