Solutions for lower back pain

rt014

rt014

Joined
Jun 21, 2001
Messages
2,861
It is mind boggling doing web searches for a lower back pain solution, so thought I'd get your opinions on what has worked for you not only to reduce lower back pain, but eliminate it:

-heat vs cold
-rest vs exercise
-voodoo vs acupuncture
-etc

I've been to a doctor before and had a round of physical therapy after first throwing it out big time a couple of years ago. Now is comes and goes sporadically especially after doing heavy work.

Just looking for opinions or solutions that have worked for you. Maybe there is no solution because I'm over 50? :D
 
Im 57 and have had one lower back surgery (discectomy) and have been avoiding a 2nd for years by doing a yoga stretching routine that focusses on my lower back and hip flexion. I do a lot of kayaking and dont believe I would be able to without the stretching. Works for me ! I think whats most important is to find something physical that you like and do it.--KV
 
kvaughn said:
Im 57 and have had one lower back surgery (discectomy) and have been avoiding a 2nd for years by doing a yoga stretching routine that focusses on my lower back and hip flexion. I do a lot of kayaking and dont believe I would be able to without the stretching. Works for me ! I think whats most important is to find something physical that you like and do it.--KV
Click to expand...

i was gonna say stretches and excersize.. i worked at ups when i was younger and after a few years of slinging transmission cases and other heavy equipment those are the only two things naturally that helped... jack daniels helped a ton but with that comes dependancy. :D
 
Watch this video, and then buy this book.

Think its goofy? For $10 plus shipping, just give it a try and play along. My back greatly improved 48 hours after reading the book. I was on vacation, and couldn't even stand up straight. And Mrs. Powernoodle was able to stop going to the chiropractor without even reading the book. Just from me telling her what the book said.

Will it relieve every kind of back pain? No. Might it help you? Maybe. Try it. Send me a Mora if it works. :thumbup:
 
rt014 said:
-heat vs cold
-rest vs exercise
-voodoo vs acupuncture
-etc
Click to expand...
Depends on the source of the pain. Stretching, alignment by chiropractor(and almost daily self-alignment), exercises like hyperextensions, and generally maintaining a high level of activity without putting too much strain on my spine or letting it get twisted/unevenly loaded, etc. all help mine.
You've got to know the cause, though. The same thing that helps one person could just as easily hurt another, and you at least need some x-rays(and someone who can walk you through them) to go by.
An internet forum isn't the place to get ideas of what will work for you, because we don't know what's wrong with your back to begin with. Treating the symptom isn't fixing the problem, and pain is just a symptom.
 
OwenM - I did have xRays done after I originally threw it out pretty bad and they didn't show anything. I also know that what works for one person's pain might do harm to another. Just trying to get some additional ideas for what has worked for others.

Kvaughn - I've been swimming regularly this summer (sometimes up to a mile) thinking that a non-weight bearing workout would strengthen without straining....It doesn't hurt when I'm swimming, but as soon as I get out it does. I've also been thinking about starting Yoga.

Thanks for the ideas, keep em coming.

Powernoodle - I'll check out your links, thanks....Just ordered the book and viewed the video....very interesting (mind over matter) :)
 
Last edited:
My favorite stretch for low back pain (assuming no structural damage) is

1. Lay on back on floor with feet flat on floor.
2. Push down so your shoulders are "pinned" to the ground and your pelvis rises up so you lower back is straight up off the ground.
3. Slowly round your back down to the ground. You kind of want your butt to be the last thing that touches the floor, rather than coming straight down onto your butt.
 
Its a bit pricy as an option, but I purchased a Serta Memory Foam matress (from overstock for a smoking good price) to deal specifically with my back and how it felt after sleeping on a spring mattress.

It took about a week to get used to, and it stunk to high heaven for two days...but man oh man did it make a difference in the way my back feels when I wake up.

Granted this doesn't really do anything for you as it sounds like your looking for immediate treatment/remedies for backpain.

