sore backs

[shaveice]

although i've lived a pretty active life, it appears that my back muscles, maybe even my spine, isn't in the greatest shape cuz over a year ago, my back muscles went into a major cramp and i couldn't do anything for like 5 days.

after those 5 days, the muscles relaxed and it was as though nothing happened.

just this evening, however, i felt my back muscles tighten up almost to the point of cramping again and so i wonder if anyone out there has any suggestions besides the most obvious: stretching, watching one's weight, and exercising? oh, and lifting things in the "correct" way.

thanks.

[MadAzza]

Re: sore backs

Nobody here is medically familiar with your back, so our advice is about as good as the ... huh, I was going to say "paper it's written on."

I think you should see a physician. Not a chiropractor! You might have seriously tweaked something that needs medical attention and/or physical therapy. I know from experience you can somehow weaken or hurt a spot in your back without realizing it, and then it will suddenly seize up when it doesn't even seem like you're doing anything to hurt it!

Please see a qualified medical professional.

[CranBeree]

Re: sore backs

acupuncture or massage therapy..i've noticed when you go to an MD and complain of a sore back they just give you some pills to relieve the pain which i hate cuz i hate taking meds. my husband and i have back problems, he used to go the doctors every time he threw his back out and they would just describe skelaxin...finally things got so bad he ended up in emergency and nothing was helping..anyway, a friend from our church owns her own acupuncture office and he went to see her and was able to get instant results! as for me, i have been rear ended 3 times...my back is a mess and massage therapy works for me.

[1stwahine]

Re: sore backs

I agree with Maddie. Go to see your doctor immediately. There are so many medical conditions that can cause th symtoms you have just described. I ain't naming one.

Hope you get better soon!

Hugs & Kisses to Relm from me!

Auntie Lynn

[craigwatanabe]

Re: sore backs

I would see both and not discount any of them. It could be a nerve problem, it could be a degenerative bone disease, it could be deteriorating foam in the seat cushion of your car or desk chair.

But anytime your body is in pain, it's trying to tell you that something isn't right. I don't like pain killers only because it's like pulling the plug on the wailing civil defense siren trying to tell you a tsunami is fast approaching and you'd better take protective action.

Pain is an indicator of impending problems and pain killers just mask them. Seek professional care and don't rely on just one opinion. Had I known that accupuncture could have taken care of my carpal tunnel problem in my right hand I would have opted to go the more holistic route rather than the destructive surgery I decided upon and am now regretting. My right hand has been disabled considerably because of the operation. Sometimes traditional medical treatments aren't the best solution.

[shaveice]

Re: sore backs

thanks for the various suggestions. i actually did go to see a doc some 1.5 yrs back when i had that back muscle problem and got some x-rays taken but the x-rays didn't reveal any problem. of course, that was then. i guess i should go again. anyone know of an exceptional back specialist? through H.T., i got the name of a good general physician (sorry, i don't have his name at my fingertips but he's out in hawaii kai) and i'm sure i can ask him if no one has any suggestions.

craig, sorry to hear about your right hand. it's incredibly frightening to think that things like that happen but i know it's true. in fact, when i hurt my back some 1.5 yrs ago, i went online to find some info and stumbled upon an excellent forum where people with various kinds of back problems shared their pain and encouragement. if you just spend 5 minutes reading some of their stories, you'll be amazed at the kind of suffering some people are going through and how often they warn others to avoid back surgery unless it's the very last option. the link is here:
http://messageboard.spine-health.com...zsjha8wgbfY.0@

yup, i totally agree. i've never been one to take pain killers and it sometimes drives my wife crazy cuz i often even avoid things like aspirin for headaches. (a little extreme, i think, but i've never liked taking medicines. i think i need to find a better balance.)

at the moment, i can tell that my back muscles are right on the verge of cramping. if i take it easy, i believe the muscles will finally relax and all will be well and then i'll follow through with a visit to the doc. i haven't been exercising and stretching and i can take this as a wake up call to get off my ever expanding butt to get my body in shape or pay the consequences.

thanks again for the suggestions.

[LikaNui]

Re: sore backs

Have you tried alternating a heat pad and an ice pack? It sounds like perhaps the muscle spasms are pinching a nerve.
I've had serious lower back problems for over three decades, from a very high-speed water-skiing accident. Nothing ever helped and I just learned to live with the pain, until I finally went to see a (gasp!) chiropractor out of desperation. Two treatments, and the pain has been totally gone ever since. And that was six years ago.
I know lots of folks don't like chiropractors, but...

[Pomai]

Re: sore backs

Try soaking with Epsom Salt.

Fill bathtub with hot water (as hot as you can tolerate), mix in 2 cups Epsom Salt and soak yourself at least 30 minutes. Do that twice, daily.

I had an excruciating strained lower back a few years ago where I couldn't stand straight or walk more than just a few feet at a time. After a few days of the Epsom Salt treatment, the strain and pain completely disappeared. It's an old-fashioned cure-all that really works!

Lack of doing daily calisthenics and poor sleep posture had much to do with that strain. Now I least do daily leg stretches to keep my spinal erectors flexible.

I recenly got one of those memory foam matress toppers from Costco. I swear, that thing really works! Everyone in my family has one and they all swear by it.. no more sore back waking up in the morning.

[MadAzza]

Re: sore backs

I know lots of folks don't like chiropractors, but...

I meant, see a physician *first* to eliminate serious medical problems. After that, whatever works!

[timkona]

Re: sore backs

Cramping AND Headaches in the same set of symptoms. Could be low-level chronic dehydration. Water is the ONLY cure for that. Magnesium helps to relieve cramping by helping muscles relax.

I used pumpkin seeds on the football team last year and not one single cramp in any game all season.

[tutusue]

Re: sore backs

[...]Magnesium helps to relieve cramping by helping muscles relax.[...]

Be sure to research magnesium first lest you get caught too far from a bathroom.

[shaveice]

Re: sore backs

again, thanks for the suggestions. yup, stretching is really important and i know that i don't do enough of that. i'm as stiff as a board and really need to loosen up....

[shaveice]

Re: sore backs

Try soaking with Epsom Salt.

Lack of doing daily calisthenics and poor sleep posture had much to do with that strain. Now I least do daily leg stretches to keep my spinal erectors flexible.

. . . . . . . . .

pomai, i've already mentioned my lack of flexibility and i see that as a real contributing factor but i forgot to say thanks for commenting on poor sleep posture. i can't be sure but i do think that i sleep in a weird way. imagine sleeping on your side. then imagine me turning my lower body, from the waist down, towards the matress so that my stomach is flat against the matress but my upper body still turned on its side. i don't know how i got into that habit but i seem to sleep like that often and i suspect that it contributes to my ocassional back pain. i don't know how i can break that habit but i'll try....

[MadAzza]

Re: sore backs

imagine sleeping on your side. then imagine me turning my lower body, from the waist down, towards the matress so that my stomach is flat against the matress but my upper body still turned on its side.

Shaveice, maybe you need a new signature: "If I have one flaw, it's that I'm a contortionist."

[Adri]

Re: sore backs

. . . . . . . . .
I don't know how i got into that habit but i seem to sleep like that often and i suspect that it contributes to my ocassional back pain. i don't know how i can break that habit but i'll try....

hmmm, have you tried sleeping with a body pillow? That might relieve some of the pressure of the twisting of your body and still give you the feeling of your usual sleeping position or something close enough to it. Unless, of course, you have someone willing to let you sleep against them in lieu of the body pillow