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Done my back in, need some advice

S

shenfrey

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 23, 2010
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Not sure how I did it, but last night when laying in bed I got up and bam my lower back just completely shot. Next morning (today) I can barely stand and I am walking like a 95 year old hunchback, which in turn is making my abdomen ache too lol. I have never really had back pain before (26 years) and so this is a shock, didn't think it would be this bad.

Aside from pain killers, any advice to help resolve it quickly? I am seriously out of commission right now, I can't even walk to the doctors lol
 
shenfrey said:
Not sure how I did it, but last night when laying in bed I got up and bam my lower back just completely shot. Next morning (today) I can barely stand and I am walking like a 95 year old hunchback, which in turn is making my abdomen ache too lol. I have never really had back pain before (26 years) and so this is a shock, didn't think it would be this bad.

Aside from pain killers, any advice to help resolve it quickly? I am seriously out of commission right now, I can't even walk to the doctors lol
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If it lasts another day, see a doctor.

My rough rule of thumb is that most things clear up (possibly with bed rest, plenty of fluids, maybe a hot drink or two) in two to three days.

However, if you still find yourself in pain after that time, it is high time to see a doctor, as it this is a clear message that your condition - whatever has caused it and howsoever it may be remedied - may not clear up on its own, and you may need medical advice on how best to deal with it.
 
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Cheffy Dave said:
GET to the Doctor! Call a Medi-Van or equivalent, Tell them to bring a wheel chair, and transport.
Don't bother with a GP, get a call in the a Orthopedic guy
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Only if I am dying mate, good thing it happened on a non-working day lol

Scepticalscribe said:
If it lasts another day, see a doctor.


My rough rule of thumb is that most things clear up (possibly with bed rest, plenty of fluids, maybe a hot drink or two) in two to three days.

However, if you still find yourself in pain after that time, it is high time to see a doctor, as it this is a clear message that your condition - whatever has caused it and howsoever it may be remedied - may not clear up on its own, and you may need medical advice on how best to deal with it.
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Ouch, lets hope it clears up tomorrow then!
 
shenfrey said:
Only if I am dying mate, good thing it happened on a non-working day lol



Ouch, lets hope it clears up tomorrow then!
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Seriously, most of us (on an online tech site dedicated to the discussion of Apple products and other related and unrelated matters) are not sufficiently medically proficient to offer you informed guidance on this.

If it doesn't clear up soon, get an informed medical opinion as to 1) what is wrong and 2) how to remedy it. That means visiting a doctor, or, as @Cheffy Dave suggested, head straight into hospital.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Seriously, most of us (on an online tech site dedicated to the discussion of Apple products and other related and unrelated matters) are not sufficiently medically proficient to offer you informed guidance on this.

If it doesn't clear up soon, get an informed medical opinion as to 1) what it wrong and 2) how to remedy it. That means visiting a doctor, or, as @Cheffy Dave suggested, head straight into hospital.
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Well it's just back pain, I'm sure many people have had it before so was just wondering how they would rest it or what different remedies they used. Pretty sure I can go anywhere to ask that, right?

Not looking for a diagnosis, not until I know it won't clear on its own.
 
Something similar happened to me in my mid-20's. I woke up in agony. I couldn't even stand up straight. I took a shower hunched over, my head and neck had to stay horizontal, lol.

Taking advil helped, I took 2 initially, my friend said he takes 4, so later I took 4, but I'm not sure I'd recommend that. It won't go away in a day or two, but it will gradually get better each day and you'll get more "movement" back. I'd recommend after a day or two to go to the doctor and get a ride, since you're probably crooked, lol. The doctor can prescribe a stronger pain reliever and possibly a steroid (prednisone) for inflammation.
 
shenfrey said:
Well it's just back pain, I'm sure many people have had it before so was just wondering how they would rest it or what different remedies they used. Pretty sure I can go anywhere to ask that, right?

Not looking for a diagnosis, not until I know it won't clear on its own.
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Yes, but without a diagnosis how do you know what is wrong? And how can you hope to put it right?

Until you know what kind of back pain that is, - and what caused it - offering remedies can be not just useless, but downright reckless.

Now, as it happens, I suffer from some back pain - my trapezius muscle; this is your common or garden standard upper back & shoulder pain probably caused partly by poor posture, and, above all, by stress. And I also have some lower back pain, of the low subliminal ache variety. Thus, most weeks, this is addressed & alleviated by an excellent back and shoulder massage.

But, advice is useless until you have some idea of what form your back pain takes. This means that you need some professional to have it properly identified and a remedy identified and applied.
 
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heehee said:
Hot bath or shower. If that doesn't work, go to a physiotherapist. They loosen your muscles and teaches you to strength the surrounding muscles.
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He should see a doctor to check whether it's caused by muscle spasm (massage & ointment helps) or slipped disc or compressed disc (massage/ointment does squat).

I suggest getting a back brace (I've got a Mueller: cheap and good). Most national pharmacies carries them. It helps a lot.
 
