Thread: Back sprain

Hi everyone,

I have sprained my back. Apparently I am not a superhero as I had previously thought (well, at least not Wolverine, anyway).

This is probably due to coming from a family that is so hard-headed each person must do everything themselves. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this and what did you do to get better? I believe the reason was because I unfortunately twisted to get a heavy box of books out of the car. Two days later I was walking down the street and suddenly felt like I'd been shot in the back, fell into the snow and couldn't get up again.

I've read some things about it, and it seems to be generally believed that this only happens to the physically unfit. That is not really me, as I've been in training for a while now and am quite physically active. I guess there is something to be said about overdoing it.

no magical advice, just well wishes.
i'm sure you know all the rest, ice, heat, moist heat, anti-inflammatory stuff

Heat.

Heated car seat
Heating pad
Heated seat cushion
Soak in bathtub
Sauna
Steam room
Microwave hot towel and put behind/under back

Lie flat on your back with your glutes against the wall and your feet up on the wall, legs straight. If your hamstrings find this stretch too intense, it's ok to pull your glutes away from the wall whatever distance feels right to you. Hang out there a while, until your hamstrings relax, which will feel stretched by this position. Bonus points if you put either a heated towel or a heating pad under your back while you do this. Bonus points if you do this in a sauna, bathtub, or steam room.

Lie on your back and hug your knees to your chest. Bonus points if you do this with heat on it as described above.

Thanks, to both of you guys! I have been doing the bath thing and some ibuprofen. It seems to get better, then worse. I am trying to be active and stretching. Oddly, Shira, I do that same exercise/stretch all the time (good for posture). I'll have to try it for this.

I sprained my right ankle twice and now my back. I have to remember that I am not seventeen anymore! *sigh*

Almost a year ago I tried lifting a 300 lb solid iron magnet by myself (same problem... everyone in my family is pigheaded and I was trying to prove something to my advisor... very very stupid!). I ended up tearing my left psoas muscle and muscles in my hip which gave me sciatic and femoral nerve pain for several months (worst burning pain ever, left leg wouldn't function completely, it was bad)... luckily none of it was permanent! I was fairly fit at the time too, so don't feel bad. Our backs just aren't made for lifting at odd angles like that or lifting things that are so terribly heavy.

Long story short, make sure that even when you're in pain to keep your back and legs stretched and relaxed. Do gentle stretches against the wall that Shira was talking about. Also, it really feels good to lay on a hard floor on your back and pull your knees into your chest for a few minutes. When you sleep, sleep on your side with your legs pulled in. Sleeping on your back is the worst for it and gives you swayback. Take anti-inflammatories. If it's really really bad for more than a week, go to the doctor. At the very least, he/she can give you prednisone for a week. It's a powerful steroid anti-inflammatory that will help your muscles heal and decrease the pain significantly if you're having nerve pain. Alternating ice and heat helped sometimes, but mostly ice felt best. It also helps to change positions often during the day. Don't sit for too long, take standing breaks, when standing take sitting breaks or squat on the ground on occasion (really good for the back), and watch your posture as much as possible.

I hope you're pain goes away and that you recover much quicker than I did!

I don't have any advice, but I hope this picture of Wolverine helps you feel better!

Girl, I'm right there with you. Did mine backbending. Hurts SO bad.

For me it's relative rest (not bedrest, but reduced activity), ice (can't use heat because I have a herniated disk w/inflammation), and NSAIDs. Ibuprofen is the most helpful in my case, massively better than Tylenol. Apparently the pain of a herniated disc actually comes from the fluid inside the disc leaking out and irritating the nerve. The swollen nerve is really the problem hence no heat and NSAIDs to take down teh swelling.

You may have a different kind of injury, though.

Another idea....

If you are going to be doing something sedentary anyway, such as reading a textbook for your classes or watching television, lie flat on your back on the floor and place your feet up on a chair or couch. I used to do this when recovering from the car accident injury that pulled a muscle in my back. I would put my glutes reasonably near the chair / couch, so that my knees and hip joints would be bent at right angles. You can experiment with the angles until you find the right combination that works for your personal situation.

My angry back used to LOVE this position. I did all my studying for school lying on my back on the floor like this.

At night, when I went to bed, I usually would sleep on my back with a pillow under my knees - that would take some pressure off the lower back. (Ie, my knees would be bent but my feet would rest on the bed, my feet themselves weren't elevated.) Lying on your back with straight legs can put pressure on your lower back. Again, it depends on the specifics of your particular injury, but you can experiment with different thicknesses of pillows under your knees to see if you can find a knee angle that seems right for you.

When sleeping on my side, I would do two things to ease my angry back. One was to put a pillow between my knees. The other was to place a pillow or bolster behind my back to give my back a little support while lying on my side.

I second Lauren's ice advice: I slipped in the bathroom 6 months ago (nude of course, sheesh!) and landed sidesaddle on my kiester. An hour later my back was spasming and I had no idea what was happening as it was an entirely new experience. Over the next week I tried sitting in the hot tub and heated towels to no avail, so I called my doc and his nurse suggested ice. Magical stuff, ice. I'm not saying it will be the cure-all for you, it just helped me when heat didn't so we do have options for home treatment. Doing BIIIIG hip circles and Mayas were also the only things that helped as it was a lower back injury, and I was very careful to watch my posture and did them very slowly. Ibuprofen/Naproxin Sodium are helpful too.

Don't let it go too long though, go to the doc if you feel 'something ain't right.' Good luck honey, and Happy New Year.