I currently have a lower back problem. Its one of those occurances where it could not hurt for a month then all of a sudden begin hurting once I bend down to pick up a 5lb weight....know what I mean? Anyways, the problem lies in the lower left portion of my lower back. It is not a muscle cause I cannot feel it with my hand.

Any suggestions to aleeve the pain or purchase any OTC drugs?

Thanks!
Steve

Steve,

You said it right there. Aleve. It is one of the better ones for inflammation. Having problems sleeping? The ole dose of one of the night time cold remedies would help me.

As for tough chronic pains, do you have teenage children? If not, did you or will you? LOL

Frank

Steve,

Under general discussion there is a thread called "back injury" that has been a topic for about a week. Take a look. I just added a comment this morning so it should be easy to find.

This might add some insight for you.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin!

GRRRRR! We need to take this thread off. I did it again. Just walking! A slight slip on some snow and out it went.

GRRRR!

Frank

I grunt, therefore I am.

That sucks!! At least if you are going to hurt yourself have a better story than that!!!

Kevin

Sorry to hear that Frank. Any major damage or did it just crimp up again?

Thanks for the advise on Aleeve. After I took that the pain went away and has been away for quote sometime.

Thanks to everyone!
Steve

Frank,
Lower back pain's tough, because there are so many possible causes that its hard to get to the true cause. Do you remember doing anything specifically to it to start the pain, or was it more of a slow, chronic onset? When else does it hurt? Lying, sitting, standing, bending over? Does it hurt more bending/twisting to one side than another? Does it hurt more in the morning? Does the pain feel deep or superficial? Does it radiate anywhere (arms, legs, shoulder) Are you drinking enough water?

So many factors, so if you say it doesn't feel like a muscle, it may not be. Don't forget that their are deep muscles in the back that you can't feel though.

DCandy,

I'm just an old guy with the nagging pains that started as far back (no pun intended) age 7. We've nailed down to weak sacrosilliacs. I need to make sure I am well warmed up by the time I leave my bedroom. No joke. A few sit ups, squat stretches are now a must.

Thanks for the questions and concerns!

Frank

I grunt, therefore it HURTS!

Frank I know what you mean...I no longer sit up to get outta be...I roll out straight to the foor and start stretching...man, gettin' old it tough sometimes...but any day above ground is a good day... Sherman

Oh, and please excuse my typos...man...I need to proof read more....

Back pain can also stem from other areas of the body. remember the way our body move,feet, knees,and distortions in the hip can cause low back pain. some people can have incredibly tight soleus and gastrocnemius causing heels to raise when performing a squat. couple that with a weak tibialis and you have a major distortion pattern that may just move up the leg and end up with a "bad lower back"

My heels always leave the ground when I squat(esp. narrow stanced). If not, I feel like I'll fall on my A$$ every time. To go along with it, I have a lower back that comes and goes as it pleases. Here's the catch- I'm only 20! I've gone to the hospital for EXTREME random back spasms and my lower back is the newest problem. Everytime I kick out my right leg(think like I'm tapping a football off its tee), I get the same shooting pain through the lower right part of my back. Diagnos THAT Joe!!! Maybe I need to learn something about my tight soleus and gastrocnemius???

I agree with Joe!

Rarely does it ever happen that pain in a certain area isnt caused by other considerations in other parts of your body.

For instance if low back pain is your problem, chances are there may be postural dysfunctions above and below the pain sight that could be causing the problem.

Think about it as a cause and effect situation. The effect is pain in your lower back, the cause is other factors.

In order to move the nervous system has to gather information and then send that info out to the muscular system for movement. If you have imbalances in your body you will not have proper relationships between your prime mover, antagonist, synergist and stablizing muscles. If the proper relationship is not set between the nervous, muscular and joint systems imbalances will occur.

What happens when imbalances occur? You have joint dysfunctions by using muscles too much that are supposed to be used as a synergist and stabilzing component.

When all of this happens a process begins.

First inflammation occurs.

Since there is inflammation and dysfunction in the joint movement has to come from somewhere else.

This leads to muscular dysfunction (tight muscles).

Dysfunction is classified as using smaller muscles rather than the larger ones (prime movers).

If one muscle is weak or inhibited another synergist will compensate. The muscular imbalance is the final stage which results in the injury. The injury can range from being something nagging to something that is far more serious.

The only way to truly improve injuries (even surgeries) is to truly identify what the imbalances are in your body and then secondly the proper method to treating those imbalances.

The key is finding a qualifed movement professional that is qualified. 95% of Personal Trainers are not qualified to treat imbalances and movement/postural problems.

I used to suffer from chronic low back pain and I believe part of it was contributed from doing heavy high rep squats + I am 6'4. I started using a hip belt for high rep squats and I have no more pain! Sleeping on a firmer matress and stretching my hip flexors helped also.

Jeremiah are you back with beverly? Are you still doing nutrition consultation over email?

I am not back with Beverly as in working in the office but I am always with Beverly. Stronger than ever before.

I still consult with people but on an individual basis on my own. If I can be of assistance please let me know. I am kind of slow but did we work together in the past through e-mail?

You can reach me at:
jeremiahforster@yahoo.com

I would recommend seeing a chiropractor as we treat low back pain very effectively. There is also a newer treatment for herniated discs called decompression therapy which works very well. I personally have been able to help a lot of people prevent having surgery.

If you have a sit-down job, chances are you have a tight piriformis. This is the leading contributor to low back pain. This muscle is located deep within your glutes and there is a way to stretch it. Through personal experience, deep tissue massage is paramount to feeling better...didn't get any results from spending a whole lot on chiropractors. If you have tight muscles triggering this (and they are not necesarily in the lower back), chiropractic work will temporarily relieve it but your muscles will pull you back out of allignment, so go for relaxing the muscles first.

A tight piriforis has nothing to do with lower back pains. The piriformis is a hip rotator muscle and a pelvic/hip stablizer in general. The sciatic nerve pierces the belly of the Pirimformis muscle and as a result of piriformis spasming, neuroligical symptoms are exaserbated similar to a disc injury w/ radiculopathy.

If you are being treated for lower back pains that are chronic, most likely you are suffering from joint degeneration. "A bone out of place being pulled out of alignment by tight muscles" has nothing to do with chronic joint pain as a result of degeneration. Wether the muscles are tight or normal, pain will be there because of lack of natural ROM. Definetly continue with care from a Chiropractor. You have to restore ROM and that is an uphill battle, but worth the trouble! Trust me, 98% of the lumbar x-rays I've seen could have been prevented... very sad but true.

Steve - 3 very simple things to look at here. Make this a priority and I bet you it will help big time. This may not be what you want to hear, but I'll tell you straight out as there is way too much unecessary lower back pain going round and it pisses me off to see and hear about. In short I bet your abs are **** weak, your glutes are extremely weak, and your hip flexors are extremely tight????? Right?????? So do this:

1. Increase length of the hip flexors (psoas) through static stretching.
2. Improve strength in the Glutes through exercises such as deadlifts, glute ham raises, back extensions, good morning et cetera. (Hip dominant exercises, not quad dominant. Almost everyone needs to improve their posterior muscles alot more than the front)
3.Increase Abdominal strength. Start prioritising abs first in your workout.

Thanks!

Anthony.