my back hurts all the dang time now

[brianmanahan]

backstory (hehe):

a few months ago, my back started hurting whenever i woke up.

since i had used a crap mattress for a decade, i decided to replace it with a new one. instead of soft with a big huge indent, it is firmer.

and now oh man - my back hurts ALL the time. it has been like this for a couple months.

i can't tell if it was the bed or if i did something to my back. i have no idea how to determine this, but in any case, the pain is an every day occurrence.

just standing up out of my chair or trying to jog ranges from "not bad" to "feels like i'm ripping my spine in half".

background (hehe) question:

has anyone experienced this and found a way to fix it? right now i have been eating ibuprofen and hoping it goes away.

also been working on dropping from a BMI of 27 to 23. about 1/4 of the way there.

i've avoided much exercise because it always make it worse, but maybe i need to get through the pain to see if that helps?

 

[hardhat]

The best doctor I know recommends this book to everyone who comes in with back pain:
McKenzie's Treat your own back

Treat Your Own Back: McKenzie, Robin A.: 9780959774665: Amazon.com: Books

Treat Your Own Back [McKenzie, Robin A.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Treat Your Own Back

www.amazon.com

I haven't had any chronic back pain, luckily, but if I did I would buy that book and follow it. I just googled the title, didn't look for deals.

 

[balloonshark]

What position do you sleep in?
What is your build? Height? Weight? Slim or wide hips?
How firm is your bed?
If you sleep on your side does your bed keep your spine in a straight line?
Where is your pain?

I've been researching beds and your bed's firmness or softness has a lot to do with your back comfort. If you sleep on your side and your bed is too soft or firm your spine may not be aligned causing stiffness or pain. If you sleep on your stomach you need a firm bed to support your hips so your lower spine doesn't sink down too far. Etc. More info here. Even more info here.

I hurt my back 3 years ago and I had to switch from being a lifelong stomach sleeper to being a side sleeper. I'm currently "sleeping" on a 30 year old extra firm mattress which causes shoulder pain. I toss and turn all night so I'm looking for something softer but still supportive for my lower back. I'm a small person though so I may be able to get along better with med. and soft layers.

You may also want to talk to a doctor about your pain if it's bad or doesn't get better. A bed won't fix a medical problem.

 

[Torn Mind]

The evolution of such pain usually is caused initially by muscles tensing up the wrong way, and a bad bed can exacerbate it.

Extremely naughty muscles can mess you up big time.. The quadratus lumborum being one of them. Your various hip and shoulder muscles can also contribute to pain.

I used to be a side sleeper and that is one reason my back was miserable. The quadratus lumborum is overworked in such a position.

 

[Torn Mind]

I would head to to a store like a Walmart and get some baseballs or something and probe yourself for painful tender spots on your back. Apply pressure as needed. That's the budget, immediate option.

The next step is a specific type of massage called trigger point if the low cost option fails to remedy enough. You'll probably need a dude to do the work because it's about applying pressure just like with baseball, but the therapist will know more about biomechanics and optimum positions to achieve a relaxed state in the muscles.

 

[brianmanahan]

What position do you sleep in?
What is your build? Height? Weight? Slim or wide hips?
How firm is your bed?
If you sleep on your side does your bed keep your spine in a straight line?
Where is your pain?

slept on my stomach for decades, which might be the reason my back sucks now. a few years ago that started to hurt so i switched to a combo of side and back.

above 6 feet tall, low 200s pounds. dunno about my hips lol.

i got a bed that was supposedly on the soft side. it's a combo latex + foam. felt great in the store but i guess it was softer there than in real life.

i'm not sure if it keeps my back in a straight line, i need to videotape myself laying down and see.

pain is about halfway up my back

 

[pete6032]

Go see a chiropractor. They are very helpful.

 

[deadlyapp]

Sounds to me like you have a partially herniated disc. Someone else mentioned Mackenzie, there are some very good PT exercises based on his stuff.

