OT Need some advice- Severe lower back pain, accident during detailing...

[CharlesAFerg]

Well, I have started to become more active again after being swamped with school, this terms schedule is much mroe forgiving than last.

So I haven't detailed my car in a while, so I was working on it and myback started to hurt a bit and I decided to be careful... I just finished applying the wax w my random orbital and whammo, no pop or anything, just severe nerve pain that weakened my legs and made me short of breath.

I'm assuming due to my recent workouts and not detailing my car either, my ab muscles have deteriorated to the level where my back couldn't handle it anymore.
(I had this problem working at a grocery store years ago)

So I lay there trying to find a way to bring my legs up without hurting my back anymore as I'm chillin on the garage floor like a dumbass. I finally get up and get upstairs with a stick up my ass(not literally) and lay the heck down.

I feel a bit better now, but I still have very mild nerve pain regardless of where I move...

I'm assuming there are some exercises that are very specific to keeping this away, do you guys know?
I'm hitting the oxycontin after this for sure.

I'm only 20 and am 170lbs and run a lot, and I have a job where I stand a lot. I'm not overweight, or underweight either. I figured I'd be rid of this problem due to this, but do you think the lack of exercise last term weakened my abs, causing a recurrence of my previous ailment?

Your thoughts.
I hate feeling like some old fart, not being able to get up and just chilling on the floor like that... Argh. It's frustrating.
(I did manage to get a small stool and crouch my way around my car and remove the wax.) :-D But, nothing else got done, even though I seriously considered protecting the tires and plastic trim...

[Alexlind123]

More vicodin will solve all of your problems.

[BillionPa]

my dad had the same issue, its the siatic nerve and the pain can appear in the back or the legs. there are some stretching excersises he did that really did the trick

[danielhstout]

More vicodin will solve all of your problems.

+1 J/k

Man I would say that you should see a doctor and get some x-rays done... it could be serious, then again you could just be a total pussy... ha ha.

I am 21 years old and I also suffer from constant lower back pain. We are too you to be having back trouble... I for one intend to get checked out as soon as get some decent insurance.

Or I will just move to Canda so I can afford healthcare.

Get it checked out.

[Tiger]

Only 20? In your case, I'd take Advil to ease the pain for one week. Don't stop and start... just take it for a week continuous. By continuing, you keep the swelling down instead of letting the swelling grow and shrink repeatedly.

Forget about oxycontin if you can tolerate the pain.

Wear wide back support belt like those guys at Home Depot (this you can get it at home depot too)... or wide weightlifting belt... you can get this at local sporting good stores. Wear it all the time except sleeping.

I'd seriously consider visiting a chiropractor... if your insurance will cover it... go for it.

Once you recuperate from the pain, then you can consider exercising... but right now? Recuperate only.

[Tiger]

Ahh... I forget! Those darn BACKPACKS!... Don't wear only one strap... You gotta be 'uncool' to protect your back.

[Venus4NU]

Serious, you need to see a doctor just to rule anything serious out.

My son had constant lower back pain. He was a football player and blamed everything from a pulled muscle to a bruised tailbone from tackling to hard. The athletic trainer did some chilled whirlpools, heat whirlpools and muscle shocks. Nothing helped. One night the pain was so bad we took him to the ER, they assumed a pinched nerve but took x-rays. Imagine our surprise when we found he had 6 breaks in his lower back and an undiagnosed mild case of spina bifda. They immediately sent his x-rays over the Internet to a specialist in Dallas (we are in Omaha). He wore a back brace for 6 months while doing physical therapy in preperation for surgery. Went through 9 hour surgery and had 6 pins inserted in his back and had three vertabrae's removed and rebuilt. It ended his football career. We are just glad we finally took him to the doctor before he did something to it that would have caused more serious permanent damage.

Please, please go to the doctor.

Venus

[swenpro]

Sorry to hear about the condition... this may not be what you need immediately, but I seriously recommend looking into this to prevent further occurrences. I am also quite young myself, and we should not be experiencing problems like this. It's called the Egoscue method (http://www.egoscue.com/htdocs/index.asp), basically a way of performing physical therapy on yourself daily to keep the body from deteriorating and eventually causing pain. Pete Egoscue's book is called Pain Free (http://www.amazon.com/Pain-Free-Revolutionary-Stopping-Chronic/dp/0553379887/sr=8-1/qid=1169530924/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6212118-6052148?ie=UTF8&s=books), and highly recommend checking it out. I feel much better after doing his short routines, a lot of his "e-cises" are like yoga, so if you're into yoga this is quite similar. This is not craziness, it's just a way of getting your body through some motions it never sees at an office job.