A Serta MemFoam mattress can be had for around $350 (single) and as long as you either toss it on the floor, or onto a box spring with a sheet of plywood between them (to firm up the foundation it sits on) it really does help out with continuously sore backs. Keep it in the basement or guest room and when your back starts acting up take a nap on it or sleep on it for a night....just relieving the pressure a spring mattress puts on it helps quite a bit.

The second bit of advice I have is a good set of inserts for your boots/shoes. Around $50-60 for a set but it can make a difference in how you stand, which can help with back pain.

I've always had this very direct lower back pain...like a set of two or three vertebrae that just feel like knife is in my back just at that point. Inserts helped quite a bit with work and that pain, and the mattress helped with me putting pressure on the spot and helped just sleeping better when it hurt.
 
i was thinking. my sports trainer back when i was in my early 20's (helping me with a herniated/ ruptured disk) told me that a lot of back pain was from folks being over weight. are any of you a lil chunky? i know when i had gained weight my back hurt a lot worse than normal toting around that extra lbs.. when i lost it, my back pain went with it. same goes for stomach issues, headaches, and snoring. figured i would toss that in.
 
hung-solo said:
told me that a lot of back pain was from folks being over weight. are any of you a lil chunky?
Click to expand...

In my case, I'm about 5'10" and 165-170 lbs. Far from obese, but my gut's been shrinking with all the swimming :D
 
I don't know if you own a gym membership but if you do, there's a ton of good exercises that will strenghten your lower back, posterior chain, improve your posture and make it go away for good.
Sure, you'll be hella sore the 1st week but as long as you take it easy and USE PROPER TECHNIQUE, you should be fine.
Make sure you don't have something serious going on there though.
 
I've assisted people with body problems and injuries for years. One of the areas those with back problems often overlook (and their docs too often don't have a clue) is to EQUALLY strengthen the abdominal muscles along with the back! Your 'core' muscles are comprised of BOTH the back and abdominal muscles and both groups are the main support for your body. Every muscle or group of muscles in the body is paired with an opposed group. Muscles only PULL and NEVER push! As an example, the biceps muscle of the arm PULLS the arm up into a bend; the triceps muscle straightens the arm out.

With the back, the abdominal muscles pull you over into a forward bend while the back muscles relax. To straighten up, the back muscles pull and the abs relax. It amazes me that many docs don't grasp this concept and advise back exercises with no thought for the abs. I would add that the thigh biceps (the huge muscles on the rear of our thighs) are a big factor in easing back problems. These muscles contract to help pull us upright after a bend and should be regularly stretched and exercised. I'm soon to be 76 and was diagnosed back in the early 70s as an immediate candidate for back surgery. My injuries were due to a chopper crash in Nam when I bailed out into a tree from a crashing chopper and came down face up over a large tree limb. I didn't know until years later than my spine was badly fractured. I did know from years of exercise experience to 'restore' myself with both 'front and back' exercise. I did that and told the docs to 'go to and stay put' when they immediately wanted to operate years later when I had a spasm episode. I went back to big time exercise and developed the muscles groups, front and back, to supoort my body. Okay, here I am, looking ahead to age 80 not far away and still able to whip the crap out of 8 or 9 or every ten male individuals I meet in an LEO situation. Please try it. It takes about eight weeks to start really strengthing BOTH the back and front core muscles but it will pay off for a lifetime.....!
 
Old CW4 said:
I've assisted people with body problems and injuries for years. One of the areas those with back problems often overlook (and their docs too often don't have a clue) is to EQUALLY strengthen the abdominal muscles along with the back! Your 'core' muscles are comprised of BOTH the back and abdominal muscles and both groups are the main support for your body. [...]
Click to expand...

This is the ticket. :thumbup: Core strengthening is paramount.
 
powernoodle said:
Watch this video, and then buy this book.

