[nanahachi]

Hey all

This past Friday I had my second acute attack of severe back pain, the sort that infuses my body with pure pain caused by any movement. I woke up, tried to get up, and BAM!, surge of excruciating pain.

Now, this happened to me before, around March 2000. I tried to get up, screamed in pain, and lay back down in bed. Any attempts to move were like swords through my back, causing me to crumple on the floor any time I tried to get up and go somewhere.

Like that previous time, high doses of ibuprofen and Vicoden helped dumb down the pain, and today, I was able to get my prescription for a muscle relaxant. Like last time, I will attend physical therapy to try to strengthen my back, abs, and learn how to move in less stressful manners. Like last time, this back pain was not precipated by any one event or stress. No heavy lifting, etc.

Since 2000, I have lived with perpetual back pain, especially evident at work, where of course, I have to sit on my ass most of the day. Some days there's no pain, some days, it lingers all day long. Now, much of this is my fault. I stopped the PT exercises once the extreme pain went away after the first few weeks. This time, once I get started, I don't plan on stopping. I can't go on with this pain, if I can help it. When I work out, I do try to strengthen my abs, but its time to go hardcore.

Advil has been my best friend (although probably not my liver's) for the past 2 years for sure, probably the past 3. I'd really like to stop that habit.

Now I'm sure many of you have experienced far worse: real back injuries, including breaks, etc...and having gone through this, I truly hope you are all healed and beyond this curse. My case is just a matter of stressed muscles according to the doctors. Anything worse than this would break me.

Maybe I just wanted to vent my frustration at being beaten down by the pain. Hopefully someone can suggest some exercises, meds, or behaviors to avoid, to help me and anyone else be free of unnecessary back pain.

At least today was better than yesterday. I can move, sit, stand, and even walk. Maybe tomorrow will be even better (well, I hope so, since I'll be back at work...

)

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

I was just curious; is this a situation where your muscles spasm, and cause your back to misalign? Do you go to a Chiropractor? Is this strictly your lower back? And, does one side hurt worse than the other? Any pain that shoots down your legs, or in your hips?

 

[screwdriver]

nanahachi,

i am a physical therapist .

go to a physical therapist that is certified to do mechanical diagnosis and therapy (MDT) or otherwise known as the mckenzie technique.

im sure they can help you out .

 

[nanahachi]

Crescendopower: wow, such questions!
ok, ill hit them one at a time:

* the doctor didnt indicate that my back was misalligning. everything seemed in order, except for the muscle spasms. curvature of my spine is normal, no herniated discs, no sciatica (sp)

*I am not currently going to a Chiropractor. I will attend PT, but prob not a Chrio.

* usually, the pain is only in my lower back (exacerbated by poor sitting posture and sitting that way for hours, im sure)

* neither side hurts more than the other, but now I am having pain in my left calf, mostly on the outter side of my leg. the Doc said it was prob due to the stress on my back, and not sciatica.

Screwdriver: McKenzie has been recommended to me before, although I can't remember from where...but I will look into this, definitely.

thanks for your posts guys.

600mg Ibuprofen here i come

 

[MacDEF]

nanahachi, if everything your doctor says is accurate, it sounds like you basically have very weak abdominal/lower back muscles, and you sit in a chair all day

I and a good friend both had that same problem for years until we both ended up going to PT to strengthen those areas. It helped immensely. We both now work out regularly, and neither of us has had lower back problems for a few years.

In other words, if you don't have any other problems they haven't found, and the problem really is simply weak/inflamed muscles, do your physical therapy religiously, and once you've "completed" it, exercise regularly, especially focusing on your abdomen.

 

[john_jcb]

Maybe 10 years ago I had the same sort of thing. I could step off a curb wrong and my back would spasm. I found that the muscle relaxers help to relieve the pain but did nothing to help the underlying problem. It turned out that my back muscles were weaker than other surrounding groups and they would react by going into a spasm when pressed into action too quickly. This is my layman's interpretation of what happened. Exercise helped and I have not had any real problems in quite a while. Also do not feel that this is not a worthy ailment to get help with. Back pain can be debilitating.

