Hi Everyone,

This is a little off topic, so I hope no one minds.

I'm 24 years old and in good shape (so I'd like to think :-P). I go to the gym 4 times a week. I'm just giving some background info to let you know that my lower back pain has nothing to do with being overweight (b/c I pretty sure I'm not).

Here's my question: What do you gals and guys recommend I do about my lower back pain? Does anyone have any stretching techniques they can recommend I do? I'm quite sure I didn't get it from working out. My lower back first started to hurt during my 2 day break from working out. (I only worked my arms and my upper body the last time I worked out). On the morning of day 2, my lower back was in constant pain. I haven't gone to the gym for 3 days now (today is my 3rd day). My back doesn't hurt when I walk. It feels better when I stand and feels worse when I sit or lie down. I will go to the doctor if it's still bothering me by Monday. Any ideas?

Thanks everyone.

p.s.
when do you think it's safe to go back to working out?

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have any stretching techniques they can recommend I do? My back doesn't hurt when I walk. It feels better when I stand and feels worse when I sit or lie down. I will go to the doctor if it's still bothering me by Monday. Any ideas?

when do you think it's safe to go back to working out?

Hang on a chinning bar, or try to stretch on top of door frame. Think of lengthing spine.

Don't work out until pain subsides. :gl:

Well, it depends. Is your pain in the muscles, or is it in the joints (spine)?

i think it has more to do with my joints. i'm not having any muscle spasms or muscle aches. the area slightly above my tail bone feels tight and, well, painful. the pain is more sharp than dull.

i'm starting to think that it's a pinched nerve since i now have a very slight pain in my neck.

i'm definitely seeing a doctor if i still feel this bad on Monday. i'd go sooner, but the student clinic doesn't open until Monday--stupid student health insurance.

do you have tight hamstrings?

i had bad lower back pain and it went away once i started stretching out my hamstrings. I didnt realise that my legs were so tight.

thanks for all the suggestions. i've tried stretching out my hamstrings. it's only been a day, hopefully i'll feel some results soon. my back is about the same.

i was going to go to the gym in my apartment complex for a light workout (i.e. walking a brisk walk on the treadmill and maybe working my arms and chest a little bit). but, the lights went out all over san francisco, so i couldn't. i guess it's a sign telling me not to work out. i haven't worked out in 4 days! that's the longest i've gone w/o working out since august--maybe this is my body telling me that i need to give my body a few days off.

:confused:

I don't know of any sure-fire treatment to ease joint pain, except for rest and applying heat to it (and careful movement. Keeping things completely immobile just makes you lock up, I know first hand from my double hip injury a couple of days ago :rolleyes: )

If it's joint pain, in the future you may want to check your posture. When you're exercising or otherwise standing upright, are you tucking your tailbone and abs in? Are you keeping your shoulders back? Basically, I mean tilting the pelvis so that you straighten out your spine as much as you can. Imagine that your vertebrae is a series of interlocking blocks, and you're trying to stack them one on top of the other like a tower. The more aligned your are, the better your "structural integrity".

I found that, from having a rather prominent butt, it had become natural for my lower spine to curve more when my fatter body aligned itself to its centre of gravity. I think I may have been leaning back a bit and resting more on my my lowr back. When I walked, my lower spine seemed to be getting the most shock. Now that I'm conscious of keeping everything "tucked in", I no longer get any back pain.

Three over the counter ibuprofen (they are 200mg each, so 600mg in all) tablets, three times per day for a few days. After a few days you can cut back to 400 to 600mg ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed, don't exceed 2400mg in a 24 hour period. This will give pain relief and anti-inflammatory benefit and should help you a lot. Since you've been in pain for several days, it may take several doses before you notice much of a difference. Definitely go to the doc tomorrow if you are still hurting.

If it is muscular and is a result of tight muscles (particularly leg muscles) it will take a few days to feel relief. This happened to me a few months back and I developed quite bad knots in my back that took a while to go away once I started the stretching. I did go to a doctor though and he checked it out and confirmed it was muscular. But it took me a while to figure out the cause, which was tight hamstrings. There are heaps of great stretches for the lower back and legs. My favorite is where you lie on your back with hands behind your head. Right leg is bent, with your foot placed on the outside of your left knee. You then push your right knee down to the ground, keeping your left leg straight. Then do the opposite side. Its great for stretching out the muscles along the spine.

keep with lots of stretching and light exerise will help too. hope you feel better soon.

If it is muscular and is a result of tight muscles (particularly leg muscles) it will take a few days to feel relief. This happened to me a few months back and I developed quite bad knots in my back that took a while to go away once I started the stretching. I did go to a doctor though and he checked it out and confirmed it was muscular. But it took me a while to figure out the cause, which was tight hamstrings. There are heaps of great stretches for the lower back and legs. My favorite is where you lie on your back with hands behind your head. Right leg is bent, with your foot placed on the outside of your left knee. You then push your right knee down to the ground, keeping your left leg straight. Then do the opposite side. Its great for stretching out the muscles along the spine.

keep with lots of stretching and light exerise will help too. hope you feel better soon.


this stretch sounds like it feels great! i want to retract what i said earlier, i don't think it's joint problems, i'm sure that i pulled my muscle around my lower back. however, i plan on going to the doctor to make sure.

btw, i worked out this afternoon. i was on the elliptical for 20 minutes and worked out my arms and upper body. it felt great! my lower back didn't hurt at all! i'm going to keep myself from working out my legs until my lower back completely heals.

thanks again!