What does “throwing out your back” actually mean?
Having worked as a work comp adjuster for a while, I heard this phrase used to describe many things.
Usually it means to either injure or reinjures ones lumbar spinal region.
This could be either a strain of the muscle, a tear of the ligaments, a disc bulge, or an actual disc heniation.
It is a generic term for “I hurt my back.”
I have never seen a scenario as one sees in sitcoms where someones back goes out and it is wrenched back into place. But any Chiropractors on the board will probably attest to such a feat.
As a general rule, if your back hurts, it’s probably a muscle strain or sprain. If something else hurts (like your hips or the backs of your legs) it could be a herniated disk, which puts pressure on the nerve and generates this “referred” pain in a different area. When I had my disk problems, I thought I had arthritis!
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 15 tons.
-Popular Mechanics, 1949
When I “threw my back out”, I was carrying a screaming, kicking 4 year old upstairs to her room. Don’t ever do that! It literally felt like my back had thrown something out of place (like an engine throws a rod). My second thought was “Now I know where that phrase comes from.” My first thought was “Uh-oh”.
[SOAPBOX RANT]The important thing to know about throwing your back out is DON’T! I’m the only one in my immediate family with a good spine and I intend to keep it that way. My brother has two dimensional scoliosis and dad is paralyzed after a failed surgery to repair his spine.
I injured myself last year doing something stupid and it really scared me because it was the first time it didn’t just get better on its own. No damage to the spine or disks but the spasms were debilitating.
A few months of physcal therapy and learning the right way to exercise have made a profound difference. I do most of my stretching with my back flat on the floor, no situps and I avoid the back extension machine at the gym. I won’t use a back brace belt on the advice of my therapist who said it’s usually just a false sense of security.[/SOAPBOX RANT]
My Jesus fish can beat up your Dawrin fish but forgives it instead.