Back Problems

[CreepersWiener]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

[Woodruff]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

Physical therapy
Drink more water
Both, as necessary

I have a herniated disk in my neck. The medication that works best is, believe it or not, Motrin (800mg). Nothing else, including the hard stuff like morphine and oxycontin could touch it, but Motrin takes care of it quite nicely.

[aad0906]

Horseriding. Seriously.

[jigger1986]

breast reduction surgery

[KoolBak]

www.koolbak.com

PM me ;o)

[HapSmo19]

http://www.koolbak.com

PM me ;o)

KoolBak isn't kidding.

Forget all previous advice and, unless a doctor chimes in, forget everything from here on out.









BUY KOOLBAK

[Army of GOD]

Chop off your arm. Your back pain will go away.

[KoolBak]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

Physical therapy
Drink more water
Both, as necessary

I have a herniated disk in my neck. The medication that works best is, believe it or not, Motrin (800mg). Nothing else, including the hard stuff like morphine and oxycontin could touch it, but Motrin takes care of it quite nicely.

Having been deeply immersed in this industry for 20+ years, I can say with certainty that every problem is different; many are very similar, but we are all different. My 1 ruptured, 1 herniated and 4 bulging disks (add degenerative disks due to age / genetics) arent touched by motrin (acetamenophin, ibuprophin or any of the other commercially available remedies) and pain killers just make me a bastard....lol - I must have enough stocked away to kill a herd of elephants. Being dehydrated makes it slightly worse, but not much. Physical therapy makes you understand the problem and avoid movements / activities that you KNOW will hurt and provides exercises that are beneficial, but, aside from invasive surgery, NOTHING cures these problems...and surgery has more down sides than up if it is not absolutely required (IMO). Age, stupid youthful activities and genes will get ya eventually; my back started its trashed nature at 15 (genetics and motorcycling).

Anyhow, I dont want to get into discussions re my style of product, but if you want some good info and a possible benefit, shoot me a pm ;o)

[thegreekdog]

breast reduction surgery

This is never the correct answer.

[daddy1gringo]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

As KoolBak says, every person and situation is different, but here is something my chiropractor gave me that works well for me and may work for you too.

Lying on your back, pull one knee up to your chest and hold it for a count of 15, then do the same with the other leg, then pull both knees to your chest and count 15 again.

I usually hold it a little longer, about 20-25 seconds with each leg and then 30-45 with both. Right around the 15-second mark I feel a distinct relief of the pain and tightness. You can repeat the whole thing a few times. The chiropractor told me that if I did this every morning before getting out of bed I'd never have my back problems. I forget a lot, but when it starts hurting I do it and it works.

If your pain is due to a disc problem or something like that, this may not help, but if it's just muscle spasms like mine, it should. But just because the spine is involved doesn't mean it won't help. The underlying cause of my problems is that my spine makes a small turn there right above the hip-bone because my left leg is minutely shorter than the right.

[KoolBak]

Bingo; great for stress relief, but, in my case for instance, the bulges in the L- region are on the BACK of the spine, so this would aggravate the problem; I have to stretch the opposite way, laying on my stomach and pushing up the upper half of my body, compressing the bulged areas.....so.....understanding the cause is critical.

[HapSmo19]

Sorry, Koolio, that drunken sales pitch of mine was meant to help but probably had the opposite effect, you fuckin' prick

[KoolBak]

Lmao....I actually appreciate it; god knows I'd be lambasted for doing it myself...and you know you should see a psychiatrist about your inability to make friends (you fooking preek)

Any of you remember Andrew Dice Clay? Paps and I watched him last time we hung out together.....that line is a classic ;o)

[TheProwler]

Strengthen your abdominal muscles with crunches, leg lifts (whatever they're called...lay on your back and lift your legs), etc..

Stretch your back.

Get a new chair or adjust the one you have...

Don't sit at the computer for long periods of time...get up and stretch every 45 minutes or so.

Get a massage from an attractive woman (a dude is okay unless you tense up when he touches you).

Possibly lose some weight (if that applies).

Avoid lifting heavy objects and if you do, use proper mechanics.

Always try to have good posture.

Do you ride a bicycle a lot? Make sure it is set-up correctly...

But see a doctor first and see what is wrong with you.

[PLAYER57832]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

Sorry, but you really should see a doctor or qualified chiropractor (look for one who graduated from Life College, here in the US -- they get most of a medical degree in addition to more specialized chiropractic training).

Back problems can be anything from a strained muscle to broken vertebrae ("mild" breaks just hurt.. I know, my husband had one!) to ruptured discs to kidney problems. Sometimes even gallstones or other internal issues can feel like back pain. Something of an amateur expert here, having a husband who broke his back (and is still walking/working).. and having had issues myself.

Once you have seen a doctor and ruled out most of the above, then think about what they tell you seriously.

