Lower back pain-any help?

[Blaylocke]

Since I don't get this in any "survival" situation, I wasn't sure whether to go off topic, or "Survival Fitness" hopefully I'm alright.

So here is a question for anyone involved in manual/tedious labor. I was all lined up to go to school this year, but got called to work. Too much money to pass up. Anyyyway. Working in a turbine pit for a generator is very tedious. You are working in a small space, doing the same thing, over and over again, an inch at a time. This kind of work gives me a crazy pain in my mid/lower back. It's the same pain any of us can get from standing still and doing a decent load of dishes. It's just tedious movements that make it tighten and ache to all hell. I cannot imagine that there are not other construction jobs that have the same sort of tedious motion, so I was wondering if anyone else had this issue? More importantly, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with it? Popping 3 advil at lunch, every day, six days a week for a few months, is not only somewhat ineffectual, but not particularly healthy.

I can walk all day long without pain. While I'm not in particularly good shape This pain is strictly something brought on by this sort of tedious work.

If this thread gets buried, I understand. But if any of you have remedies, exercises, or what have you, I'd like to hear them. I'm almost to the point where I want a doctor to preemptively write me a prescription for some sort of pain medicine, although I'm afraid they'd think I was bird dogging for pills A google search comes up with a million different exercises from people who probably aren't even talking about what I'm talking about.

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[Certaindeaf]

That sucks. I'd strengthen my core with side to side pushups, mountain-climbers and jack-knifes.. 30 each without stopping and then repeat that three more times.. without stopping. Work up to it. Perhaps lose some weight? The above will help with that as it'll increase your muscle mass and hence your metabolism.. just eat right.
Perhaps also try a brace/elastic belt type thingy.
Good luck.

 

[Blaylocke]

That sucks. I'd strengthen my core with side to side pushups, mountain-climbers and jack-knifes.. 30 each without stopping and then repeat three more times.. without stopping. Work up to it. Perhaps lose some weight? The above will help with that as it'll increase your muscle mass and hence your metabolism.. just eat right.
Perhaps also try a brace/elastic belt type thingy.
Good luck.

The weight loss thing is a definite But there are guys at work, fatter than I am, trucking along without the back aches. 60 hours a week is one thing, but when two hours into it your back is pissing you off, well, yikes. Thanks for the advice.

 

[westcoastal]

Right on the money there CD
Strengthen your core sit ups and crunches half your strength is in your abdomin.
Any stretching you can do strengthens your back will help leg lifts front back and sides work both areas. To many years of sports plus working hunting and all around recreating in the woods f'd up my back pretty bad. So these are the things I do to stay ahead of it.
I've got a Bowflex I use facing the bows pulling back. Back pulling forward and side well pulling sideways
Good luck and hope you can figure out a happy medium.

Edit
Another thing I'd suggest. Don't sit with your wallet in your back pocket. It rocks your hips and miss aligns your spine causing pain.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'd also think about (if it was me) using a small, dense foam pad for under the hips while scooching around sideways. There's also motorcycle shorts with padding. Maybe after a while when you start getting uncomfortable, and who wouldn't, you start tensing your hips up away from the floor trying to find relief from that hard surface, thereby causing or exacerbating the issue.

 

[jbett98]

Start with your feet. Do you have a high arch or are they flat. What kind of work boot do you wear? Do your feet hurt by the end of the day.

Here's a simple test, in your stocking feet, stand erect on a level hard surface.

Stand on your left leg and make sure it's locked straight and then swing your right leg back and forth.

Do the same thing with the right leg. Does one of them drag on the floor, while the other one slide easily?

If so, then you have one leg longer then the other.

 

[Kimber Custom]

There's a book called Pain Free by Pete Egoscue that came highly recommended to my wife to help with fibramyalgia symptoms. It's full of stretches and exercises to help eliminate pain.

 

[MarkAd]

inversion tablem used regularly.

 

[OHshoot!]

Bikram yoga has worked for me for 8 years now. Real healing if you make the time to do it regularly.

 

[deadeye]

If possible get an anti-fatigue mat to stand on. Also do some simple stretching exercises before you start the day and at each break to get the blood flowing in the muscles.

