SEVERE lower back pain

09-08-2020, 10:36 AM

Hi all,

I'm a 5'10", 160 lb., 40 year old male. A month ago I must have slept wrong and woke up with pain on the right side of my lower back. The pain comes and goes but gets much worse when I'm bending forward at the waist and at the end of the day it's almost impossible to pick something up off the ground without severe pain. It isn't radiating to my leg, it's just concentrated on my lower back, but although it comes and goes in severity it doesn't seem to be getting any better. When I go for walks up the street there is pain on the right side at the beginning (as I bring my right leg forward) but that pain starts to improve the longer I walk. I've been hesitant to see my doc because I thought it would heal on its own after awhile so I wanted to see what you all think it could be before I make an appointment. Is it a slipped/herniated disc that just isn't healing? Something else? Any advice or ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks so much!

09-30-2020, 05:28 PM

Hello and welcome to the board! Sorry no one responded sooner. How are you doing by now? Have you seen any improvement?

10-01-2020, 03:58 AM

Sounds like you need a few PT sessions. I would see your doc if your insurance requires a referral.

02-28-2021, 07:33 AM

I experienced something similar about 6 months before I developed a hernaited disc. From what my doctor told me, muscle and alignment issues are often a precursor, as the body tries to compensate for structural/weakness/imbalance issues. Herniations develop over many years of injuries, poor form at the gym, and general wear and tear. It's unlikely that sleeping wrong caused the problem, but may have been the last straw.

I'd recommend seeing your doctor now. I'd also look into massage and PT/chiropractor. I've also been seeing an osteopath that does OMM (osteopahtic manipulative medicine). The first visit I had with her aleviated a lot of tightness - more so than other things I tried. It's also very gentle and low impact.

For PT, some type of manual therapy is still a good idea - either chiropractor or OMM.

02-28-2021, 08:57 PM

A month is a long time for serious back problems. I had a brief, maybe a couple week situation when I was your age which sounds similar and I had severe back pain. I sleep on my back, on the hard floor for a few days and recovered without medical intervention. I can't guarantee it will work for you, but if it hadn't, I would have gone to a doc, maybe a chiropracter.

04-21-2021, 04:07 AM

See an orthopedic doc, this is what they do, let him check you over and take a few x rays to see if it is a disc. Often times these will clear up on their own sometimes not, there are some meds they can try and perhaps some PT.

SEVERE lower back pain

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