Ow. My back hurts.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

In my life, I have torn ligaments in both knees and one ankle, had torn knee cartilege, and meniscus. I’ve played various sports most of my life - football, baseball, softball, ran track, volleyball, college rugby and most of my injuries are related to those activities.

I hit the gym 3-4 times a week, and keep my trunk muscles in shape with crunches, back extensions, upper leg exercises and the like. When weather permits, I ride my bike a few times a week for an hour or two at a time.

I’ve been through a couple nasty car accidents in which I’ve broken my nose and managed a concussion.

In 46+ years though, I’ve never hurt my back. Until last week.

It was a nothing when it happened. I was in a hotel room, leaning over the side of the bed to grab my phone which had fallen off a table. I twisted and reached at the same time, and felt something go “pop”, ever so lightly in my lower back, along the left side just over my hip.

The next day, I was very stiff getting out of bed. (heh) No, I mean my BACK was very stiff getting out of bed, but I did some light stretching and it didn’t bug me much the rest of the day.

Next morning, same routine. And increasingly worse each day. Now it’s painful most of the day, and just you forget about asking me to reach over my head for anything. I walk like Walter Brennan unless I walk long enough for it to feel loose again.

At the gym, my routine is changed in the last week to almost exclude entirely anything involving my back or legs. Mostly I stretch, warm up, stretch some more then do something like the treadmill or elliptical, which strangely doesn’t aggravate this.

Screw this, I’ve always secretly grinned when people complain of their back pain, but no more. I feel like a complete sissy right now, because the actual degree of the pain is slight compared to the effect it’s having on my movement.

2

That pop you heard was the last vestige of your youth expiring.

:eek:

3

Hey, I also thought back pain was silly - until one day I pulled something in my back. The pain was agonizing, I had tears in my eyes and had to beg to go home early.

Anyway, Mr Bus Guy, I recommend you go to the doctor before anything serious happens. Mine was only a pulled muscle, and got better, but if something doesn’t get better for seven days, you’re supposed to be worried.

4

I’ve done a couple of those over the years. Note: Going to the doctor for pain meds does not make you a wimp. Drugs are your friend. REPEAT: Drugs are your friend.

Husband did this a few months ago. It would probably be wise to 86 the workout until you’re feeling better.

5

Ditto. A lifetime of contact sports and strenous activity free of back pain until in my late thirties while walking across the living room BAM! all of a sudden my back locked up and I was in serious pain for a week and a half. Ever since, two or three times a year some piddly little activity will set it off and it’s several days before I can resume normal activities.

I’ve found that Methocarbomol/Robaxin helps get you back up and going sooner but muscle relaxers certainly are no permanent cure. Strenghthening exercises have helped some, but I’d been doing those when the injury first occurred, so go figure.

Nobody probably takes a healthy back for granted but, even so, you really miss it when it’s gone. What a luxury that was.

6

Strange, eh. You really don’t realize (for real) just how your back is involved in EVERYTHING you do. You can’t “isolate and rest” it very easily. And sometimes, resting makes it worse in the long run.

Yeah, as a person who has AS (a form of arthritis of the spine), I can soooo understand what you’re saying. I’ve had athletes tell me that they’d survived many gruesome injuries and surgeries, but nothing had ever “handicapped” them as much as an injured back…

7

I bit the bullet, and called Dr. Beth. The office I usually see her could only get me in on Friday, which is the only day of the week she’s there. But her main office, though it’s a slightly longer driver, has better hours and they’re calling backj any minute now to get me in.

It hurts to type, this really, seriously blows goats.

8

I bit the bullet, and called Dr. Beth. The office I usually see her could only get me in on Friday, which is the only day of the week she’s there. But her main office, though it’s a slightly longer driver, has better hours and they’re calling backj any minute now to get me in.

It hurts to type, this really, seriously blows goats.

9

How’d that happen? :smack:

10

My mother started getting back pain when she was 15. Well, she’d had it for as far back as she remembers, she just hadn’t realized it wasn’t normal until she was 15.

Didn’t get diagnosed (arthrosis) until she was in her early 30s; doctors simply didn’t associate “rheumatic illness” with “young woman”. Apparently it’s a leftover from the complicated pneumonia she had when she was 3 (in post-war Spain, not fun at all and quite an epic story).

Her biggest complaint is, “I’m not yelling, so people think I’m not in pain. If I yelled every time something hurts, I wouldn’t ever have time to talk!” We answer “Mom, you wouldn’t ever have time to sleep, either.” “True, so true.”

Cura sana, mal de rana,
si no te curas hoy, te curarás mañana.

(I don’t know any English booboo rhymes)

11

There is some study out there (I’m too lazy to find it) which shows that chronic back pain has the same effect on quality of life as cancer pain i.e. you have no quality of life!

I have a fun back thing (spina bifida occulta with mild cord tethering) which means I have had sciatica and back pain on and off since I was 5 (yes, 5) years old. I can’t stand or sit for longer than an hour without needing to change position and a day walking around the shops (say, at xmas) usually means spending the evening in bed with ice-packs if I want to avoid limping around for the next week.

You might need to experiment to find out what works to help your pain - ice or heat, rest or exercise, a firm mattress (or the floor) or soft cushioning, anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants or good old fashioned narcotics or anti-epileptics for nerve pain- everyone has different tricks that work for them.

Pilates, ice, attention to posture and, when things get very bad, bedrest work for me- but could do absolutely nothing for the next person.

12

S’mo fo butter layin’ to the bone. Jackin’ you up.
Tightly.

13

Mr Bus Guy, I’d recommend that you try the ice first, until you’re able to get to the doctor, and maybe pop a couple of ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory drugs, if you can.

I’ve had back problems, especially lower back pain & sciatica, since I was a pre-teen. I have not received any help from the few doctors I’ve bothered to see about it. The chiropractor was happy to see me, but I began to feel it was doing more for him than for me. The best thing for me is ice when it first starts to hurt, and stretching & relaxing exercises. Even so, I have to be very careful about shoes, and I can’t stand still for more than about 5-10 minutes, or I get terrible aching. I don’t have problems with walking, though, as long as I don’t do anything unusual.

I hope you find relief soon.