HELP!!!! Lower back pain!!

OpenHeaven

So I've been at this for about 5 weeks or so and have exercised an average of 5-6 times a week. Yesterday was day 29 of the 30 day Shred with Jillian and I woke up early to go for a nice walk first and then came home and did level three for the 9th time. I'm not sure when exactly it started - if it was when I woke up or after my walk but suddenly out of nowhere my lower back is killing me! It's SO SO SOOOO sore! I haven't had back pain at all in like 2 years so I don't know what is going on!! I REALLY REALLY want to workout right now and do day 30, but I don't want to chance further injury...

I've been icing my back since I got home from work last night and that feels good but the soreness/stiffness is not going away. I leave for a two-week vacation on Saturday and NEED to be 100% by then!!! AND I don't want to stop exercising because I am doing so well!!! I have been trying to stretch it gently as well...

Any suggestions???? Any great stretches???? It's my extreme lower back and it's like a band of pain (not just the spine although the spine going down hurts as well) Please help if you can!!! GRRRR!!! LOL!!

THANK YOU!!!!

dansdeb

nothing is worse than back pain! My doc says alternate ice and heat and take an anti-inflamotry (tylenol, aspirin, naproxen). BUT if the pain is persistent and nothing alleviates it you need to see your doc. You don't want to mess up your back forever. If you are going on vacation soon and nothing is alleviating the pain I would go to your doc quickly. Odds are it is a muscle pull or spasm since you are working out so hard, but you never know. good luck

fearlessfatty

a lot of low back pain can come from hip flexor muscles, including psoas (aka iliopsoas). try a google search for some stretches of hip flexors or iliopsoas muscle. good luck!

nickyb632

Could have probably pulled one of your QL (quadratus lumborum) muscles, or even messed up your sciatic nerve (this is more of a deep pain) rest as much as possible even though you want to work out, stretching is good but not too much. Definitely swithc between ice & heat. Make sure you're drinking tons of water, esp. when you're working out, this will help flush out any toxins that have built up in your muscles during the work out. If it's sciatica stretching will make it feel so much better. Massage is definitely beneficial to both circumstances.

cc_campbell81

I had a lot of problem early on due to a weak core. For now you need to rest a little. Believe me 1 or 2 days of rest now is much better than a couple months of no exercise. In the meantime yoga helped a lot with back problems and is gentle on your back but still burns calories.

dj_stevie_c

Aha.

You have come to the right place Having had lower back problems for a long time I have a few excersizes for you.


Handwalk stretch.

Get on your hands/knees, keep your back straight. Take your left hand put it next to your right, next move your right around in a circle to the right until it's the same distance your left/right hand was before you moved the left one, repeat with the left/right hands effectively walk your way around until you can't go any further, at this point stop, hold both hands apart on the the floor and gently stretch to the right, hold stretch for 10-15 seconds, slowly walk the same way back to the left hand side and do the same. Do this 5 times each side. You want to stretch not have pain.

Edit: The aim of this is to keep stable (don't move up/down) use your side muscles to help stretch your spine gently)

Reach under/pull over stretch.

This one is my favourite. Same position as the hand walk, take your left hand, move it to the side of your right knee and reach as far as you can back, hold for 5-10 seconds, and then 'pull' out as if you grabbed a towel there and was now pulling it over your head, raise your arm above your head and reach at a 45' angle as far as you can go hold for 5-10 seconds, now do the same with your right, reapeat 5 times each side.

Abs Raise

Same position again, now consider how you breathe, imagine you 'continued' this movement raising your stomach through your back, now do this (gently) sucking in your muscles and gently stretching out your spine. Now do the same breathing out towards the floor (you shouldn't be touching the floor, don't bend anything else just use your stomach/spine to stretch gently) each up and down motion should take 10 - 15 seconds, don't push it, and do it gently, use no force.

"reverse" sit ups.

Lay flat face down on the floor, put your hands behind your head (do not grab anything with your hands) raise your head/chest/arms up about 3/5 inches. Hold. Lower.

Repeat 10-15 times, 3 sets.

As others have said, ice and heat, water.

One other thing, when you go to sleep at night try to sleep on your side and fold a pillow in two and place it between your knees, this will align your hips and help ease any pressure on your back.

If the pain doesn't go after a couple of days please please get your back checked by your doctor, I left my version of this too long and now they can't do anything about it, I get flare ups once or twice a year and they are NOT pleasant. Look after yourself!

LotusF1ower

So I've been at this for about 5 weeks or so and have exercised an average of 5-6 times a week. Yesterday was day 29 of the 30 day Shred with Jillian and I woke up early to go for a nice walk first and then came home and did level three for the 9th time. I'm not sure when exactly it started - if it was when I woke up or after my walk but suddenly out of nowhere my lower back is killing me! It's SO SO SOOOO sore! I haven't had back pain at all in like 2 years so I don't know what is going on!! I REALLY REALLY want to workout right now and do day 30, but I don't want to chance further injury...

I've been icing my back since I got home from work last night and that feels good but the soreness/stiffness is not going away. I leave for a two-week vacation on Saturday and NEED to be 100% by then!!! AND I don't want to stop exercising because I am doing so well!!! I have been trying to stretch it gently as well...

Any suggestions???? Any great stretches???? It's my extreme lower back and it's like a band of pain (not just the spine although the spine going down hurts as well) Please help if you can!!! GRRRR!!! LOL!!

THANK YOU!!!!

Hi

I used to do a lot of running - by a lot I am talking 6 miles per day - I got really fit too! Then one day, my back started to feel sore - "bah! it's just muscle pain" I would rant to myself as I once again, stepped onto the treadmill to do another 6 miles. Let's see what happens when I try to burn off 1000 calories in one run, how long will it take me? How fast can I run this 5k? Can I beat my personal best on the 5 mile? etc etc etc. On and on I went, pushing myself through limits that my body was trying to call a halt to.

One day, I jumped onto the treadmill and noticed that the pain I had had from the day before was worse and this time I was unable to push through it. I turned off the treadmill and sulked, trying to stretch my back.

The result? The next day, I drove to work, did a day's work and at the end of the shift, I struggled to get into my car to drive home. When I parked outside my flat, I realised to my complete horror that I was unable to move and after spending some 10 minutes trying to get out of the car, I had to phone my husband who was 20 yards away, indoors to come and help me out of the car.

It turned out I had a prolapsed disc in my back, the disc had been leaking and bulging out, touching the nerves which was causing me the pain. Unfortunately, I am unable to run anymore as it flares up again.

If you have back pain, do not push through it, it is your central nervous system that is telling you to be careful, never mess with your back thinking all will be okay, because it may not as I found out to my cost, please don't let it happen to you.