Back pain experts - help needed!! [hurt my lower back... pain!!]

I don’t know the extent of your injury but I can speak upon the pain as I’ve experienced similar on a few different occasions.

Budget about 2 weeks of discomfort with the first few days potentially being severe. Tomorrow can suck especially bad (worse than today). You can take pills, smoke mar1juana, use creams, oils, ice, heat and anything you think might help. They’ll provide temporary/minimal relief. The most important factor is time. It’s going to take the couple weeks as I mentioned.

With that being said...There’s one thing that I swear by when it comes to injuries and pain. Acupuncture. I don’t know how many times mine has saved me. For me i swear by it cause it’s the only thing that truly provides relief but more importantly going back to that time matter....

What might normally take me 14 days to heal without acupuncture would otherwise be healed by about day 10 or so with a few treatments again in addition to providing actual pain relief especially in the early stages when it hurts the most.

 

Have had that exact pop feeling happen twice. Both while working out with deadlifts being the most recent. The pain both times was a 10.

First two days was bedridden mostly except the restroom. The walk to the restroom was always tear-filled. Pain was really that bad.

Ibuprofen did nothing. Couldn't ride in a car to the doctor because of the pain of sitting up (laying down was best) and it would spasm on top of that. Have a friend who is a doctor that knows my history and was able to prescribe me something stronger.

Day 3 pain dialed back to an 8. By two weeks I could still feel it, but made my way back to the gym and adjusted my workout accordingly. Took about a month for me to no longer feel it.

To answer (ok... not really answer) your questions...

Not sure if it's nerve or muscle. Had an MRI a few months after and I forget was the report said, but they didn't seem concerned though there were a couple of things noted.

The help with pain now? It depends on how ibuprofen works for you. For both times it happened to me, it did nothing. So you may have to go to a doc... in the middle of a pandemic, when no one wants to be in a hospital. Heating pads/wraps from a place like CVS help a little.

Long-term? Extremely painful for two days. Can walk by day three, though still very painful. Two weeks, the pain is more dull instead of sharp and can do most stuff. After a month things feel normal.

All that is if we had the same thing happen. Go see a doc if you can bear it.

 

Pop was central on the spine?

I herniated a disk in my lower back that sounds like your description. It felt like something poked out the side of my spine for a second or two. Actually now now that I read it again, a ripple sounds more like a muscle spasm, so maybe I'm projecting my trauma.

It lasted two months - most painful two months ever. I'm pretty sure I damaged my kidneys with all the aspirin and whatnot I was taking. nasids are terrible for your kidneys. Seriously dont exceed dosage limits in terms of length or dose without a doctor.

My pain was all sciatica radiating down my ass through my hip and knee. A week or so in I lost feeling in my shin for a week or so which was terrifying. I was limping around so badly that people would stare.

 

I used to have something similar to this happen to me when I was in my late teens/early 20's while playing basketball. Whenever I went for a rebound, I'd always feel that pop and then I walked around like a cripple for about 2 weeks after which it would "fix itself". I gave up playing basketball because of it. Eventually while trying to move a tv, I ruptured a disc in my back when I was 29. I had to have a microdiscectomy because of crazy pain radiating down my leg (due to sciatica) and my leg was going numb (I was starting to almost drag it).

You may want to go to the doc and see if you have a bulging or ruptured discs. If it's bumping up against the sciatic nerve and irritating it, it could cause worse issues down the line. If you can get it checked out, I would -- just for peace of mind. It may end up being just a muscle issue, but who knows.

 

As someone that has dealt with lower lower back problems for the past 20+ years I hope its nothing serious. When my back would start acting up my chiropractor told me to drink a beer or to before bed. That it would help me relax and it works. Also said to use ice not heat.

 

Sorry for the long wall of text in advance - and if any specific questions just let me know.

Man, sorry to hear this - so when you felt the ripple, was it like a tightening kind of feeling and moving more to the right as it happened? And I know you mention pain - right side thigh muscle, but how far on the thigh - like when you stand is that when you notice the thigh pain more?

The reason I'm asking is because in a small herniation sometimes muscles will automatically seize up to prevent you from doing further damage to the nerve/disc etc. (either due to the nerve pinched or body's response) - Like in my low back I've had pain on and off for about 20 years - in my teens someone basically flagrant fouled me as I was close to dunking the ball, all the weight fell on the right leg, anyway it flares up occasionally but is manageable - I'm hoping you have something kind of like this where it's manageable and goes away...