 

[sacriste]

Do you have overweight? When I have more than ten pounds of overweight I get backpain very easily. I was like that last year but this year I'm slimmer and feel O.K. By the way, I have more emotional stress this year than before. Hope it helps.

 

[Calanctus]

I used to sleep on bed with extra foam padding on top. I had recurrent back trouble. One day I removed one of the two layers of padding...and my back problems improved over the course of a week.

So I took out the other layer...and the problems went away nearly completely.

Most doctors won't tell you that one. But if you sleep on a soft bed, it's worth trying.

 

[MERTON]

do back situps.. my back always hurst when it's weak.. but once i get strong i don't feel any pain.. and i do have a slight curvature of the spine.

 

[reynman]

nanahachi,

I know your pain dude! I had the same excruciating feeling about a year ago. I went to my primary and she said it was a herniated disc, so she ordered an MRI and the orthopedic surgeon confirmed it. Boy was that a site to see this bulging disc, pretty much in 3D. The ortho said I had three choices:

Surgery
Steroids via injection
Steroids orally

I took the steroids orally, of course! Though I haven't exercised regularly other than riding my bike to work I feel great. It looms large in my mind that any mis-step or odd motion and my condition may flair up. At some point strengthening your abs may not be enough. See if your primary can order a MRI for you.

I hope you feel better.

Regards - reynman

 

[jlo mein]

i don't want to be insultive but an important question is are you overweight? specifically in the belly region which can cause strain on your lower back?

Wow it really must be difficult going through back pains at 25. Just like MacDEF i think regular exercise is key (once you are well enough to regularly exercise).

Another thing is proper form when doing abdomen exercises. Many ppl do sit ups and use ab presses incorrectly, which leads to dangerous stress on your back. We learned all about it in weight training this year. Our instructor did 1 on 1 tutoring with us to make sure we got proper form. We were extremely surprised when she first told us that most of us were doing them wrong.

so ya proper form, and dont do full sit ups! thats bad, just do little crunches by lifting the shoulder blades off the floor.

 

[MadDog5145]

What kind of doctor(s) did you see? Your family physician and some specialists (orthopaedist specifically)?

 

[stallion11msu]

Something you could do at home (in addition to PT (I guess this kinda is PT)):
Get an exercise ball (65 cm for most men). Even just sitting on the ball, while watching TV or posting at Head-fi, will strengthen your mid-section due to muscles involved in balancing.

Eventually you can add mid-section involvement to just about any darn exercise by doing it on the ball.

Best part: a ball is $20 tops.

 

[nanahachi]

tons to reply to...

* i am not overweight. While i want to get cut and am not there yet, I am working on it (although fewer times a week than I should...). I'm 5'10, 150lbs.

* I have a medium firm bed, but it has a pillowtop (attached). My g/f complains that my bed is too soft, and I suspect that the soft pillowtop may be a part of the problem, although probably not the only cause.

* last time I went to PT, i was shown how to do proper situps on an exercise ball. I think I do a good job at following the proper form, I just need to do more of them. I use a ball at the gym, but any ideas where I can order one online?

* i saw a GP (general practioner) who seemed competent enough. Since what she said echoed what I heard 3 years ago, I havent been inclined to get another opinion.

thanks for all your advice, kind words, and sharing your own experiences. this pain friggin sucks. Having had this hit me twice now has really gotten me motivated to get in shape, no matter the cost financially, timewise, etc..

please keep posting your thoughts. Please share any tips, books, exercises, etc that could help, if you can. You have all given me good ideas so far (e.g. exercise ball) and the posts are helping me evaluate what I'm going through. thanks guys!

 

[MadDog5145]

I do recommend that you see an orthopaedist who actually specializes in the pain you are dealing with. My dad had similar intermittent pain in his back and was diagnose with facet syndrome. The orthopaedist recommended this special pillow (I do not where to get it) for you when you sit down for long periods of time (i.e. driving or sitting at a desk) and some physical therapy. Fortunately for my dad that worked for him.