What should I do over the next couple of days for a strong pain in my lower back? I don’t have a long history of back problems–only acute pain once every two years or so. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Get a recommendation for a good Chiropractor.
Ice and Ibuprofin also help.
I’ve always found the Chinese Position to be the best thing for a bad back. It looks silly, but it can clear up a back problem in a few minutes:
- Stand with your feet about shoulder width and at about a 45 degree angle.
- Squat down. Your calves should touch your thighs. Put your hands out in front of you and clasp them together. Let your head hang down.
- Hold the position. A minute is usually enough.
- Slowly stand up. Your back will feel better. Repeat as necessary.
If the position is too hard for you, there’s an easier way, though it takes longer to be effective:
- Kneel down.
- Touch your thighs to calves. Bring your back roughly parallel to the floor. Hold the position for a few minutes.
I would say “heat and Ibuprofin” rather than ice.
An exercise called press-ups usually help for me. To do a press up, get in the position to do a push-up. Press up as hard far as you can but leave your lower body (from your hips to your toes) on the ground. The result should be an arched back. Get as the arch as curved as possible.
Another good exercise for me is where you lay down on your back. Bring your knees to your chest and gently roll back and forth from your left hip to your right hip and back again over and over for a minute or so. Remember, roll from side to side and not neck to butt.
Hope you feel better soon.
BTW, getting on a routine back exercise program of a few minutes a day, will likely eliminate these periods of sharp pain every few years.
Wthout debating the chiropractor suggestion…
Lower back pain can be the result of weak abdominal muscles, so strengthening them won’t hurt.
Valium (diazepam) is also a muscle relaxant that helps me when I get a dodgy shoulder. Half of the pain associated with back-problems such as these is the tension you create in trying to avoid the pain, and can cause other muscles to be strained in the process. Diazepam relaxes them enough to allow the natural healing to take place more quickly I’ve found. WITH Diazepam, I am back to normal within a couple of days. WITHOUT, I whinge and creak and groan around the house for a week or more.
Oh, almost forgot the standard disclaimer…IANAD.
I have found ThermaCare (8-hour heat pads) to be quite effective for back pain. Put that puppy on before bed and wake up feeling better.
If it lasts longer than a couple of days, find a physical therapist who knows about “spinal stabilization” therapy. It has to do with “abdominal floor” muscles and micro muscles in the back.
I used to get really debilitating lower back spasms, until I took a course at the local YMCA, called “The Y’s Way to a Healthy Back.” In the course, you learn a set of exercises done to an audio tape (probably now on CD). The technique stretches muscles like the hamstrings, and strengthens the abdomen, giving greater support to your back. You’re supposed to do the exercises every day, to prevent the spasms; but of course I only get around to it when the pain starts. It really works, and I highly recommend it. Check at your local Y to see if they offer the course.
Assuming you haven’t broken your spine…
- Lie on back, knees up.
- Put right ankle on left knee. Wave left knee back and forth (left and right).
- Reverse positions and rock again.
This excercise gently stretches your lower back muscles. It really hits the spot.
Also:
- Stand on floor next to corner or other firm handhold (grab it).
- Put stable support on floor under just one foot.
- Wave other foot forward and back slowly. This imitates walking.
- Reverse legs.
Make sure the support does not slip. Phone books are thick enough but are not stable. The ideal support is a wooden block 6 inches high and 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. (15 X 10 X 30 cm).
Heat increases blood flow and inflammation. Blood flow speeds healing but inflammation increases pain. Ice decreases blood flow and shrinks inflammation, reducing pain. So use heat followed by ice.
The best ice is a bag of frozen peas. It conforms to the body and it is re-freezable.
For desparate cases, you need a trusted friend with strong hands to do the following:
-
Gradually work fingertips along muscles and tendons to find the center of the most painful and sensitive point. You’ll have to guide them and it requires patience on both your parts.
-
Gently press down on that sensitive spot — increasing the pain.
-
Keep pressing for 30 seconds. You will feel the pain dissipate.
-
Increase the pressure until there is more pain. Wait 30 more seconds for the pain to go away.
-
Possibly do this to the third painful level.
-
Have friend reduce pressure to original light pressure.
-
Have friend roll fingertip so the pressure is a quarter of an inch (half a centimeter, about) away and the pain re-occurs at the new spot.
-
Repeat the procedure at the new spot.
-
Keep this up for 4 or 5 adjacent spots.
This method reduces pain by squeezing out the inflammation. It really works. The next day, however, you will have a bruise in the skin and tissue above the sore point. The bruised tissue will hurt if you poke it but not when you move, as it isn’t muscle or tendon. This will improve your mobility.
Immobility and bed rest can will soon start to make your pain worse, even though moving is more painful than lying still.
If your strong friend hasn’t given up, and if you are in such pain you think you may need a bedpan instead of being able to go the bathroom, then:
-
Have the friend lift the calf of one of your legs and move it back and forth. The goal is for the victim to relax completely as the therapist (hero) flexes the hip joint. Try to have the therapist keep the lower leg parallel to the ground. Motion should be so slow that the victim does NOT react by trying to move and/or tensing up a muscle. The idea is to “Pump blood” through the muscle.
-
Keep it up for a few minutes and then switch legs.
By this time, the therapist/friend will have very sore hands. I recommend ibuprofen style pain pills for the hands. If the victim of the sore back is still in agony, get a doctor to prescribe a narcotic for a day or two. God gave us the poppy plant out of His mercy.
db4530’s “press-up” stretch works well for me. I also find that walking is good as well, it seems to loosen up whatever’s troubling me at the time.
You should see a professional though.
What plnnr said. I had lower back problems off-and-on for years. Then I started kick-boxing - 250 situps per class, 3 classes a week. Within a month or two I suddenly realized that my back never hurt. EVER. I have only had a back ache because of lifting furniture wrong in the last 4 years. Do situps everyday, start with 10 or 20 a day (depending on how fit you are now), then slowly add more until you are doing 50 a day. I bet you’ll be fine within a month or two.
-Tcat
I have this from time to time. One of the big problems is sleep.
When it’s really bad, I sleep on a futon - as hard a surface as possible. I have a triangular cushion that I put under my knees as I lie on my back. I push my pelvis forward so that the small of my back is flat against the bed. That alleviates the pain somewhat and I usually wake up feeling better than I did when I went to bed. Alternatively, when I sleep on my side, I put a thick pillow between my knees so that my spine doesn’t twist.
I also find that the grasshopper yoga position is helpful and strengthens the lower back muscles.