 

[dmv9]

Don't use a chair, use a ball. My back pain went away. Also, losing weight helped

 

[Mica]

I have arthritis in my lower back and yes I work in the construction field. I can tell you this much. You can be strong as a ox and still have a week core. I went through Physical therapy for mine. I just keep doing the exercises. You would be suprised at how easy they are. The results are very real. You have all the encouragment I can give you.

 

[clambo]

All of the above are good ideas. I'm going to add seeing a Dr. He will probably want to do X-rays, scans, etc. It's possible you do have some genuine back malady. At least you will then know for sure. It's possible you might be able to work past it with therapy, stretching, etc. It's also possible you may need medication but I wouldn't go that route until I'd tried some of the others. I imagine your Dr. will also feel the same way. Don't go to him or her and just ask for pain medication....you will be flagged as a drug seeker as you thought. The pain medication world much like the gun world is highly sensitive and political these days due to addicts, unscrupulous dr.'s, and the DEA. It's gotten so bad that most physicians will not write prescriptions for narcotic medications unless you really, really need them and they have plenty of evidence in their files to back this up. Even then they will likely refer you to a pain clinic so they won't have to deal with you in this fashion.

Narcotic pain medication also opens a whole new Pandora's Box of potentially serious problems for the user besides physical habituation. Job issues, security issues, people always trying to talk you out of them ( even friends, relatives ! ), security issues. If I had any I would be storing them in my gun safe. Finally, driving problems come to mind. You can get a DWI while using them...or worse acidently kill someone.

I'm not against them but I would see a doctor, decide with him, try some other cures, and know what you are getting yourself into. Before I close I would like to suggest an herb called Kratom. It is not a narcotic or dangerous despite what local newspapers might say. It does seem to have excellent pain killing properties and it's legal. I have been using it for about 6 mo. in place of pain meds and I'm pretty satisified with it. I'm not pain free but I can live with it and it doesnt bring all those above mentioned problems into my life.

 

[3MTA3]

Walk as much as you can when you start to get back pain. My brother tipped me off to this when I went through some serious lower back pain (couldn't find any comfortable position standing, sitting or laying down - it was torture). I didn't think it would help, but was willing to try anything. Walking did the trick. Pain meds helped occasionally for sleep, but it was the exercise that fixed it.

 

[Blaylocke]

Thanks everyone for all of the advice. Exercise wise, I'm going to try and incorporate all of this into my day. Just going to have to wake up a little earlier .

I will go see a doctor, I'm probably over due anyway. However, it's a Federal jobsite, and if I so much as stub my toe they will drug test me. So I'll have to ensure anything I take wont cause fatigue.

And Jbett: I wear big, tight steel toed boots. Their the only comfortable ones I could find, but they aint comfortable,

 

[jbett98]

I fell out of a tall fir tree when I was 12 yrs old. Landed on my tail bone and that set the stage for the rest of my life.
Every fall I visit the Western States Chiropractic school for an annual tune up. The lower back pain never goes away, but it does lessen it for awhile.
I have very high arches and I only wear Birkenstock sandals/boots.
Funny thing is, that the only time my back doesn't hurt, is when I have sex with my wife.
I can't convince her that it should be a daily exercise for pain management.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Does the pain shoot up your back and neck or down your legs and foot or feet? Is it sharp and "electric"? If so it could be a pinched Sciatic Nerve, a condition I have had for years. It comes and goes, one wrong move and a couple weeks of POO! I use ice, a massage wand and heavy drugs when necessary. If this sounds familiar I suggest you see your MD or at least google Sciatica.

 

[Dunerunner]

I'm over sixty, so I have only one thing to say.... Naproxen. It is the generic for Aleve.

 

[jrprich]

I have had three L4/5 back surgeries........my advice is get a GOOD doc and have an MRI of the area. Until you have an MRI it is all just guess work. The sooner you find the affected area the sooner a plan can be developed for your recovery.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Before I close I would like to suggest an herb called Kratom.

I have constant consistent back issues and I just started reading about this recently. Where have you been able to find it? Does it make you goofy or just take away the pain? I'm tired of popping ibuprofen as it does more harm than good, marijuana does absolutely nothing except make me paranoid and my heart race and I have no desire to pop pain killers unless absolutely necessary as they make me nauseous and irritable. Supposedly Kratom works wonders without the crappy side effects