Backlash: 5 Ways to Stick it to Back Pain

I used to get up every morning with a stiff and sore back - to the point where I couldn't walk, sometimes. I "fixed" it by doing the following:

New mattress. My old one was in sad, sad shape, and offered no support whatsoever.

Yoga. Every day. Gentle stretches and twists combined with gentle strength-building not only helped my back but calmed my mind and made me healthier, in general.

Chiropractor. Not a guy who just wants to "crack my back" every time I go in, either. I found a Chiropractor who has a degree in kinesiology - the study of how muscles and bones work together. This doctor looks at the *root* of the problem, not just the location of the problem. For example, early on, I had back spasms, and he discovered that the problem was actually located in one of my legs that had been injured long before. My body was still compensating for that injury, causing me to put unnecessary and unusual pressure on one of the muscles in my back. It finally got tired out from the weird angle I was forcing it into, and started spasming. Doc gave me some specialized stretches and therapeutic exercises, targeted to both the spasming back muscle and the underused leg, and the problem was solved.

Another thing I would add is to not lift more weight than you think you can. I pinched a nerve in my back in October doing that and I had numbness in my right foot until December.

I've never had back pain, but then again, I am also very active. I think moving around a lot helps prevent the stiffness that a lot of people get.

But what do you do when moving is what causes your pain? I was in a car accident seven years ago and have suffered off and on since then with severe back pain. I have two compressed vertebrae in my lumbar spine. I had been going to a chiropractor but he moved his practice out of town and the one who took over wasn't as sympathetic to my situation - I don't have health insurance nor do I have the means to pay very much.

Any bending, stooping, twisting or turning movement causes me a lot of pain right now. The only time my back feels good is when I am sitting or laying in bed. I need to exercise to lose weight, I know, and I just haven't been able to do anything lately.

I would love to move around more...but how can I do it without causing myself more pain?

Hi Nancy,

First of all I am terribly sorry to hear of your chronic pain - I'm sure it is very challenging to live with. Finding that happy medium between pain-free range and effective, meaningful exercise can be difficult in situations such as yours. Have you tried a recumbent bike? If sitting isn't unbearable you could start there. What about an aqua class? Do you have access to a center that offers this?

The key thing is "do no harm". If it hurts - stop or adjust. If you can find a back care specialist and go every month or so just for guidance this may help. Has your physician/surgeon/specialist ever brought up kyphoplasty? http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=470&topcategory - I don't know if you'd be a candidate for this or not but it sounds like it can relieve pain associated with a compression fracture.

Performing low load core activation while lying on your back may also help. Let me know if you are interested and I'll post a description of how to do this.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

It's a shame when someone suffers debilitating back pain due to a car accident or something else outside their control, but most people suffer because they do not exercise, sit badly at work, and so on. There are around 200 people in my office and we are all issued with laptops, I am the only person that has the laptop on a stand to raise the screen to eye level. Every other person in the office works leaning forward and hunched over.

Try sleeping with a pillow between your knees to keep your hips level when sleeping on your side. (Make sure pillow is wide enough)

Lie on floor (carpet is gentler) with knees bent, feet flat, bring knees half way to chest put both hands on knees and rock back and forth (rocking horse) then side to side, everyday (especially if on feet all day)

Protect your back by holding stomach in when lifting (of course with bent knees)

Any advice anyone can give me would be appreciated. I'm a writer who traveled into Kuwait City on the FREEDOM FLIGHT in March of 1991. I stayed in a hotel that the Iraqi soldiers had vandalized. Not surprisingly, the elevators had received no maintenance during the occupation. The elevators were giving all sorts of warning signals that all was not well and as luck would have it, one day when I was in the elevator it plunged from the 8th floor. It didn't hit the ground or anything, thank goodness, but instead teased the two occupants by going up and then down, and each time would bounce rather hard. I felt the violence of the plunge in my lower back each time it bounced. I swear, I thought I heard my back "crunching!" I had never experienced a moment of back problems until that incident. To make a long story short, from that time, I have had a numb left leg. That didn't bother me so much, as I basically ignored the numbness, but now the nerves in my leg several inches above my knee have started to "awaken." The shocking pain can be unbearable. Now, the pain has started in my lower back, running down my leg. I'm sure I need to do SOMETHING, but have often heard not to mess around with back pain, that often the remedies are worse than the original injury/pain. Has anyone had a similar injury? If so, do you have any recommendations? I'd certainly appreciate any help... Many thanks...

Hi Jean,

Gosh - I certainly haven't experienced anything as painful as what you've described so I'm not sure if my advice will help.

Have you seen a physical therapist/orthopedic surgeon or another back care specialist? I think this would be the first step if you aren't already undergoing treatment. A numb/painful leg is typically an angry sciatic nerve which is usually a result of an irritation of the nerve root - which may be a result of something going on at the disc. I'm not trying to pinpoint a diagnosis - just throwing guesses out there. I think you are right that some "cures" can be worse than the injury. I wouldn't push yourself in this regard... a trained rehab specialist will be able to advise you on the types of discomfort to work through and which type is a flag to stop.

I hope you can find ways to stay pain free.

Mary Lou Kelley, LMT said:
Try sleeping with a pillow between your knees to keep your hips level when sleeping on your side. (Make sure pillow is wide enough)[...]

Hi Mary Lou - great advice for sleeping postures! I didn't touch on that in the original post but it is extremely important.

I do have to advise being careful about spinal flexion (ie. hugging the knees) as this can sometimes exaccerbate a disc-related injury as this movement pushes the discs out.

i've had back pain from doing a job that required a lot of bending and twisting. for a week i could hardly walk and after that for a month i couldn't run without pain and had to walk funny. then it slowly went away over the next 4-5 months. drinking caffeine amplified the pain by about 400% so i've sworn it off. if i have even a little caffeine i wake up with soreness in my back now. i think that it helps a little to drink plenty of water too.

after the pain went away i got a little careless and helped dig under a concrete staircase to install a pipe at my church (lots of awkward bending and shovelling). now the pain is back but it's not so severe this time. the pain does shoot a little further down my leg now, though. almost to my knee. this sucks. hope it doesn't take so long to stop hurting this time around. gotta be more careful in the future, i guess.