If you stand in a mirror, check your hip height, if one side is higher than the other, or you have a slight tilt to your spine, that would also point to a herniated or disc issue.

 

[balloonshark]

slept on my stomach for decades, which might be the reason my back sucks now. a few years ago that started to hurt so i switched to a combo of side and back.

above 6 feet tall, low 200s pounds. dunno about my hips lol.

i got a bed that was supposedly on the soft side. it's a combo latex + foam. felt great in the store but i guess it was softer there than in real life.

i'm not sure if it keeps my back in a straight line, i need to videotape myself laying down and see.

pain is about halfway up my back

Wasn't expecting you to say the middle of your back. It's good to hear you switched from sleeping on your stomach. It's not supposed to be good for you. Really hard on the neck and can cause lower back pain or stiffness if you don't have a firm bed.

Did you injure your middle back in the past? Just guessing but maybe sitting at your desk hunched over or sleeping in a fetal position could cause middle back pain. I don't see how your bed would cause that issue unless your shoulder and/or hips are sinking in way to far causing your spine to bow up in the middle. I would think that would also cause strain on your lower back though. Again I'm just guessing and throwing around ideas.

If your pain is bad or has been going on for a while go get it checked out. I've hurt my back 3 times where I needed to seek out help. The first was from doing a scorpion while water skiing. The other two just happened without warning. I was scraping the ice off my truck with good posture and something between my shoulders said nope. The last time was my lower back when I was picking up a clothes basket. That pain also involved my knee that night. It was the last time I slept on my tummy.

Also read what deadlyapp wrote.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Do the PT stretches and exercises. And for now, stop running.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Go see a chiropractor. They are very helpful.

That is absolutely the worst advice you could give a person in back pain.

 

[brianmanahan]

That is absolutely the worst advice you could give a person in back pain.

i've never been to a chiro but have always been hesitant about it

i know someone who swears by one but it never seems to be a permanent fix, they always have to go back regularly

(maybe that's how they get ya)

 

[brianmanahan]

i did realize that my pillow was too high and so i switched to a shorter one

that seems to have helped somewhat today

also my tendency is to always curl into a ball on my side, so i am forcing myself to stop that

maybe i need to wear a straightjacket or something. but i left mine in olds' basement.

 

[pete6032]

That is absolutely the worst advice you could give a person in back pain.

ok.

 

[Hans Gruber]

i've never been to a chiro but have always been hesitant about it

i know someone who swears by one but it never seems to be a permanent fix, they always have to go back regularly

(maybe that's how they get ya)

I believe acupuncture is better but that is not a permanent fix either. That is far eastern medicine. PT is a waste of time after a week or two. Electric stim works. A LMP is better than PT. At least with PT they won't hurt you. I have heard only bad things about chiropractors. The only brand of treatment that has earned the coveted pseudoscience label.

 

[Torn Mind]

One of many muscles to attack.

 

[brianmanahan]

One of many muscles to attack.

hopefully i dont have to be that ripped in order to do it

 

[Torn Mind]

hopefully i dont have to be that ripped in order to do it

I searched the video for my personal benefit long before posting in this thread.

I'm much less ripped than that guy. In fact, I'm at a weight women would die for.

 

[deadlyapp]

Chiropractors are useful, if you have a good one. Most of them will do soft tissue work in addition to manual adjustments and this absolutely helps. A good chiro will also know when you have a disc issue and won't exacerbate it further.

PT is extremely useful, however perceived value is lower because of how expensive it is. A good PT will give you an extensive range of exercises and movements to strengthen you and stretch you to prevent it from happening again. If you stop doing them, surprise you will go back to how you were.

Estim, massage, traction, etc are all useful "in the moment" because it can help relax tight muscles (which are 95% of the issues) but doesn't fix the underlying issues.

 

[otho11]

Allow me to offer you yet another option: yoga

I had back pain for months that couldn't be resolved by: an orthopedic surgeon consult, PT with mckenzie method, chiropractor nor acupuncture.