You should probably see a doctor considering the level of pain and the fact that you appear to have functional impairment. As @Scepticalscribe mentioned, I agree that 3 days with no improvement is a good reason to see a professional. Describe your pain? Is it aching muscle pain, bone pain, stabbing/shooting pain, etc? This can often be a good indicator of what is wrong. If you have muscle weakness, numbness, or paralysis, you should go sooner rather than later.

Ibuprofen/Advil/Motril or naproxen/Aleve are your best bets for reducing back pain and inflammation, but that's up to you. Warm showers and gentle stretching should help.

I too am 26. I've had chronic back pain for almost 10 years every day since a sports injury. I recently found out I have a herniated lumbar disc now too. I'm a mess! Back pain is no fun, I sympathize with you completely.

P.S. See a real doctor too. I'm not a fan of chiropractors.
 
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shenfrey said:
Not sure how I did it, but last night when laying in bed I got up and bam my lower back just completely shot. Next morning (today) I can barely stand and I am walking like a 95 year old hunchback, which in turn is making my abdomen ache too lol. I have never really had back pain before (26 years) and so this is a shock, didn't think it would be this bad.

Aside from pain killers, any advice to help resolve it quickly? I am seriously out of commission right now, I can't even walk to the doctors lol
Click to expand...

My impression as all ready stated in the thread is give it some time. Take some Aleve. I have periodic back flareups for no known reason. I give it a couple of days and it sorts itself out. I see no way to speed up the process.

How would say the state of your bed mattress is from a firmness standpoint? I notice at one point with a 11 year old pillow top mattress I'd wake up in the morning sore and as the day progressed, the pain would go away. I assumed it was a mattress issue. I bought a new firm, latex mattress and that helped immensely. :)
 
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Does it feel like muscle pain or joint/spine related? Is it radiating pain or acute, centralized pain?

I've had back issues before but they've all been related to weight lifting. Herniated or slightly herniated disks in my lower back. Time, rest, stretching, and lots of fluids have always helped me work through these issues.
 
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I would go to the GP for multiple reasons
1) A GP can tell you what specialist you need to see
2) Specialists often take a long time to be seen, like weeks.
3) A GP can order you an MRI to help out a specialist

I went to a neurosurgeon for my back issues. Don't assume you know the right specialist. I would have had no idea if my wife weren't a doctor.
 
As Scepticalscribe noted, back pain is a symptom, not a disease. It can result from a wide variety of conditions that include familiar entities such as intervertebral disk herniation and obscure causes such as bone tumors. Some of these are self-limiting, while others require invasive or non-invasive treatment. So the first step should be to obtain an accurate diagnosis from a competent medical professional who deals specifically with back pain. Having said that, the OP's description of sudden onset of pain getting out of bed mirrors my own experience with back spasm, which can be quite debilitating. Again, a competent practitioner should be able to make a diagnosis and recommend therapy, be it muscle relaxants, analgesics, physical therapy, or some combination thereof.
 
What I do: pain relieving cream (such as Ben Gay) at bed time, heating pad (don't do that after applying the Ben Gay!), cyclobenzaprine (subscription for back spasms). As you describe it, it's gonna be several days or longer before you're back to normal.
 
shenfrey said:
Not sure how I did it, but last night when laying in bed I got up and bam my lower back just completely shot. Next morning (today) I can barely stand and I am walking like a 95 year old hunchback, which in turn is making my abdomen ache too lol. I have never really had back pain before (26 years) and so this is a shock, didn't think it would be this bad.

Aside from pain killers, any advice to help resolve it quickly? I am seriously out of commission right now, I can't even walk to the doctors lol
Click to expand...

I played basketball in college and this was a semi-common occurence for me. They last anywhere from 1 day to a week depending how bad you did it...

Stretch your hamstrings on a regular basis to prevent it. As far as right now, you're screwed to just laying around unless you have access to a stim machine that they use in therapy...

Hamstrings and the most surprising thing that helped me the MOST was doing lunging stretches. I don't know why but that seemed to loosen up my back more then anything.
 
Going to see a doctor will result in him telling you to take Advil and use hot moist heat for 3-5 days. They won't do anything before that's been tried. Once you've done that you can go to the doc and tell him you've tried that and it's not working. However, you'll probably be just fine with that.
 
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Thanks for all the advice guys, pain has gone down immensely since it happens. It's still there faintly, but slowly recovering :)
 
shenfrey said:
Thanks for all the advice guys, pain has gone down immensely since it happens. It's still there faintly, but slowly recovering :)
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That's good to hear.

My back pain is caused by a big long word and it's solved by getting the misses to walk on my spine till it clicks. As soon as it does it's instant relief
 
Gav2k said:
That's good to hear.

My back pain is caused by a big long word and it's solved by getting the misses to walk on my spine till it clicks. As soon as it does it's instant relief
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Ouch, not in heels I hope ;)
 
Much sympathy for you from me. I've had back issues off and on since I was a kid, and my back has been in bad shape for 20 years now. Back pain is nothing to take lightly, though, so I would suggest at least discussing it with your GP on your next visit, and if it returns, then visit your physician as soon as you can. I have found a good, hot bath will help if it is only muscular but if it is beyond that, the relief will be marginal. Two OTC meds which can be your friend is ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. Both are NSAIDs.

Best wishes that the pain doesn't return.
 
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