Help! Strained back!

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WandaVonDunajew
WandaVonDunajew Posts: 184 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi guys!

I need some advice. i managed to somehow REALLY strain my back this weekend while snowboarding through the backcountry. I had a huge backpack and took some mighty falls due to losing my balance because of it (I landed straight on my head once :huh: ), and the backpack had the main weight on my lumbar-sacral area.

Yesterday in my body sculpt class I felt a sudden pang in my lower back and became unable to move for a while. Of course the idiot that I am kept on exercising but the pain just grew and grew and in the end I was getting nauseous due to it and quite immobile. Now I cant bend over, or backwards and sideways, I need to keep a rigid upright stance.

I'm taking some lornoxicam as an antiinflammatory (and its working so and so, which is weird because its quite strong), but I dont want to put more strain on the back working out (also, it hurts so much I could scream). I dont know if its a muscle, or the sacrum bone or the sciatic nerve (I am tending towards the nerve, feels rather like neuritis :sad: )

Can anyone suggest me what I could do (workout) without being a pain, for the next 2-3 days? I have a power yoga class on Thursday which I absolutely do not want to miss (and thinking it might help if it really is the muscle that is hurt?) and an introduction to HIIT Turbo Fire at my gym on Friday that I also really wanted to participate in. I am thinking I should rest my back until then, but I hate the idea of not exercising, it just makes me feel so guilty! Anyway, can you recommend something for me (Im thinking upper body free weight training maybe?). I cant really do anything to cardio, its too painful. Thanks for your time!

Replies

  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
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    Yoga might not be bad due to the amount of stretching involved...however, I wouldn't do anything else. I've been there, done that, and the only thing that works is a few days (to a week) off.
  • WandaVonDunajew
    WandaVonDunajew Posts: 184 Member
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    Thanks! I was fearing that... :grumble: Oh well, I might as well just take a break :ohwell:
  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
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    If you have really hurt your back exercise wont be on the agenda - merely turning round in bed will be a chore. Try to keep mobile without irritating your back. Take some pain killers to take the edge off. Give it whatever time it needs - you will know.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I am the king of Lower back problems... lol I delivered beer for Budweiser for 11 years until I destroyed my knee's in the process but I had back issues starting 6 weeks after I began working there. I had never set foot inside a chiropractor's office before then but me and Dr. Jincha got on a first name basis over the years and I still see him for maintenance. You may need an adjustment to get the pressure off of a pinched nerve. I swear by my chiropractor for my back, even shoulder pain he has worked out for me... There is a company called 1800homeopathy.com that sells a back pain pill, #199 is how it is listed that he put me onto (take 4 little pills that dissolve under your tongue) and I have used it faithfully for over 10 years now and I can tell if I ever stop taking it for any reason (had knee surgery a few weeks back and stopped all meds 5 days out from surgery and definitely notice my back tightening up)... Good luck to you....
  • WandaVonDunajew
    WandaVonDunajew Posts: 184 Member
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    Thank you! I decided now that if things arent better until Thursday I'm visiting my mom's massage therapist and chiropractor. The pain has just been growing and growing and now I can barely move. Its annoying because I could not go to work today and tomorrow I have a shift in the equine department (Im a veterinarian), so body strength is necessary...
  • missdaisy79
    missdaisy79 Posts: 566 Member
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    Just keep moving around as gently as you can. Don't do wild exercise, just keep walking, sitting/standing, and keep popping the anti inflammatories. I hope it passes soon, I know the pain of back pain and I have every sympathy for you.
  • BizReynoldsS
    BizReynoldsS Posts: 23
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    I suggest visiting your doctor before doing anything! Find out what the problem is.. get an MRI (I'm from Canada, healthcare is free here, so not sure if that's something you can do easily). I ruptured 2 discs in my lower back and had to have surgery.. so take it from me, be careful! And it sucks you have to stop exercising right now.. however you don't want to push it so hard that you injure yourself even further! Good luck to you, I feel your pain!
  • laurarpa
    laurarpa Posts: 244 Member
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    I totally recommend seeing a chiropractor, especially one that has a massage therapist on staff. From your description I would say power yoga an HIIT is going to be out this week.
  • civilrightstoday2
    civilrightstoday2 Posts: 3 Member
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    I had the same problem and I just take 800mg Ibupro and its done. You probably have inflammation in your back.
  • medennison123
    medennison123 Posts: 191 Member
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    you should just take a rest. if the pain persists for over a week you might look into seeing a doctor. Most likely you just strained something. you should be all set after a week or so.
  • sarahrichards81
    sarahrichards81 Posts: 79
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    This is very timely because I've had a really similar injury just last week. The poster who said that even turning in bed is painful is so right - I was literally at the point where I couldn't even bend down far enough to get my shower gel from the side of my tub when showering- ouch.

