Back Pain

Back Pain (Full Version)

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camille65 -> Back Pain (8/10/2008 4:16:06 AM)
I've never had back pain or problems in my life. Until yesterday when I tried (and succeeded) in lifting bag after bag of potting soil. I couldn't find an employee to help and I was in a major hurry, I was careful. I do know how to lift but my knees were giving me problems and I guess I compensated for that by lifting with more back muscles than planned. Now I can hardly move, the pain is pretty bad and since I'm on morphine 24/7 that means the pain really is pretty bad. It is on the left side of my back in what feels like all muscle, the whole area from below my back ribs to my hip. If I press my hand there it hurts worse. Straightening my legs in bed..hurts. Etc. I can't get out of bed without tedious struggle and I can't change position in bed. I HAVE to be functional today and do more work so does anyone know what would help ease the pain? I need to be able to stand up and walk at the very least. Thanks

mistoferin -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 4:43:46 AM)
I know there are different camps on this...some say ice but that always stiffens me up worse. What I do is take a nice hot soak in some Epsom salts. It won't take away all the pain but it does help to loosen you up enough to stand and walk. The worst thing I find when my muscles are stiff is to stay in any position for too long...I always slowly work it out.

camille65 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 6:38:59 AM)
Thanks erin, I am planning on a longggggggggg soak at the end of today. Unfortunately the entire day is taken with 'things that have to be done'. Calgon, take me away!

ThundersCry -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 6:44:29 AM)
Back pain...sucks Believe it or not...you can walk it off, but...its not easy! Good luck...

LaTigresse -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 6:49:32 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: camille65 I've never had back pain or problems in my life. Until yesterday when I tried (and succeeded) in lifting bag after bag of potting soil. I couldn't find an employee to help and I was in a major hurry, I was careful. I do know how to lift but my knees were giving me problems and I guess I compensated for that by lifting with more back muscles than planned. Now I can hardly move, the pain is pretty bad and since I'm on morphine 24/7 that means the pain really is pretty bad. It is on the left side of my back in what feels like all muscle, the whole area from below my back ribs to my hip. If I press my hand there it hurts worse. Straightening my legs in bed..hurts. Etc. I can't get out of bed without tedious struggle and I can't change position in bed. I HAVE to be functional today and do more work so does anyone know what would help ease the pain? I need to be able to stand up and walk at the very least. Thanks Camille, I know you do not want to hear this but you are going to have to rest it or it will just get worse. I advise a trip to a GOOD chiro ASAP. I've suffered many a screwed up back followed by horrible muscle spasms. The more you ignore it, the worse it gets.

UR2Badored -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 7:23:17 AM)
Are you positive it is not a kidney stone?

igor2003 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 7:33:17 AM)
There is never a simple easy answer to back pain. I grew up on a farm and have had various kinds of back pain all my life. The first thing you need to know is what the pain is from because different kinds of causes require different kinds of treatment. A pinched nerve in the spinal column might very well benifit from a visit to a chiropractor. If it is simply aches and pains from overuse a warm bath or warming the area with a heating pad will help, as would a good massage. Probably the best thing to ease the pain from overuse is to lightly work those same muscles again. They ache because of a buildup of lactic acid from previous exercise and you need to work those acids out. A miscle strain might benifit from heat as well, but it needs more R&R rather thna repeat exercise. The last, and i don't think this is what you have, is a muscle spasm. That is usually a very tight muscle in a very specific area and creates more of a sharp pain rather than an ache over a larger area. Those can take days to go away and often need muscle relaxant meds from a doctor to get rid of quickly.

