Darn it! My back is bad again! It was pretty good for most of the summer, but I guess I haven’t been quite as active in the last few weeks so it’s started hurting me again!
Yesterday I went outside to do a little gardening and to water the front and back gardens and pretty much as soon as I stepped outside, before I even did any work, my back started hurting. Same thing this afternoon – my husband and I went outside to sit on the patio and I took some pictures and as soon as I started working with my camera – bending in odd ways, my back started screaming!
Earlier this year I found out that I have a slipped disc in my lower back and it’s pinching a nerve. Pretty much anytime I lean forward (especially for an extended period of time) my back starts to ache because that position pinches the nerve even more than when I’m standing straight or leaning back. My left leg, to just below my knee, has been numb since January … it will probably be more numb than usual this evening.
I’m actually still outside on the patio, typing away from the garden, but once I go inside I think I’ll have to lie down and put some heat on my back.
Do any of you have bad backs as well? What do you do to make your back feel better?
I have back issues myself and need to take Tylenol in addition to using good chairs and mattresses with some stretching every other day. It’s not great but it gets me through without much pain.
Steve I understand! My back only really started acting up this winter although it’s been sore on and off for over a year now. I guess I’m going to have to be careful with it for life now.
I’m actually surprised that my back hasn’t been acting up most of my life though. I have two lower vertebrae that are fused together on just one side. I was born that way … so that must have been putting my back off kilter all my life … I guess I’m lucky that I haven’t been in pain for years!
I know how you feel. My mom has the same problems and I can see how she suffer from it. Hope you get well soon.
My wife has some recurring back pain and the doctor puts it down to her pregnancy and her epidural shot on her back. She puts it down partly to our old mattress as well.
Adam I hope that your wife’s back gets better soon and that she doesn’t have any permanent damage from the pregnancy and or the epidural needle that they gave her.
My back is a little better today, but I still feel it a lot when I get up and move around. I guess it will take a few more days to get a lot better as long as I don’t do anything else to make it act up!
Oh man sorry to hear that i hope it will be fine soon
Ice is better than heat, as hurtfull as that sounds. Stretching every day, not every other…or multiple times a day is good. Chiropracter, physical therapy, good massages, all helpful. Sadly, I think there are more of us with bad backs than those with good. ALWAYS stretch before you go out to do something, always stretch again when you come in; and if possible before bed. Try not to stay in the same position very long. Elevate your leg with a pillow. Switch legs. Sit, stand with good posture.
I do most of this most of the time; has it gone away never to return…NO. But, learning how to move, altering what we do and how long we do it can help.
Finally got a few things loaded from my old computer to this new one…which is how I finally got my book mark back for your page. Gees…I was so excited to get a new computer, but have really worked hard to change drivers, change software etc, as so many things weren’t compatible. Likewise I still have other bookmarks/favorites I need from the other computer; but it’s a slow process. urgh
Sandy
Sandy I’ve tried ice but it doesn’t seem to help. Only heat and resting my back seems to help when it’s really bad. Yes I do get up and stretch quite often and I do some exercises daily to help my back as well. Since January or so I’ve also been sleeping with two pillows under my legs as that’s the only way I can sleep in my bed without having worse back pain when I get up.
The thing that gets me is that on both Monday and Tuesday I’d only just walked into my garden and my back started hurting. I hadn’t even done anything yet! Maybe my back knew that if it didn’t speak up I’d start doing a lot of yard work. LOL
Oh no! I feel your pain! Slipped disc on L5S1, pinching my sciatic nerve. It’s awful. I find that if I sit with my feet tucked under me, it’s the best relief I can get. When my back gets bad, it generally takes about a week of bed rest to go back to normal again. I hope you find some relief!
I have two herniated discs myself and I know what it’s like to have that pain. I take Ultracets and Tyelnol w/Codene for the pain from time to time. I’m also going for chiropractic therapy. I’m due for my 2nd epidural shot next week. Hopefully it helps because the first one didn’t.