pulled a muscle in my back... from running?

godblessourhome
godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
i recently upped my running and now my back is so sore i can hardly move. stretching causes me to almost pass out. does anyone know what might have caused this? it feels like i might have pulled a muscle in my lower back, but that doesn't make sense. nothing else in my life is different other than the increased running.

monday, i ran 5k and then did w1d1 of the 'couch to 5k' program to add in additional run time. thursday, i did w1d2. yesterday, i was fine in the morning but by noon, i had taken 5 ibuprofen (another 5 before supper and another 5 before bed - it was that painful) and put on a lidocaine patch to relax the muscles (which did not help).

can anyone offer advice please?
dawn

Replies

  • mzmoonlight
    mzmoonlight Posts: 160
    How low down is it? If its near your bottom it could be sciatica... I used to have that when I was running and it was awful, crippling. I havent ever known pain like it. I sorted it out by running on interval instead of continuous and also running on a slight incline takes the pressure off the muscles causing it. Though if its the small of your back it doesnt sound like sciatica. Might be worth you looking it up to see if it sounds like that.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    could be Sciatica... I suffer from that and recently inflamed it and it is literally crippling. It was the first time I had ever had it so bad and it took a week and a half to recover. Get rest and dont push it, even though it seems like it wont get better it will. The best position for you to be in is laying flat and getting lots of rest. Eat well and dont stress. You can get back on track when you're better.

    Running is a high impact activity as Im sure you know. This impacts every joint and muscle in your body and stresses the stabilizers too. You may even have a herniated disc which is really bad news. Go see a specialist and find out.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    i used to have sciatica pain all the time after having my boys (hence the prescription lidocaine patches) but i have not had any in a long time. this pain is located in a similar spot but does not radiate down my leg, and normally using the lidocaine patch helps alot. do you think it is just presenting differently this time? i literally can't move without huge pain.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    Yes I hear you... I had the exact same thing... no leg pain but intense back pain. Im not sure what it was that I did but I inflamed something down there and it hurt. I was almost in tears which takes alot... it hurt more than breaking a bone. All I can say is hang in there and lay down as much as possible (which I know is hard for people like us with kids, you need some support for a few days). I dont want to push smoking weed, but I got some medical marijuana from a friend because Im very anti prescription drug and it really really helped with the pain and totally relaxed me. I deffinately think it helped with quicker recovery. I feel bad for you, that was the worst pain in my entire life and it's such a helpless feeling. I so empathize with you right now!
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
    It might be a knot. Like a muscle cramp. First, I'd talk to your doctor. If all your doctor can do is give you pain meds I'd see a chiropractor and a massage therapist to see if something is out of line. That way you can help fix the pain instead of just dulling it.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    on a positive note Im totally back to normal and I wish the same thing for you too... does it feel like your lower back has transformed into a 2 x 4?? no flexability etc...??
  • mzmoonlight
    mzmoonlight Posts: 160
    It does sound like sciatica. Awful crippling pain, I feel for you. I got some muscle relaxers from the doctor. I avoided using them at first but once I did they fixed the problem fairly quickly. Good luck.
  • crucible_13
    crucible_13 Posts: 54
    Last time something like that happened to me I had to go to the ER. They gave me a shot of some, I think a steroid of some kind, and some vicodin for the pain. i was better the next day.
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
    Last time something like that happened to me I had to go to the ER. They gave me a shot of some, I think a steroid of some kind, and some vicodin for the pain. i was better the next day.

    Most likely Cortizone. Our pitbull had really bad dysplasia and we used to take him every two months for a shot and he was like a puppy again a few days after.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    thanks everybody for the advice! i appreciate it! i am going in to urgent care to see if they can help me.
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    What did urgent care say? Back pain is the worst! I've had chronic back pain ever since a car accident several years 14 years ago. It literally only takes a little misstep and I'm down for the count! I hope that you feel better soon!
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    thanks sonjavon! urgent care was not very helpful. they gave me a prescription for some stronger drugs and wanted to take x-rays to make sure i hadn't broken my tailbone (really? from running?). anyway, they told me that i could not work out at all for the next two weeks. i am still in pain, but it is slowly getting better. i really think it was a sciatic flare-up.
  • teri00
    teri00 Posts: 13 Member
    I really think you should find yourself a good massage therapist, if your going to continue running. It's not a bad idea to try and see one even if the pain hasn't gone away, a good massage helps alot.
  • sheri3762
    sheri3762 Posts: 159
    Godbless, did they say anything about walking around the house a bit? I suffered severe back pain and siatica for several years. Ended up having 12 cort. shots over 1 1/2 years and then finally surgery to correct it. I was lucky. The surgery worked for me. In your situation, beleive me I know what your going through. I swear its worse than labor!! Anyway, what always relieved me a bit was taking warm baths and alternating cold pacs. I also tried to just walk around the house every couple hours to keep from getting to stiff. My doc told me over and over again to try to walk a bit. Don't know why, but I really think it did help me. Still, to this day, even tho I no longer suffer the pain, I am very careful. Even the slightest twinge will make me panic. I NEVER want to go back to those days again!!!! Words of advice and this may sound strange. Be very careful when you bend over the sink to brush your teeth!!! For some reason that position always made my siatica worse!!!!!
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