MstrDennynSlave -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 8:32:32 AM)
Ice for 20 minutes, then heat for 20 mins. And a muscle rub will help also. Any kind of OTC muscle rub will work. You can also get the patches to put on and use, that arent medicated. They just apply heat. But if you do that, dont use a muscle rub, as you can get burns then. Thera Heat is a good one for all day heat. Be careful using these though if you have sensitive skin. Good luck and hope you re feeling better soon.

velvetears -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 8:39:56 AM)
Don't second guess what it is - go to a doctor - an orthopedist or chiro if you prefer. Applying heat can make certain conditions worse, as can applying ice. Seeing that your legs are affected i would guess the sciatic nerve is involved. You could have a bulging or herniated disc and no amount of walking, baths or "working it out" is going to help...in fact it could make it worse.

candystripper -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 11:16:39 AM)
I agree with velvetears, but my guess was going to be that possibly you've torn a muscle or ligament and without medical intervention -- and soon -- you could be in for some serious trouble. I sympathise with your need to get things done today, really I do, and have ignored risks like this myself under the same sort of pressure -- but I also have friends who have not been as lucky and ended up needing surgery. In any event if you see no improvement in a few days, please consider getting looked at. I hope you feel better and it turns out to be nothing serious. candystripper

lusciouslips19 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 11:21:52 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: mistoferin I know there are different camps on this...some say ice but that always stiffens me up worse. What I do is take a nice hot soak in some Epsom salts. It won't take away all the pain but it does help to loosen you up enough to stand and walk. The worst thing I find when my muscles are stiff is to stay in any position for too long...I always slowly work it out. With any acute condition that includes teatrs. Heat, redness and swelling, heat is not the recommended thing. It will cause further swelling and pain and is a big no no. Soo unless this is the run of the mill chronic back ache i woule advis to stay away from heat, i am not a doctor but I do work with these condotions as a Liscensed massage therapist and Instructor.

lusciouslips19 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 11:27:02 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: igor2003 There is never a simple easy answer to back pain. I grew up on a farm and have had various kinds of back pain all my life. The first thing you need to know is what the pain is from because different kinds of causes require different kinds of treatment. A pinched nerve in the spinal column might very well benifit from a visit to a chiropractor. If it is simply aches and pains from overuse a warm bath or warming the area with a heating pad will help, as would a good massage. Probably the best thing to ease the pain from overuse is to lightly work those same muscles again. They ache because of a buildup of lactic acid from previous exercise and you need to work those acids out. A miscle strain might benifit from heat as well, but it needs more R&R rather thna repeat exercise. The last, and i don't think this is what you have, is a muscle spasm. That is usually a very tight muscle in a very specific area and creates more of a sharp pain rather than an ache over a larger area. Those can take days to go away and often need muscle relaxant meds from a doctor to get rid of quickly. A level 3 strain will not benefit from heat. You will worsen the condition. Do not use heat in the first 3 days after a sprain or strain. Sfter usung a heating pad, always follow with ice to lessen the chance of increased inflammation

Lockit -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 12:31:27 PM)
What you need to remember here is that you will most likely be in more pain tomorrow or the next day, because of those other medical factors. You have already pushed yourself and will again and this could end up making so you cannot move. My heart goes out to you! I used to be afraid to stop moving because the moment I did, I knew I was done. If you are able to work through the pain, cool... if not... you may have to take a break. I used hot water and aspercream helps too, but you have to be careful because it will be obsorbed and you don't want too much of that. If you can tolerate icy hot or something like that, it might help. I would at least take a hot shower to help get things moving and then have your soak later. My problem at that point would be in being able to get into and out of the tub! It might be nice to have something there you can push off of. lol I feel for you and hope it all goes well!

camille65 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 1:18:25 PM)
I had an awful lot to do today and actually managed it with a ton of pain. Super sharp spasm-y type if I moved wrong, or got up from sitting down which made me decide to not sit at all lol. So there was a lot of walking and it helped. It feels better to be standing (except for the hip problem which wants me laying down). I just took a long hot shower which felt so good and thankfully the Soma hit just as I was finishing. Getting up, getting out of bed is the worst. Gasping red haze pain, if it continues yes I will call my doctor tomorrow. I hate having to see him between the monthly visits since I haven't insurance but oh holy cow this hurts! I've a whole new empathy for those that have back problems, it effects every manuveur which I can't spell (blames the Soma yay). I'm scared to fully lay down because eventually I will have to pee lol. Thanks everyone for the advice. Heat really 'feels' the best and seems to loosen something til the heat source is gone. Oh and its not kidney stones, I've had those. Its from lifting those sacks of potting soil and doing far far too much labor. I must say.. aside from the bedrooms needing painted and the carpet replaced.. this place is in saleable condition!

