Repost: Back Pain

[Ian_S]

After checking through the forums again I noticed that I had posted my original message in the wrong section. That's my fault, I was tired and obviously not paying enough attention. Anyway, here's the original post, and any advice is still appreciated.

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Hey, this is my first post but definantly not my first time coming to this site for information. I'm posting to ask about some back pain that i've been having. A couple of months ago I injured my back. I stayed off it for a while, took the tylenols and just overall rested it. But every once in a while the pain kept coming back, and I figured it was normal for it to be sore for a while. But now it's been a couple of months, and this pain in my back still comes back. Sometimes it can even get pretty bad. Is this something i'm going to have to live with? Is this going to kill my chances of ever becoming a SEAL? Does the pain ever fully stop with an injuring to the back?

I've been told a lot of things. Mostly things along the lines of "back pain always stays with you one way or another". Is that how it is?

Any advice is appreciated.

-Ian
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[mtgman]

Ian, if I were you I would seek advice on something as serious as a back injury from your doctor, not a website that, to my knowledge, has no medical professionals hanging around.

[snow85]

Ian--

back pain can be a tricky thing, so i'm going to ask you some questions:

1. what did you do to your back? i.e. what were you doing when you hurt it?

2. what did it feel like when you hurt it, and where (on your body) did it hurt?

3. where does it hurt now? what, if anything, causes it to hurt?

4. what does the pain feel like now?

5. have you seen a physician, other medical professional (i.e. physical therapist), or a chiropractor?

6. what has your 'rest period' consisted of? have you done any strengthening exercises?

7. how may tylenol tablets have you been taking at a time/how many per day? have you been taking any additional otc pain relievers? excessive amounts of tylenol, aleve (naproxen sodium)-- which is on a 'questionable' list), or ibuprofen (motrin, advil), can really screw up your stomach and liver. they also thin your blood, so depending on how many you've been taking per day, you shouldn't be drinking any alchohol.

Back pain does NOT always stay with you. it depends on what you did to it, how well it healed, and what you're doing to it now.

let me know all of these answers and i'll get back to you soon.

-S

[Ian_S]

1. I was messing around with friends and, being the *** I can be, lifted too much weight on one of the machines.

2. I've never been good at describing pain, but it hurt pretty much all around my lower back.

3. Now it hurts mostly around the right side of my lower back. If I sit in certain positions too long it gets stiff when I
stand back up. And if i'm doing something active like running the pain comes back around.

4. It's mostly stiffness now i'd say.

5. No, but I probably should have.

6. I've mostly just tried to use it as little as I can get away with, so I haven't done any strengthening excercises. In my ignorance I guess I figured it would just fade like other pains i've had.

7. I actually haven't taken any tylenol in a while. But when I do it's only 2 tablets in 24 hours. I only use it when the pain comes back. Don't think I took anything but tylenol either.

Thanks

-Ian

[snow85]

1. which machine?

2. dull ache, sharp shooting, like fire? .... something else...?

3. when you run, what's it like? slow onset? on the right side only? does it come across your body or extend up, down, or across your back? does it move down into your glutes or legs?

6. wrong. doing that is only going to let it get weaker. you need to exercise it. i will write something up for you this weekend. is your email in your profile? don't worry about thinking it would go away. everyone's done that, myself included. you just never know. the point is to start taking care of it from today forward.

7. good.

no problem.

--S--

[Ian_S]

1. I dont remember the name, but the machine would have you sitting at an upward angle pushing the weight upwards with your legs.

2. If I start running or something like that, then it would be a dull pain during the run. But if I got the dull pain and tried to sit down or bend it any other way, it would be a sharp shooting pain.

3. When I run it would be a slow onset, focused on the right side of my lower back. Sometimes, but not very often, I might feel it in the glutes. The most recent pains i've had were only lower back, right side though.

6. I think my email is in my profile, and i'm ready to try whatever you have to offer, thanks again snow.

-Ian

[mtgman]

1. I dont remember the name, but the machine would have you sitting at an upward angle pushing the weight upwards with your legs.

Leg press.

[Ian_S]

Is that it? I've seriously never really used the machine too much.

thanks man.

[Fowl2338]

I actually have a similar problem.

1. Never actually had an accident/incident. My back pain just started coming around. Although, I had been sleeping on a couch for about a 2-3 month period, and I believe this is why the pain has arrived.

2. N/A

3. It hurts in my middle back. When I lay flat on my back(i.e: couch or other hard/er surface), getting up hurts really bad. Also, when standing up, if I bend over just a little bit, my back will hurt there, too. Just certain positions make it hurt. It also hurts when I arch my back to far.

4. It feels real tight. And it pretty much just makes my whole back feel a little uneasy.

5. I have been to a normal doctor, he looked me over, but "found nothing", gave me some anti-biotics, and sent me on my way. I am actually in Germany right now, and my mother called MY doctor in the States to let her know what was going on, and she said it was probably just a pulled muscle, and that nothing could be wrong with my vertibrae, since I had never actually had an injury. But that was a good 2 1/2 months ago, and the back just recently came back.

6. I didn't really have one. I just kept up with my normal PT routine. It hadn't given me any problems in a while until about 4 days ago.

7. I just take Ibuprofen. I always make sure and eat something with it though.