    I'm very fortunate in that I have a (free!) in-house physio where I work who looked at my back for me. She said that the injury itself was the deep muscles in my back but all the smaller muscles around it tightened even though they weren't themselves injured. As my back got better the big block of pain disappeared and I started to feel the individual muscles that were damaged and she was obviously right.

    Anyway, to cut a long story short just relax but try to keep mobile as being sedantry for any long period of time will cause it to seize up. I tried to stand and walk a few paces every 20 minutes just to keep it mobile. I found that some gentle heat worked well to ease the discomfort - either a hot water bottle or those sticky patches you can get from the pharmacy. Exercise really is a no-go - I injured mine last Monday and was only just able to do some gentle exercise yesterday evening. Listen to your body - if it is aching then it's probably OK, if it's painful then it's probably not.

    In terms of stretching, the cobra is good (lying on stomach, pushing up on arms) as well as childs pose. Also lying on my back and drawing my knees in to my chest. Everyone is different though so do they stuff that feels like it is stretch but not hurting the muscle.

    Try not to get too frustrated - I was getting so irritable with everyone last week because I couldn't exercise and ended up hitting the junk quite hard. Glad to say I'm back on track and hopefully will be back to my bodyrocking in the next couple of days.

    Get well soon!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    I suggest visiting your doctor before doing anything! Find out what the problem is.. get an MRI (I'm from Canada, healthcare is free here, so not sure if that's something you can do easily). I ruptured 2 discs in my lower back and had to have surgery.. so take it from me, be careful! And it sucks you have to stop exercising right now.. however you don't want to push it so hard that you injure yourself even further! Good luck to you, I feel your pain!

    You want an MRI in the US with no health insurance you pretty much have to either rob a bank or be hauled into the ER on a backboard. Even if you have insurance it's not easy or quick to get something like that approved.

    Seeing a doctor is still not a bad idea if you didn't already, but otherwise, what everyone else says, don't make it worse by ignoring it. A lot of taking it easy could be required. If you don't listen to your spine now, you could be hearing from it for the rest of your life later.
  • lfowler36
    lfowler36 Posts: 6 Member
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    I did that last April 13th and will NEVER forget the pain. I was just bending down to pick up a sweatshirt off the floor. Rest is number one of course, but if you are like me it is hard to find time to rest. Icing my back was effective and provided some relief. Heavy duty pain meds were necessary during the first two weeks.
    Sleeping with my knees bent over two pillows also provided a more comfortable sleep.
    In the end though, the chiropractor is who provided me the most long term relief. I was very skeptical, but it has proven to be amazing. I am now back to my routine of exercise and normal activities with only some milld pain at times. I do notice it more if I skip an appoitment.
    Good luck with your healing process.
  • KathieSwenson
    KathieSwenson Posts: 179
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    I suggest visiting your doctor before doing anything! Find out what the problem is.. get an MRI (I'm from Canada, healthcare is free here, so not sure if that's something you can do easily). I ruptured 2 discs in my lower back and had to have surgery.. so take it from me, be careful! And it sucks you have to stop exercising right now.. however you don't want to push it so hard that you injure yourself even further! Good luck to you, I feel your pain!