1. Doctors may offers surgery, but know that back surgary can be one of the trickiest and least likely to succeed surgaries. Maybe you do need it, but try everything else first.

2. try simple stuff first:
A. check your shoes. Are they wearing evenly? If not, get new ones, have a friend watch you walk and adust your stride. You may need lifts or some such (far cheaper than back surgary!)

B. Drink water. Woodruff's advice to drink plenty of water never hurts, for a LOT of reasons (too many to list). A good, general vitamin is good, too. Don't buy the hype about needing expensive ones. Some are a tad better, but you can wind up paying 4-5 times as much for something only slightly better. Don't take mega-doses (if you are taking mega doses STOP unless a doctor has specifically told you to take them.. they might be causing the problem!). Again, you may feel the pain in your back, but it might well be from something else. These things just never hurt.

C. depending on the type of pain, excercises and stretching may help. However, because it can vary so much, its hard to give advice here. In general, stretch slowly. Stop when you feel it pulling, but before it hurts. If you move and it hurts, stop and resist the natural impulse to "withdraw". Just stop, concentrate on relaxing..then you can back up (if stretching) or continue in the motion (if doing something like picking up stuff).

D. gentle heat and/ or massage can help a great deal if its just muscle strain. Warning, though, improperly done, it can make things worse.

2. Try a chiropractor if you have not seen one, but be careful. A GOOD chiropractor can do wonders, a bad one.. can cause problems rather than curing.

3. Pain medication as a last resort or to "maintain" while trying other things. Ibuprofin (motrin, advil, etc.) cuts inflamation as well as pain, so is often better for backs. Aceteminophene (Tylenol, etc.) is just for pain and fever, but in high doses can hurt your kidneys. max dose was just reduced, so be careful. If over the counter medication alone is helping, you might be OK, but do be aware of long term side effects.

[shieldgenerator7]

Nice replies.

Does anyone know the best way to PREVENT back injuries and pain?

[PLAYER57832]

Nice replies.

Does anyone know the best way to PREVENT back injuries and pain?

Don't fall off a ladder

Seriously, lift using your legs, not bending over and lifting with your back. Brace with your legs, too. Build up your abdominal muscles (do the "new style" curls, not the old style sit-ups). Take appropriate amounts of calcium and vitamin D (women need more, but men need it too). DO excercise, but just don't overdo it.

And yeah... wear your seat belt! Don't put one ladder on top of another (my husband's wonderful trick ). Brace your ladder appropriately, etc.

[shieldgenerator7]

Nice replies.

Does anyone know the best way to PREVENT back injuries and pain?

Don't fall off a ladder

Seriously, lift using your legs, not bending over and lifting with your back. Brace with your legs, too. Build up your abdominal muscles (do the "new style" curls, not the old style sit-ups). Take appropriate amounts of calcium and vitamin D (women need more, but men need it too). DO excercise, but just don't overdo it.

And yeah... wear your seat belt! Don't put one ladder on top of another (my husband's wonderful trick ). Brace your ladder appropriately, etc.

Thanks for the advice, player.
I do try to lift with my legs without bending my back, but sometimes I find myself bending anyway but usually I can just use my legs.
Really? culrs are healthier to do than full sit-ups? I find sit-ups are harder to do and therefore you build more muscle by doing them (plus I can do 200+ sit-ups in one go, praise the Lord).
Thanks for the tip about the ladder, I've never fallen off one (except for when I purposely jump off when the ground is close enough) but I'm always afraid of doing so (but that doesn't stop me, most of the time anyways).
Also, I'd say slouching is a good habit to avoid, come to think of it.
They say you should "push, don't pull" but sometimes I find it easier to pull rather than push (and vice versa).

God bless us and our backs

-SG7 ( )

[clapper011]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

you just need a nice massage!

[PLAYER57832]

Really? culrs are healthier to do than full sit-ups? I find sit-ups are harder to do and therefore you build more muscle by doing them (plus I can do 200+ sit-ups in one go, praise the Lord).

I don't know the true answer to this one. I had a housemate in college who was studying physical therapy and showed me a new way to do sit-ups, but I have since learned its controversial.

[CreepersWiener]

My lower back is killing me! Any suggestions on what to do? Any exercises or yoga? Any drugs? HELP!!!!

you just need a nice massage!

My back, clapper! My back!

[clapper011]

yes! a massage for your back!

[Woodruff]

Nice replies.
Does anyone know the best way to PREVENT back injuries and pain?

The best singular answer is probably "posture, posture, posture".

[PLAYER57832]

Nice replies.
Does anyone know the best way to PREVENT back injuries and pain?

The best singular answer is probably "posture, posture, posture".

That's the military talking, sir...

Seriously, most back injuries result from improper lifting. However, posture is related in that people who pay attention to posture often also lift things correctly.

[shieldgenerator7]

yeah, p[opsture is important... I always used to slouch in school, and I'm trying to learn to sit up so I don't have to worry about it in my later years...