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my back hurts all the dang time now

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brianmanahan said:
eating ibuprofen and hoping it goes away.
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Clearly that is not working. Got a plan B?

Chiropractor?
Osteopath?

A chiropractor relieved my constant back pain that had me hobbling like an old man (I was in my 30's at the time) to completely pain free in about 3 weeks, with visits 2x/week.
 
MtnMan said:
Clearly that is not working. Got a plan B?

Chiropractor?
Osteopath?

A chiropractor relieved my constant back pain that had me hobbling like an old man (I was in my 30's at the time) to completely pain free in about 3 weeks, with visits 2x/week.
Click to expand...

did you every have to go back to the chiro after that?

i dunno what i'm going to do, i was thinking of talking to my regular doctor about it when i visit in a few months

the back was actually feeling somewhat better until yesterday when i had to lunge to stop my niece from faceplanting on the ground

at that point i pretty much decided i'm too old to have kids haha
 
brianmanahan said:
did you every have to go back to the chiro after that?

i dunno what i'm going to do, i was thinking of talking to my regular doctor about it when i visit in a few months

the back was actually feeling somewhat better until yesterday when i had to lunge to stop my niece from faceplanting on the ground

at that point i pretty much decided i'm too old to have kids haha
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I went every couple of weeks for maybe 3 - 4 months.
 
L5 is a slight hemivertebrae. Easy enough to see on an x-ray. Like said, pt, core strength and don't pick up heavy stuff.

Good luck. When mine went on vacation, it was debilitating.
 
hardhat said:
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.
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so my back started to feel better over the summer. it rarely aches in the morning now, and is fine after that. no pain pills needed.

maybe i got used to the bed?

or perhaps just knowing that i'm going to the doctor takes away my problems. i should do that more often!

he did say i should work on my core strength though, so i might pick up that book.
 
Simple core strength PT exercises and stretching will go a long way. The easiest thing to do is just get a referral for an actual PT and go regularly for a few months. Sure you can teach yourself on YouTube and with books but an actual professional will be far more effective, motivating, and should be covered by your health insurance. I was skeptical myself but finally went after I hurt my back squatting and it wouldn’t go away after a few months .. literally changed my life in the sense that I’m back to lifting with better form than ever and have the tools to maintain core strength and flexibility without having to visit a PT again.

I don’t do most of the easier exercises anymore but still do bicycle crunches to warm up for lifting days, side and regular planks along with some hamstring and erector spinae stretches most days, and foam rolling pretty much every day. Oh and I still get to be a side sleeper without any discomfort … stomach and back sleeping sucks, just can’t do it.
 
I have had almost no back problems since taking up regular gym work. I do a fair amount of core exercises in the gym, was going 3x/week before pandemic. I won't go back to the gym until maybe next year when covid calms down some more (Dr. recommended that when I saw him for first time since before pandemic, saw him a week ago). I took up daily quad skating on a smooth street a few months after pandemic started, at first 5 miles/day, worked up to 10 miles/day starting this last August. The skating, which I work at pretty hard, is keeping my core strong and I have basically no back issues now.
 
When I was running and weighed less, I had fewer issues with back pain.

My back pain is almost always lower back pain...like L0-L2 vertebrae pain....typically on the left side. The supporting muscles around those vertebrae just see very little action when sitting or sleeping. I started thinking about how to work out muscles around there and started doing things like high stepping...bringing my knees up high while walking. Motions like that made a difference in working muscles normal movements don't touch. Otherwise, core muscle work outs always help....a strong core helps support your back.
 
Scarpozzi said:
When I was running and weighed less, I had fewer issues with back pain.

My back pain is almost always lower back pain...like L0-L2 vertebrae pain....typically on the left side. The supporting muscles around those vertebrae just see very little action when sitting or sleeping. I started thinking about how to work out muscles around there and started doing things like high stepping...bringing my knees up high while walking. Motions like that made a difference in working muscles normal movements don't touch. Otherwise, core muscle work outs always help....a strong core helps support your back.
Click to expand...

interesting, i'm going to try that high stepping because it sounds fun!

i did start doing one of the introductory exercises from "treat your own back", putting my hands on my sides and then bending backwards. after a few days that really did seem to help. the pain doesn't happen now unless i drive for a couple hours.
 
brianmanahan said:
he did say i should work on my core strength though, so i might pick up that book.
Click to expand...
Planks, man, planks. I'm coming up on 3 years of doing them every workday, all I wanted was a simple, low-impact exercise to build muscle, in order to help burn fat more easily. Feels good, looking good, figure at this point I'll be doing them until I'm too old to do them.
 
brianmanahan said:
interesting, i'm going to try that high stepping because it sounds fun!