Lockit -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 1:25:12 PM)
Sometimes you have to be careful with heat because it can cause swelling. I can only use it for a moment for some relief, but if I let it stay there longer than ten minutes, I cannot walk because of the swelling. That is why hot showers or a quick trip to a hot tub work best for me. I also use a hand held massager, but sometimes my ET is just too heavey to hold. I even use the cord over my shoulder or back and just guide it with the cord so I don't have to try and hold it. Sometimes if you don't get the problem area massaged out, you can form lumps under the skin which I guess is the muscle bunching up... I wish I could find the article on that. It was written by a doctor in Canada. I also use a recliner. I have to get the pressure off my spine. With a hip problem, I would think it might help you too. Sitting can be hell on a body. Good luck with the house and all you must do and I hope you feel better!

hardbodysub -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 1:39:28 PM)
Do NOT take any single response as a solution. There is NOT a "one size fits all" answer. Your problem may have several causes: muscular strain; muscle spasm; spinal misalignment; nerve impingement; etc. The problem could start in your hip, or in your spine. Ice is usually called for immediately after an injury, but if this didn't show up until the day after, heat might work better. It's hard to know which will work better unless you know what's really going on. Stretching may help; again, it depends on what the problem is. If self-care doesn't take care of it, see a professional. You could start with your primary care physician, but they'll probably give you only general advice and/or refer you to a specialist. If you think it's muscular, start with a massage therapist. If you think it's more spinal, or something seems out of place in your hip, see a chiropractor. Acupuncture also works for a lot of people. In my experience, it's a lot easier to get an appointment on short notice with a chiropractor, and they often will do some muscular work as well as adjust your spine.

PanthersMom -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 1:45:54 PM)
a doctor should be taking care of you. you have no idea what you injured and with the meds you are on, self medication is not a good idea. get yourself to a doc, pronto, before trying to compensate for the bad back does damage to your hip condition and you end up in a heap of trouble. good luck. PM

kiwisub12 -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 2:28:42 PM)
When i get back pain i take aleve as prescribed 24/7 , and try not to sit. Easier on the back to stand or lay down. And bed rest is not good for back pain - doesn't help.

L8bloomer -> RE: Back Pain (8/10/2008 11:54:02 PM)
Panthersmom has some good advice. Don't wait! Go to your doctor. Personally I wouldn't recommend a chiropractor, but I know many who have benefitted, so to each their own. Your doctor could probably best advise you on what sort of therapy to pursue. Myself, I had a back injury from a car accident I was in at the age of 13. I now have degenerative disc disease. I've had to deal with back pain all my life. The last major episode (that was somewhat like yours, where there was no position that was comfortable and the pain was constant and debilitating) was over 10 years ago and thankfully I haven't experienced anything to that degree since. knocks on wood I did discover a couple of things. The worst thing you can do for your back (in terms of relatively passive activities) is sit. When you're in pain, lying down is the next worse thing. It's not going to help. Walking (most of the time) can do wonders. I would go at a whatever pace felt comfortable. In terms of therapy, I have tried both chiropractors and physical therapists. With the chiropractor I felt relief immediately. But the pain slowly creeped back after each session. Eventually things go to a point where the pain subsided, but I'm not sure it had to do with the sessions. When I went to a physical therapist, I left the first session feeling a little better, but there was still a lot of pain. But after each session I felt improvement until I was pain free. It felt as if the treatments were something that helped improve the health of my back. At any rate, those are my experiences. Like hardbodysub said, I wouldn't trust in any one post here. Everyone's situation can be different. Something I think you will discover to be true though is that everyone becomes more at risk for back problems the older they get. One way to help guard against this (and obviously something to do once you get over this particular episode) is to strengthen the muscles that affect the back. You need to strengthen not only your back muscles, but your gluteus maximus and abdominal muscles as well. All three groups are necessary to give you the best protection against a possible injury like the one you likely sustained. I wish you well! I hope you gain back your back health soon! :)

CrazyC -> RE: Back Pain (8/11/2008 12:07:42 AM)
Hopifully it's not too late to tell you to put pillows under your knees. This will help relieve the strain from your lower back. It will still hurt in the morning, but what ever is causing the pain won't be more jacked up. Good luck. :)

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