[632 Regal]

I had an injury when I was small, had recurring 'attacks' over the years, started seeing a chiro at 17 years old, been seeing one every couple months to keep things in order. You would be surprized what they can do by twisting you up and popping things back where they belong. Once your back together take it easy for 24 hours then start with small non torturous sit ups, a few a day and that will hold things where they belong.

I dont like MD's at all.

[CharlesAFerg]

Yeah, I was kidding about the oxycontin, but yeah I'll go see the MD..

[winfred]

i have a fairly crappy lower back, one thing i've learned if it's not a mechanical problem it's probably muscle which can be dealt with, the best ****ing thing i have ever done for my back was to get a sheet of plywood and put it between the box spring and mattress, squashed probably 3/4 or my problems (yes i've tried other beds) one stretch i learned though a buddy with a back problem is to fold a bath towel over lengthwise so it's about a foot wide and roll it into a log, put towel log on the floor and do a "thumb's up" with both hands and touch your thumbs together behind your back by your ass, the lowest point you can touch the tips together while standing straight up is where you want to lay on the towel log, 4 minutes, this stretches the muscles that usually are causing lower back pain, pinched muscles are just a bitch till the swelling goes down and they slip out, i have a couple stretches that sometimes help mine but it's still a bitch, ibuprofen and naproxin sodium are my friends but when they don't wanna play a couple shots of my favorite booze helps (ps my neck is ****ed up too but due to dear ol dad winging a steel toed boot at me from across the room catching me in the back of the head when i was 10 or 11, the plywood helped that too)

[Dash01]

Lie on the floor on your belly, with hands joined behind on your butt. Lift your head and legs, making your body a gentle U shape, and rock gently forward and back. Relax, then repeat gently a couple more times. This is to re-align tissues in your lower back, as you may have herniated a muscle, which is what caused the pain. Take a couple of aspirin and have a hot bath, then a good sleep.

A ~20 minute walk in comfortable shoes will also help.

Avoid tight fitting clothing or tight elastic around your waistline, as it may contribute to pinched nerve(s).

[dennyg]

I am fifty five year old and had back surgery in 1992. If I knew then what I know now I would have been able to avoid the surgery. Lower back pain is very common and everyone has their opinion on what is the source. Of course seeing a doctor is important. But unless you find one that is very interested in your condition he will just write you a RX and send you on your way. If you are right handed and your pain is in the lower left side it could be a disc problem. especially if you worked lifting as you said in a grocery. My L-5 S-1 disc was taken away {well %80} and I have to excercise every day to stay pain free. Advil or motrin is a good short term remedy. I prefer to do stretching and lengthening excersizes like one quarter sit ups and pelvic tilt. Think of the disc between the vertebrae as a grape. The skin of the disc cracks with injury and the soft part of the disc oozes out. It pins your sciatic nerve and a few days later the blood flow from the nerve is stopped to the point where pain or numbness occurs. I does not happen right away. So pain will come from tying a shoe or waxing a car as in your case. You probably hurt your back lifting something with bad posture a few days ago. It takes that long for the sciatic nerve to deaden. I compare the disc to a grape because its outer skin holds the softer material inside. When it cracks and the disc oozes out it will heal if you take it easy. Problem is the next time it injures easier and after years of episodes then it has to many fissures or cracks and the skin of the disc will not hold the jelly or soft material. Take it easy for a few days. Look up on the internet ways to excersize for back health and the most important part- Stop lifting heavy objects-don't help friends with furniture-push stuck cars ect.. or you may face surgery at age forty...Sorry about the long running reply. I hope it makes some sense to you......GOOD LUCK!

[Paul in NZ]

doctor to check what has happened,antiinfammatories to get by for the next few days,ask around for a GOOD chiropracter....I pinched my sciatic nerve years ago,i can hardly walk when it goes out.It got beeterslowly over a period of years.....all sort of exercises,physio et.I found a good chirppracter,he had me better than all the others within a few days,i had a couple of other incidents and it has been pretty good since,but i have reduced flexibility esp down left leg.I am careful when lifting.If have to do anything hard or heavy i am very careful to be symetrical and keep the weight close.When you are sore you gotta keep moving.