Now the reason I mention the herniation... So in my neck c5/6 I felt something like you describe like a ripple/strange feeling but to the left more so than right, I've been dealing with it for a few years - injections help and PT but I'm getting close to the point I'm thinking about surgery, like left hand will become numb (if I don't get injections /maintain pt, like it's never been right, the other disadvantage I have is being tall... It's good and bad haha, just bad posture if I'm sitting at a different desk etc than mine and I think that's what contributed to it) - but it started with pain only in upper left trap area and eventually progressed, I can get it managed back to the left trap but just sucks, have never felt normal on it since.

What I'd do is see how it goes over next days, rest back a lot, and if back/thigh don't feel better in a few days - week / gets worse /progresses further - you might have to go to the Dr. I am going to try injection route and some different pt exercises one more time but if it doesn't work I think I'm at the surgery point. Obviously covid has screwed everything up, I was planning on injection and Dr I see wasn't open, I think they might be opening again, but don't blame you for not wanting to go rush to a Dr and getting exposed etc. Also, sorry to hear about your loss.

So on nerve issues, nsaids will help the muscle feel better but never really eases off the nerve, the mj might work though. And ice /heat can both help, heat to loosen up / ice to heal etc just depends on situation. I think if you do go Dr route and it's slight herniation etc pt could fix it. I think if it was a full on herniation/rupture you'd feel more pain and radiating which would happen a lot sooner.

As you heal there's exercises you can look up but 1st I'd get to feeling better, hopefully you feel better soon.

 

****, good luck.

 

I first had a serious back thing in my 30's. I (through luck) found a Berkeley athletics trainer who sidelined as a PT (and maybe as a country singer, though I can't see that with her).

She gave me the same core exercises she gave a bunch of the Berkeley (****) athletic teams, and I still do them, and I'm still free of back trouble. But hot damn, I was surprised how much work it takes to keep your core ready.

This may be totally irrelevant, OP, as it seems like you had a traumatic sudden event. But long term, I think if you carefully put the work in, you can be better than ever. That has been my fortunate experience.

(That said, I carry bags like that one at a time now, for sure.)

 

Go to an AMP

 

Was dealing with the same type of thing for a couple of years. Once it happened the first time, it started happening every few months. Mine ended up being a bulging disc. Sometimes mild pain in the lower back and hip and could get kind of a warm feeling. Sometimes intense spasms and pain that kept me from being able to even get out of bed almost. Usually ended up at urgent care and they would prescribe muscle relaxers or something for the pain. After a few days it would start to improve and then was better by 10-12 days. Doctor told me a combination of hot and cold. Told me to buy a heating pad. Don't try to do anything physical for a couple weeks. No medicine actually helped a whole lot except whatever would help me stay still. Stretching would feel kind of good after it started to improve but that would end up making it worse. In the end they prescribed physical therapy which I thought was BS. I thought I would need surgery for sure. I only went a few times but I did use some of the stuff I learned there and it worked. I lift weights a lot but never did anything that focused on adductors or abductors. Once I incorporated those into workouts, it fixed everything. I started with band exercises and eventually machines. Just needed to build muscle to help support the back. 2 years of back problems every few months, now I haven't had any issues in almost 2 years.

 

Based on the pain you're describing and my expertise, it's probably your wife.

 

Definitely agree with you, and on the ibuprofen, didn't help at all, and pain, man... Until you've had it like you're describing, it seriously cripples you.

I mean before I had it happen I always thought it was just some normal feeling pain. Now though, man, I sympathize with anyone who's had it where you can't even walk without pain during those first few days, I remember exactly what you're describing like I couldn't ride in the car and the pain was so bad unless I was in a certain position it was just this insane spasm. Only actual rx drugs helped to dull it etc..

When you got back in the gym, did you change a lot on dead lift? Like stance or less weight? And does your back ever bother you sometimes? Not trying to derail topic but just curious.

 

Was there any specific exercises that you felt helped the most? Just wondering because I think even though traumatic for @JayZ750 and probably not needed to start, it might help later to avoid future injuries/help recovery.

Hopefully his feels a lot better soon.

 

eta: and shoes. comfy, cushy shoes are quite important.

 

lower trunk rotations at the 2:58 mark in the video work great for me. But I do left, right, and then pull my knee to my chest.

 

You have a herniated disc. Almost 100% in my mind. You need an MRI