    I agree. If your having enough pain that you are missing work then you might have herniated a disk in the fall. Herniated disks are iffy on when the pain sets in. Her are some tricks I learned to use before having back surgery due to an adjustment error by a chiropractor. First of all. Absolutely now twisting on the lower back. Any exercise that causes strain on the lower back including free weights will be bad at this point and can cause permanent injury. No crunches, they put major strain. No bending at the waist.. This will be till you can no longer feel the pain when yo go to move. You can. Try heat for muscle spasms, not for sciatica. If it is nerve inflammation, heat will feel good while you are on the heating pad and then you won't be able to move when you do decided you don't want the heating pad anymore. Learned that lesson very quickly. No laying on your stomach. I had to learn to be a back sleeper because of the back injuries. If it is muscle related try a massage therapist. If you have any other questions let me know. Back pain is different for each individual and healing time from it is different. It really depends on you. The main thing no twisting!
  • aprilgicker
    aprilgicker Posts: 395 Member
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    I did some yard work a few months back and I strained my back. the doctor said to lay flat on my back for a few days. I could not get up the first day with out help. It was very bad. But rest your back for sure. if this does not help you need to make sure you didn't slip a disc or tear anything. take you anti inflammatory and something to make you sleep and sleep for a couple days. drink lots of water too.
  • LethaSue
    LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
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    I think you are crazy if you do anything at all before you go to a dr. You could have a fracture and it could break all the way and sever a nerve or something. If it were a regular case of a stove up back happening just around the house, I would think it might be ok to take it easy for a few days, but in your instance it sounds like it could be something that might lead to further damage and some it of might even be sever. Go to a dr. Don't be taking medical advice from people on here that don't know. Hell even a dr. is not going to be able to tell from your discription over this internet. Even a dr. will need xrays or mri's to be able to tell.
  • 1953Judith
    1953Judith Posts: 325 Member
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    I have been ruling out things via the dr route and I have ended up finding the most relief (dr sanctioned) via acupuncture and chiropractory. Soon to evolve into the PT route. Meanwhile, I am instructed to keep moving but to stop immediately upon sharp pain. It has created havoc with my exercise routine of which I have been very proud! I have found swimming to be my go to activity during this period. I also halted my weight loss protocol for now (frustrating as I am a little over 10 pounds from goal) and went in to maintenance mode. In other words, rather than reducing calories during this less active period I have increased them. I want my body to focus on healing not weight loss (to my surprise, this has broken a plateau).

    Good luck, the unrelenting pain (whether dull or sharp) is exhausting. The inability to continue routine exercise compounds the emotional drain. I would advise approaching exercise and healing in tandem with advice from a medical professional. Make sure that you are clear with them that you want to keep moving as you heal.
  • delmc1
    delmc1 Posts: 331 Member
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    chiropractor and rest ,i rushed back to quick after doing back in and made it worse .
  • WandaVonDunajew
    WandaVonDunajew Posts: 184 Member
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    Thank you all for your advice, it is much appreciated!

    Right now I'm better, even though the pain is still there, but I'm alternating resting on my back with walking (which is very very pleasant, pain disappears). This morning i couldn't get out of bed (as described earlier by one of you) but right now I can walk and sit with no sharp pain.I will not exercise at all until my back does not hurt at all, and keep it going with the anti-inflammatories and rest. Also, I have an appointment at the chiropractor on Thursday.

    I shy away a little from MRIs... in my country (in Europe) even with insurance they cost around 250 dollars, given the average income of 350 dollars/month here, its not really an option for now. I might get an Xray at work though if nothing works. I do believe its muscular/ nerve damage rather than a disc/sacrum problem though.

    Also, poster that suggested heat patches... you are brilliant, completely forgot about those! We'll see if they work.

    I know many are concerned that people asking for internet advice are foolish for not consulting a doctor. You are right, of course, but for now I do feel as if the whole thing is manageable at home, If things dont improve I will definitely seek specialized medical care. I just wanted to see some first hand opinions, I mean Im a doctor too (even though I treat horses and am specialized in internal medicine not orthopedics) so I can assess the situation quite well, but exercise injury for me is quite new so it feels nice to share with others and see a response and maybe a good suggestion or two! I would never support following internet diagnosis/ treatments blindly though, they are suggestions and should be taken as such.

    Thank all of you who took the time to reply! :flowerforyou:

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