About once a year, I do something stupid and hurt my lower back. This time it was (I think) because I used my old, beat up sneakers when I was on the eliptical machine. Anyways, whenever I go to the dr, he does some manipulations and prescribes pain killers and muscle relaxants and alternating ice and heat. I really hate to take those meds and I won't unless I absolutely have to. Does anyone know any good lower back stretches that will help this?

By Groovepickle on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:27 pm:

I don't know of any streches you can do yourself but try Chiropractic or Acupuncture. They both work well for back pain. Sometimes you just have to try out new stuff until you figure out what type of medicine works best for you. There are some great herbal patches that can greatly ease back pain. I don't know what you have available to you but check it out. Also listen to your body. It will tell you whats working. For me heat never works, it always makes my pain worse, but maybe for you heat will work and cold will make it worse, trial and error is what it's all about.
Groove

By Crystal915 on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:29 pm:

Lay on the floor, and pull one knee up to your chest, hold for a minute, then the other knee, then both together. Women have more of a curve to their lumbar, which makes us more likely to have problems. That stretch helps "flatten out" the lumbar, my doc recommended it for my back pain. Also, my dad always lays on the floor, pulls one leg over to the opposite side of the body, and stretches his back that way. Hard to explain, but it works!!

By Crystal915 on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 04:31 pm:

Oh, and I should add, I had chronic lower back pain and sciatica, I finally went to the chiro, he unpinched a nerve and it was immediate relief.

By Colette on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 05:05 pm:

Thanks!! I am going to try the stretches and maybe just use the muscle relaxant when I go to bed. It always seems to be worse when I've been laying down for a while.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 07:08 pm:

Sleep on your back, with a pillow under your knees. Take an anti-inflammatory/muscle relaxant, like Motrin, but not on an empty stomach - with milk and at least a couple of crackers. When you sit, put one foot, and then the other, alternating, on a foot stool to change the muscle position and pull on your back. When you turn, turn with your feet, not from the waist. Don't bend your back, bend your knees. Don't pick up anything over 3 pounds, not even a child, if you can possibly avoid it. When you are sitting in a chair, make sure your feet are on the floor (straight chairs are best). If your feet are not comfortably on the floor put a pillow behind your back to move you forward. Even in a straight chair, try putting a small pillow behind your back just at or below your waist to support the lumbar curve. The best kind of pillow for this is a bath towel folded in half or third and rolled, fastened with rubber bands. This is also good in the car.

If you don't like the effects (drowsiness, sleepiness, etc.) of the meds your doctor is prescribing, tell him you think they are too strong and you want something less narcotic. My orthopedic doctor gives me an annual prescription for Darvon, and I think in a year I take maybe 50 of the 100 capsules in the bottle. I don't like taking meds stronger than I need, so most of the time I manage just fine with aspirin or Motrin. I have lower back and neck arthritis, had a ruptured disk in my lower back many years ago, and bursitis in one hip, and this is how I manage it most of the time.

The alternating ice and heat is really the right thing to do.

The second exercise Crystal describes is: lie on your side, with your arms in a "normal" position. Lift the upper leg a bit and, keeping it straight, move it over the lower leg towards the front, maybe a couple of feet if that is comfortable, so that you feel a bit of a pull in your back muscles and the back of your thigh muscles. Hold for a count of 10. Relax. Do again. Do that at least 5 times, and change sides. For the lying on your back and bringing one bent leg to your chest, pull your leg to your chest with your hands/arms. You should feel a bit of a pull on your back and back-thigh muscles. Also hold that for a count of 10, relax, and do again up to 5 times, and switch to the other leg, and then both legs together. When you can do each of these 5 times without increasing the hurt, try doing them 10 times. These are both exercises given to me by a physical therapist recommended by my orthpedic doctor for my lower back pain.

And, ask your doctor if he will give you a referral to a physical therapist who can show you a number of different exercises specifically meant for back pain, so you can see what will work for you. Most will be exercises you can do at home once you have been shown exactly how to do them, and what to recognize as the warning signs to stop. I know my orthopedic doctor has done this for me a couple of times.

I am personally not terribly fond of chiropractors, but if your doctor can refer you to a chiropractor who will take your doctor's instructions as to what should and shouldn't be done, that might not be a bad idea. But I strongly recommend you do this on a referral from your doctor so that the chiropractor knows your diagnosis and history from your doctor.

By Colette on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 07:24 pm:

Thanks Ginny. I would prefer to avoid a chiropractor, for various reasons but one is that I have a cyst in my spinal column and I really don't want that messed around with.

I ended up taking the stupid muscle relaxant but I am not going to take the pain killer. I figure maybe if I take the muscle relaxant tonight then I will be able to get out of bed in the morning and not feel like a little old lady.

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 07:55 am:

Colette, I don't know what to add to what was already posted. But I *will* say this about NOT taking the pain killer. If you are in a lot of pain, and you don't take something to help it initially, often - not ALWAYS - but very often, you become very tense, without realizing it, your body tends to over-compensate - in your situation, you may find another area of your back, or even your neck starts hurting - and it just makes the pain worse.

My point is - if you don't want to take meds while you are awake, then take them at night, including the pain meds, and you might wake up with a lot of relief.

How are you today???

By Colette on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 08:38 am:

I am kicking myself for not taking those pills last week when this started. My back is about 80% better. I can't take them and go to work so I'll take another after dinner tonight.

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 09:03 am:

I have chronic back pain, have had 2 back surgeries for ruptured disks, and have 3 more herniated disks, as well as DDD and arthritis in my neck and back and (a new find!) spinal stenosis. And while I'm not trying to encourage anyone to use drugs if they don't have to, I wanted to say that if I were to keep trying to tough it out when I really needed to take something, I'd end up in so much pain, I wouldn't be able to function normally. Meds DO have a place, and if you can get by without them, then that is great. But if you need them, they are there for a purpose.

And you are right, if you use *bad* shoes to exercise in, you can hurt yourself! I've BTDT too, using the treadmill.

I hope you feel much better soon.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 09:22 am:

Karen is absolutely right. The way my doctor described it is - pain creates inflammation, which creates more pain, which creates more inflammation ..... The purpose of the meds is to break that cycle, and the earlier you break it the better.