[Morgenster]

If it's a lumbago, you could just do with some simple exercises, preferably daily. But it has to be diagnosed correctly.
I used to have backproblems related to weak posture muscles and hypermobile joints. It's not uncommon.
Last time I ever went to the fysiotherapist they gave me exercises and told me to take on powertraining. Since I've started going to the gym and doing the exercises I have been very well.
Best formula for prevention =
-simple mobility exercises for joints (e.g. getting on all fours and doing cat stretch, or arm swings or lying don on your back with your knees up and feet close to your butt and then letting them gently turn to the ground left and right while keeping you shoulders on the ground). Most of these will be painful at first but it gets better and better after.
-Posture reinforcing exercises like squats and ab exercises, but also pushups or holding a pushup posture while balancing your feet on a big ball. etc.

[zhandax]

I have a couple of fraternity brothers who became doctors and the only way I would let those guys near me with a knife is if I invited them over for steak. What you are looking for are called the "Williams excercises"; the only good I got out of the orthopod quack who "treated" me when I took a 24' refergerated truck up the ass. What actually keeps me going 20 years later is a gravity traction table. If you are active, you will get to the point you can do situps on it (upsidedown). Greatest thing for your back AND abs. And it was the chiropractor who (at the time) treated the Miami Hurricanes who introduced me to the gravity traction table. Go see a talented one.

[cmk]

Saw this guy on TV yesterday (Toronto Ch24):
http://www.drlamb.com/

No idea if he's actually any good or anything, but most of what he talked about made sense.

His main thing seems to be that the muscles tighten (from age/injury/...) and can make existing disc problems worse. One of his methods is injecting botox into the deep muscle to cause it to relax and let the disc heal.

He also seems to have a bunch of websites with tons of marketing stuff to sell videos and such.

[E34-520iSE]

I was working on my car recently (as you probably know). I had a similar lower back pain that fairly crippled me. I was off work for three weeks because of it as the pains were shooting down my arms and up my neck everytime I lifted something. It turned out I had a muscle spasm.

HTH,

Shaun M

[CharlesAFerg]

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it very much!
Your advice is very, very helpful. I can walk now lol...

[Booster]

I'm 44 now and have dealt with cronic pains since I was a skateboarder in Tony Alva days and Martial Arts tournaments.
The final fact of the matter for most, whether active or ass-sitters..is > If your lower back is making up for what you lack in the abdomen, you will strain your back muscles in various ,easy ways......forever.
You must continuely grow the lower spinal column muscles by light stretching and exercise. These muscle groups are quick to atrophy without growth steps.
Severe injuries follow if not done as a life step.Do it or don't.....I don't care, but a healthy life quality will not follow if you don't for most folks and youth.
Your abdomen condition( known as center, for Martial Artists) has almost as big a direct roll in your back health too.
Your strain while detailing was eminent with your shape/condition.
Advil and slow movents while learning the proper stretching and range of motion movements over many weeks very well will heal you better than ever.
Best regards and speedy recovery....Vinny

[Ross]

See a Doc. Meanwhile a desert dry Bombay martooni to wash down those vicodin.

[shogun]

I had an injury when I was small, had recurring 'attacks' over the years, started seeing a chiro at 17 years old, been seeing one every couple months to keep things in order. You would be surprized what they can do by twisting you up and popping things back where they belong. Once your back together take it easy for 24 hours then start with small non torturous sit ups, a few a day and that will hold things where they belong.

I dont like MD's at all.

yep, chiro is best. Had the same problem, they carried me in the office there, and I walked ouyt after 1 hour treatment.

http://www.shiatsu-austria.at/magazin/magazin_83.htm
www.acupressure.com/shiatsu.htm

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

fixes everything.

[Alexlind123]

When i lift anything heavy, my back hurts quite badly the next day. The chiropractor helped alot by doing an adjustment and giving me some excercises. After a few cycles of this, i finally decided to stop lifting heavy things (duh).

[dennyg]

Resisting to lift sounds easy but it isn't. I am six two 215 pounds and in good shape. But if i lift I am dead for a month until I excersize out of it. The best advice besides excersize is don't lift heavy things or anything with bad posture. One inch of spine angle creates thousands of pounds of torque on your back. Its hard not helping neighbors and friends and then there is the infalible thinking of the young that they will be young forever. I jump lifted 100lb. printed rolls for years. Next time someone wants you to help drywall their ceiling......or your daughter needs help moving to a new apartment....hire someone.......a bad back can sink you into a depression and make you a couch potato for life......

[Alexlind123]

I also use the heated seat in my e34 =)