Please recommend a good remedy for back pain?

[LFF]

Well - I finally finished unpacking last night and tonight came the sorting and rearranging of stuff. One problem - this morning - I woke up with very bad back pain. I tried the hot tub with some advil for pain but it is still there.

Any thoughts on how to get it to go away beside going to a chiropractor?

[Pars]

I'd try some Alieve, tho I don't normally suffer from back pain. I have injured my back before tho, so I feel for ya.

[grawk]

a good massage, and a better mattress

[fordgtlover]

I find ibuprofin usually works pretty well. If the pain doesn't let up after a few days, a good hard massage might be the ticket.

[naamanf]

Oxycontin and a beer

[Old Pa]

Yoga. Taught myself off of several books and a couple of DVDs and it's been the best thing I've done for myself in years. Your library may have Sara Ivanhoe's "Yoga for Dummies" DVDs which I found to be good for beginners. Sara's pretty good eye candy, too.

Right now, try these two. First lie on your back and pull first one knee up to your chest and hug it there while breathing deeply through your nose. Hug it a little tighter while breathing in fully, and then relax into the position while breathing out fully. Release the knee down on an out breath. Do the other knee the same way, holding it hugged to your chest for several breathes or at least thirty seconds. Now hug both knees into your chest and roll on your back so as to have your knees describe first clockwise and then counterclockwise circles while breathing deeply and fully through your nose. This will massage your stretched back. Now let your legs back down and relax fully while breathing deeply and slowly through your nose. Relax on the outbreath with your mind clear of all thoughts but breath and sinking into the floor like it was sand on a beach.

Second, roll over and lie on your stomach. On an in breath, try to touch your backbone through your abdomen to the floor. On the out breath, relax more fully into that stretch. Hold it for three breath cycles and then relax for three. Do it again. Finally, roll back onto your back with your legs slightly apart and your arms slightly out from your sides. Roll and move until you are completely comfortable and fully relaxed while breathing deeply through your nose. Maintain only breathing and relaxation in your mind for several minutes before you get up.

That should start to release and relax your back.

[JBLoudG20]

Sit ups

[postjack]

I'm assuming this is mostly lower back pain? Any upper back/neck/shoulder pain? For my upper back/neck/shoulder pain, the information on this website fixed it. Much of the information on that site could also benefit lower back pain, things like standing and sitting up straight.

Ibuprofen is my favorite painkiller for back pain, but I have to take 4 regular strength for them to work.

[postjack]

Sit ups

I forgot about this. Stronger abs and a smaller belly will greatly reduce the amount of weight the lower back has to carry. After I lost 20 then 30 pounds this past spring, the strain on my lower back dropped completely. I haven't thrown my back out yet this year, and I'm crossing my fingers I make it through fall without doing so.

[Jeepster]

Motrin, 4 does it for me but im 260 lbs.

[grenert]

For the immediate term, NSAIDS (ibuprofen, Aleve, etc) and take it easy for a day or two. Cold or heat packs on the painful area are often helpful.

For the long term, yoga has a lot of great stretches. I like Yoga for Dummies, too.

[JimP]

Someone already mentioned it, but investing in a very firm mattress did wonders for my back.

Also, I have one of those pull-up bars (that you screw into a door frame). Not doing too many pull-ups these days, but just hanging from the bars seems to help.

then there's crack...

("Don't do a drug named after your ass" - Denis Leary)

[wrecked_porsche]

Thank you for that link Posty. Its a very informative site, well, to me at least.

Thanks a lot.

*do we have a thumbs up smiley? Can we have one, pweeety pweeese?

[Augsburger]

Luis, like they suggested, Alieve (two every five to six hours not to exceed eight total) heat pack and a firm mattress. Don't use so many pillows and don't lift anything heavier than a cd.

Get well soon my friend.

[guzziguy]

Yes, and as other people have suggested, developing a strong core (especially strong stomach muscles) will do the most to prevent future back pain.

Edit: Hope you feel better soon so you can do the remaster on my Going Home album.

[Old Pa]

Sit ups

Yeah, and leg lifts and crunches and squats and a yoga pose called "the boat", but not with an injury until after the inflammation went down.

[guzziguy]

Sit ups

No sit ups, do crunches instead. Doing sit ups can hurt your back. As Old Pa says, don't start exercising until after your back heals.

[Chekhonte]

Strengthening your abs is very important but stretching your back is key if it's lower back pain. The stretch that has worked best on my chronic lower back pain is this. You sit in a chair and with one leg in proper sitting position and your other leg crossed with your ankle resting on your knee (the way most men sit cross legged with out looking "gay"). You then lean your torso forward as much as you can with out over doing it. Then you switch legs and do it again. Do this in the morning and night and in a few day's, if it works, you'll feel a lot better. Keep it up and it most likely won't return.

[Jeepster]

Sleep on your side, put a pillow between your knees. Sleep on your back, put a pillow under your knees. Lots of Motrin,, then when its not killing you, strengthen your back muscles and your stomach

[LFF]

Thanks for the all the advice! A heat pack and 250mg of Vicodin have solved the problem when it gets bad. I'm dead tired and my body feels like it has been beat up from head to toe with most the brunt on my lower back.

I hate moving!

[JBLoudG20]

Seriously, an exercise routine will do wonders. Stretching, workout (especially if you target the abs), more stretching.. It wont stop your pain now, but it'll prevent it in the future.

[guzziguy]

Thanks for the all the advice! A heat pack and 250mg of Vicodin have solved the problem when it gets bad. I'm dead tired and my body feels like it has been beat up from head to toe with most the brunt on my lower back.

I hate moving!

I hope that your doctor warned you of one of the major side effects of Vicodin. Start adding lots of fiber to your diet now, if you haven't already done so. Be ready for the need to take a bulk type laxative in the near future.

A couple of years ago I broke 6 ribs in a motorcycle crash. Nobody warned me. Let's just say that I really wished someone would have.

[aardvark baguette]

The answer to this age old question was answered a while back in Slow Forum:

http://www.head-case.org/forums/off-topic/1198-slow-forum-post130864.html?highlight=back+massage#post130861

[Pars]

I've been on vicodin since hip surgery 4 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. I am still on iron pills and colace though, so that might explain it?

[JBLoudG20]

I've been on vicodin since hip surgery 4 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. I am still on iron pills and colace though, so that might explain it?

Glad to hear you still have regular bowel movements