It took 4 weeks on a beginner yoga program like this 30 minutes daily in the comfort of my home and I was healed. I hated the idea of yoga and was bored during the process but can't deny the result.

It was specifically this program and repeated it after 3 weeks. You could piece a program together for free on Youtube

 

[Pohemi]

I use to be a stomache sleeper until restrictive capsulitis made it impossible to lay my head on my arms.

Over a decade back when doctors were trying to diagnose my peripheral neuropathy, they were trying to detect Sciatica with an MRI. Instead they found a herniated disc and two bulging discs in my middle back.

I never felt them until a year or so ago, and now it's every time I get up from laying down, no matter what position I was in. They'll ache for an hour or two and then it goes away for the most part. Only feel it otherwise if I twist really wrongly and stupidly.

I don't suggest "exercising more and working it out" if you don't know for sure what's going on. Back problems can be serious and dangerous, not trying to be a harbinger of doom.

I got myself one of these when the frozen shoulder started...maybe it could help with your back: Theracane massage tool @ Amazon This was actually one of the tools that the PT clinic had.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I thumbs upped your puns.

I hurt my back when I was 22 by lifting a Sony Trinitron monitor across a table cantilever style...then went on a hike. I ended up with a herniated disc and a bad case of sciatica that left me not being able to take a step forward. I did some physical therapy to get over that, but learned I was no longer invincible.

Since then, I've dealt with a lot of chronic back pain, as well as some acute bouts when I hurt my back doing stuff.

Firm mattresses are the best, if you ask me....your back typically needs support. It's best to sleep on your back or your chest,. It sounds though that your old mattress was worn down to the point to where you slept in a particular position and it supported you enough. Getting old sucks. Back pain is really common and sleeping in one position leaves a lot of room for you to be in the wrong position for extended periods of time.

Being active and lowering your BMI is a good way to keep moving. You may end up with more back pain from your daytime activities....but in the long run, moving every 15-30 minutes and not sitting in one place will help you keep limber.

 

[brianmanahan]

I hurt my back when I was 22 by lifting a Sony Trinitron monitor across a table cantilever style

oof, those babies were humongous

now that i started laying on my back exclusively and not curling up, it does seem to be feeling a bit better

guess i'll keep at it for a while and see what happens. got a doctor's appointment in a few months so if it's still acting up then, i'll whine to him about it and see where that gets me.

 

[Pohemi]

I helped move one of those several times.
Flat, widescreen, HDTV Sony Trinitron TV, somewhere in the vicinity of 35 to 40inch screen. There were NO handles or decent grip-spots anywhere on that thing. 250+ lbs. and of course front-heavy. It was always a small project to pre-plan those moving arrangements of that TV.

 

[Scarpozzi]

oof, those babies were humongous

now that i started laying on my back exclusively and not curling up, it does seem to be feeling a bit better

guess i'll keep at it for a while and see what happens. got a doctor's appointment in a few months so if it's still acting up then, i'll whine to him about it and see where that gets me.

The monitor didn't help, but my problems appear to be hereditary and my size. My dad had similar lower back issues and my sister did after falling down some stairs when she was 22 on her front porch.

If you ever have acute back pain...like you hurt your back and can't stand up...or can't sit down/stand up because it hurts so bad. Doctors always prescribe pain killers or muscle relaxers. I can understand doing muscle relaxers in those cases to loosen the tension....if you have an injury, inflammation is what you're fighting so the actual injury can heal. My recommendation though, if you can do it, is to get some steroids. I would have your doctor either prescribe a dose pack, but call around and see what they'll cost you. I would expect $25-30, but the prices went up crazy high this past year on our insurance...probably because of covid demand. I think I was quoted $95 at CVS. I ended up declining and had my wife call in a bottle of straight prednisone last time for less than $10. You just have to be careful with steroids and know how to taper off them and only take them when needed.