i did start doing one of the introductory exercises from "treat your own back", putting my hands on my sides and then bending backwards. after a few days that really did seem to help. the pain doesn't happen now unless i drive for a couple hours.
Click to expand...
There are some really good ones that are tied to fixing lateral hip shifts that I like for every day stuff. Look for one called doorway hip stretch (this helps stretch out your QL and lumbar muscles), I'd try doing couch stretches (a lot of back pain is caused by your hip flexors), doing cat/camel stretches and bird dogs.
 
deadlyapp said:
There are some really good ones that are tied to fixing lateral hip shifts that I like for every day stuff. Look for one called doorway hip stretch (this helps stretch out your QL and lumbar muscles), I'd try doing couch stretches (a lot of back pain is caused by your hip flexors), doing cat/camel stretches and bird dogs.
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Investigate yoga and do it. You don't have to do downward dog, I don't, my shoulders won't tolerate it, but there's tons of stuff you can do that will really help. The exercises and stretches of yoga are just a part of a yoga lifestyle. Yoga's about unity all in all, being at peace and one with the cosmos. That might sound high falutin' but it's actually completely down to earth.
 
nakedfrog said:
Planks, man, planks. I'm coming up on 3 years of doing them every workday, all I wanted was a simple, low-impact exercise to build muscle, in order to help burn fat more easily. Feels good, looking good, figure at this point I'll be doing them until I'm too old to do them.
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unfortunately, i have a shoulder injury.

brianmanahan said:
interesting, i'm going to try that high stepping because it sounds fun!

i did start doing one of the introductory exercises from "treat your own back", putting my hands on my sides and then bending backwards. after a few days that really did seem to help. the pain doesn't happen now unless i drive for a couple hours.
Click to expand...
just bending backwards helped with your lower back pain?
i just tried it.
how does the muscle mechanics of doing that help?
 
JEDI said:
unfortunately, i have a shoulder injury.


just bending backwards helped with your lower back pain?
i just tried it.
how does the muscle mechanics of doing that help?
Click to expand...
Hip flexors often are a hidden source of problems all over the body. Bending backwards is the opposite position of sitting.

 
JEDI said:
unfortunately, i have a shoulder injury.


just bending backwards helped with your lower back pain?
i just tried it.
how does the muscle mechanics of doing that help?
Click to expand...
Torn Mind basically got it. Bending backwards or arching backwards helps stretch your hip flexors. It probably also can take some pressure off your lumbar discs if you're basically pushing your hips down and away but I'm not real sure of the mechanics there.

Planks you can do on your forearms or in a push up position. There should be no reason why you have shoulder pain in either of those unless you're very inwardly rotated and your cuff is completely shot.

An alternative to planks is doing what's called a Hollow hold. Lay on your back and drive your low back into the floor, bring your feet off the ground and shoulders off the ground so your body is a crescent shape. Arms go outstretched above your head but if that's too hard just keep them to your side
 
brianmanahan said:
hopefully i dont have to be that ripped in order to do it
F1PvrRb.png
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His channel is pretty good. He has some great posture exercises that may help with your back pain as well.
 
hardhat said:
The best doctor I know recommends this book to everyone who comes in with back pain:
McKenzie's Treat your own back
Click to expand...

well after a couple months of doing a few of the introductory "treat your own back" exercises, the pain is completely gone!

before i couldn't drive for more than 30 minutes without a ton of pain - now i can go 3 hours without any problem. and it never hurts when i sleep.

i'm still not sure if it was an injury that took 6 months to heal, or if the stretches helped. maybe a bit of both.

anyways, thank you for the suggestion!
 
brianmanahan said:
well after a couple months of doing a few of the introductory "treat your own back" exercises, the pain is completely gone!

before i couldn't drive for more than 30 minutes without a ton of pain - now i can go 3 hours without any problem. and it never hurts when i sleep.

i'm still not sure if it was an injury that took 6 months to heal, or if the stretches helped. maybe a bit of both.

anyways, thank you for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
Muscle imbalance is an issue too.
 
brianmanahan said:
well after a couple months of doing a few of the introductory "treat your own back" exercises, the pain is completely gone!

before i couldn't drive for more than 30 minutes without a ton of pain - now i can go 3 hours without any problem. and it never hurts when i sleep.

i'm still not sure if it was an injury that took 6 months to heal, or if the stretches helped. maybe a bit of both.

anyways, thank you for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
link to these exercises?
 
brianmanahan said:
well after a couple months of doing a few of the introductory "treat your own back" exercises, the pain is completely gone!

before i couldn't drive for more than 30 minutes without a ton of pain - now i can go 3 hours without any problem. and it never hurts when i sleep.

i'm still not sure if it was an injury that took 6 months to heal, or if the stretches helped. maybe a bit of both.

anyways, thank you for the suggestion!
Click to expand...
Yep, these exercises should honestly be a part of every single person's routine with how much we sit in our lives these days.
 
also i learned in the book that sneezing while leaning forward puts a lot of strain on your back, so it's better to lean backwards slightly or stay straight up when you gotta sneeze
 
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