My lower back has been absolutely killing me today. Does anyone know of any remedies I could try to address it? I’m trying an ice pack and fixing my sitting posture right now, will be sleeping on my side to relieve pressure on it tonight, but is there anything else I could attempt?
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I’m sorry you are in pain. I’ve been there, and I know how terrible it can be.
Every case is different, so it’s best if you see a doctor. I’m in a country with good, socialized healthcare, so it was much easier for me than it is for most of people. I’ve seen a specialist several times, had two MRIs and 3 rounds of physiotherapy in the span of 6 months. Here are things that worked for me:
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take NSAIDs, when they kick in, start with simple, not strenuous exercise. Check YouTube for back pain exercises. Some of them worked wonders alleviating pain almost instantly. Other ones helped to build muscles needed to support the spine, so I’d do them too. Do what you can, if it’s too much, try another time. Repeat every day, even 5 minutes a day can make a huge difference. Walks are great too. Move as much as possible without exerting yourself or making the pain worse.
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get comfortable shoes. Flat, flexible sole worked great for me (I like Vivobarefoot shoes). Walk in these.
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red light therapy helped me. Lamps are affordable, easily available online.
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if you sit down for work, try to get a high quality chair. I’ve been sitting for years on a bad IKEA office chair, which made the problem worse. Once I switched I couldn’t belive how much difference that makes. Standing desk is nice too, but not a game changer for me.
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As the pain got better and better I’ve been introducing more movement. I need regular exercise to keep my back pain free. I’ve actually started enjoying my workouts and a mix of strength and HIIT cardio exercises works best for me.
I hope my advice will also work in your case, I wish you all the best.
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Honeslty - see a doctor.
The advice peole are offering here will either help or do nothing or make your problem worse and if you try all of them - chances are pretty high you’ll stumble across one that will make it worse.
Your pain is a symptom, not a problem. You need to find out what the problem is before you can fix it.
It really depends on the cause. For me the answer was flat shoes and a foam roller. But I know plenty of people who that didn’t work for.
I would definitely take an anti-inflammatory of some kind. Also, something heat is the answer, not ice, but again it depends.
It really depends what your back pain is from. If you’ve thrown out your back you might need physical therapy or an adjustment before it starts feeling better. Ice definitely helps if it’s muscular. I’ve been on the mend myself this last week from lifting something poorly. https://youtu.be/K8SD47gLB-I here’s the yoga video I always go back to when I do this to myself, usually about once a year.
I like to do yoga, not like full-on sweaty, get the mat out, kind of yoga, more like stretching but some of the stretches are yoga poses so if you like doing regular stretches then yoga may interest you.
That being said, I like to call them stretches because they’re fast and they help with my back pain as well as with my mood. The mood part is subjective but I’ve seen some interesting science regarding stretching regularly and mood regulation.
Things like touching your toes, sitting down and doing the same, or other poses like in this video:
Not gonna promise anything but getting up and really, really stretching my muscles loose, even just my arms, helps with pain. Much of my pain may be psychosomatic but I did a lot of factory/foundry work and the back pain is definitely setting in.
As others have said it depends on the cause. But something to think about is that if you’re an office worker or sit in a chair for long periods your core/abs are probably weak. This could lead to lower back pain. Strengthening these muscles (core/abs) might help as they support your spine as well.
Obviously this will take time and won’t immediately reduce pain but could stop it reoccurring.
will be sleeping on my side to relieve pressure on it tonight
In this position it helps to additionally put a pillow between your knees to keep your legs aligned (and thus prevent lower back from being tweaked toward your sides).
I like body or king size pillows for this
Sitting yoga, talking a walk, lying flat on the ground and not a mattress for a while, changing seating position often, getting a better chair, static stretching, light aerobics, swimming.