Think its goofy? For $10 plus shipping, just give it a try and play along. My back greatly improved 48 hours after reading the book. I was on vacation, and couldn't even stand up straight. And Mrs. Powernoodle was able to stop going to the chiropractor without even reading the book. Just from me telling her what the book said.

Will it relieve every kind of back pain? No. Might it help you? Maybe. Try it. Send me a Mora if it works. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Interesting video.No doubt the mind is very powerful and so are the powers of suggestion or self hypnosis.

Reguarding the OP,excess weight,weak stomach muscles,one leg longer than the other,needing a chiropractic adjustment and bad nutrition all can be factors.
Without knowing you specifically no one can answer intelligently to your problem, not that I'm an expert.

I've been studying nutrition and found a secret to rebuilding cartilage and strengthening bones.It's bone marrow soup.You cook chicken,fish and beef bones for up to 6 hours and use the base to make homemade soup with fresh vegetables.
It's how expensive restaurants make soup and how our ancestors cooked as well.What can it hurt? Good healthy soup.Cheap.
Google "Bone Marrow soup"

http://www.chiropractic-help.com/Hyaline-Cartilage.html

http://www.chiropractic-help.com/Chicken-bones.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/

http://www.jadeinstitute.com/jade/bone-broth-health-building.php
 
Last edited:
If over-weight, lose it. And read this book. In know...it looks stupid...it's not...it's essentially yoga that saved my ass some time ago.
 
I have a bulging/herniated disc in the L4/L5 region. The best thing that has helped me (even more than pain meds) is sleeping on my back with a rolled-up bath towel directly under my lower back. I usually end up sleeping this way for a few hours each night before rolling over. I had constant pain for over 4 months that had finally leveled out and was not improving - until I tried this. It's taken several weeks of this to get much better, but I'd say I'm back to 90%. The constant pain is gone; I still do this every night. I'm back in the gym, but I'm off military presses and squats, etc. for good - no need to tempt fate. :)

I don't know if this is right for you, but it seems to have helped me greatly.
 
i did a combo of chiropractor and exercise, granted i'm 25 and 7 inches taller so i dont know how much can transfer over to you.

but i had some bad lower back pain. to the point where if i walked more than 15 minutes i would start to tear up when it got to its worst.

ended up going to a chiropractor, she put me on a spinal decompression bed and adjusted me. that bed is amazing. the 15 minutes on it felt like an hour of pleasure and i fell asleep too. after that she adjusted me. after the first visit my pain was down by about 25% give or take.

after the next 2 visits i was better than i had been in years. i started running after my 3rd visit and that strengthened my back a lot.

now i go once a month for basically check ups to see how im doing bc it was so bad. but honestly with all the running it started to strengthen my back a lot then i moved on to weights and that helped even more. my back is solid as a rock now.

i go just so i can lay on the bed and get out of work early once a month.


like i said i don't know how much can transfer to you, but a couple other older salesmen in my office did the same chiro & light exercise and it helped them a bunch
 
I sleep on a hardwood floor-helps stretch out my back every night, especially after backpacking or spending lots of time on my feet. My dad does the same-he has arthiritis pretty bad too, apparently there's a significant difference in his back, shoulders, even his hands when he sleeps on the floor versus a soft mattress. Might be worth a try...
 
I can only describe what keeps back pain under control for me:
1) Routine stretching
2) Walk a mile or two at least 3 days per week
3) My job is 80% desk job...so get up and walk around a few times each day
4) Keep the abs strong...a few sets of crunches 3 days per week seems to be enough
5) Keep the weight down. Blubber is bad for the back.

If back pain flares up for some reason I use light stretching, walking, ice, and Ibuprofen to get it back to normal. Occasionally I'll get a deep tissue massage too.

My wife is an acupuncturist, and a large percentage of her patients see her to alleviate acute and/or chronic back pain. Seems to work really well for many. Unfortunately I don't like needles. Figures.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top