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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookWell, I am not having much luck so far this year. I pulled a muscle in my lower left back, and it is making life quite difficult for me. The Dr gave me an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxant and a pain pill. That was yesterday. So far, I am not feeling much improvement. My job requires a lot of moving around, lifting, bending, squatting, etc, so it is almost impossible for me to take it easy. Plus I need to exercise at some point, as I need to lose alot of weight.
What can I do? Any suggestions?
I am feeling quite frustrated. It seems something goes wrong for me whenever I am close to getting my life on track.
And, also, while it is quite painful, I am the kind of person who can ignore pain fairly well and because my job depends on it, I have to work through it.
Please help me out.
Comments
Rawspice,
If something is out of alignment, most likely muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medicine won't fix it (not that those things are bad to get you through till you get fixed up. I know some people have issues with chiropractors- but if you have a physical type job (I do too), a good one is priceless! The longer your body is out of alignment, the more troubles you can have. It can be a vicious cycle.
I've been pretty happy with a chiropractor that I was seeing. I would say just be sure to take those pills for now, drink plenty of water, and you might have luck stretching.
What I would recommend is bending forward and touching your toes, then standing back upright. However, be sure to let yourself bend at the knees, and if going back upright is difficult, assist yourself with your hands. But the stretching might help. It often helps me.
Two winters ago I had a severe attack of lower back pain and sciatica - I had been having milder versions almost every year. The doctors gave me stronger and stronger pain killers every time I visited them, and the medicines made me worse with nausea and stuff. The interesting thing I noticed was that, even though I was in very severe pain most of the time, the more I had to shovel snow, the better I felt. Fortunately I had the luxury of waiting out the attack. After that I started eating good food (mostly raw), exercising, stretching, weight training and yoga and I haven't felt better in my life. I went to the chiropractor also. But my guess is that exercising and yoga worked best.
And, bend from your knees and not from your back when lifting stuff.
I also suggest a chiropractor. In addition, people sometimes use apple cider vinegar to help remove pain; just soak a hand towel in ACV, and place it on the pulled muscle. It would probably help most to sleep with it on, if you can. Doing the same using castor oil instead of vinegar may also help. And epsom salt baths are always good for pain.
Fasting with juice or water can definitely help to heal faster. Even if you can't do a fast, eating only fresh fruit and vegetables for a a day or two can help.
I know what you mean about things going wrong when you try to make improvements; that seems to be the way it goes for me too. Just keep your mind on your goals, and don't let the obstacles get you down--even if they do delay you for a little while.
Hi Rawspice,
I just saw your post so I hope by know your getting some relief. Here's my "2 cents" if you're still struggling.
I agree with sisterbecky. If something in out of whack, drugs aren't going to fix it. I've had ongoing back issues since my kids were born (almost 20 years ago). I tried a chiropractor but the results were only temporary, my back would eventually go out again. Because he would but my bones back in the right place but since my muscules were SO tight they would want to return to their tight position. For me, what has ultimately provided the best results was massage therapy. My massage therapist would relieve all the tight muscules (sp?) then give me a series of stretches and core exercise to maintain her hard work. It took a series of treatments maybe 4-6 visits (which can be expensive if you don't have extended health benefits) but now I live essentially pain free. I'm relatively active and every once and awhile I stretch but I'm not diligent about it. About every 6-9 months I go see her and have her "tune me up" to keep me from spasming.
In the meantime, the advise of lots of water, yoga or pilates, and moving your body as much as you can are good ones. My favourite stretch is laying on my back with my butt firming against the wall and my legs verticle up the side of the wall (looks like an "L"). After a minute or two to relax in the position I slowly drop one leg to the floor and have the 2nd follow it (like the "L" has fallen over)...hold for a minute or two, return to the original position then repeat on the other side. I would do this stretch as many times in the day as I could.
Good luck...I've know its VERY hard to life with chronic pain. You never really get rid of it, instead you learn to manage it.
magnesium oil is good rubbed locally as it increases the blood flow from relaxing the blood vessels.
infrared lamp is also good it helps increase circulation also. But really the main answer is taking it easy.
The good news is that it is the back muscle that you pulled, and not a disc.
So at least it will heal and you will be fine.
What you need to do is strengthen your back.
Most people have very very weak back muscles and are prone to injuring them easily.
This caused by not using them or lifting with improper form.
I suggest this thread and routine which is for beginners:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843
However, I do not suggest that you "read" the whole thread.
The first few pages and the last few are fine.
If interested , ask some questions, all-pro has been answering them for over 2 years.
I have been doing this workout for 6 months, and it is a slow progressive workout with built in programming and deloading so your muscles will have time to recover.
I would do the back exercises starting off with very very light weights.
Even dumbbells will do to keep the weight light.
At first you might be really sore for the first 2 weeks, especially your back.
If you hang in there it will become stronger, the muscles will get flushed during the light workout of the week, and they will feel much better.
To lose weight concentrate on your diet, eat foods that make you feel full but are low in calories.
magnesium is great for muscles. you can take an epsom salt bath which has warm water which is really good for your whole back. you can also take magnesium internally.
it it really important to rest because any back problems can compound really easily. take a day off and if it was work related, use L and I to file a claim.