Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:22 am Post subject: Back Issues
Have been having upper back issues since Wednesday morning. The strange thing is that I didn't really even do anything to trigger it, and it basically just occurred out of nowhere. I was opening the glass sliding door (which doesn't really require that much effort) for my dog.
I've only ever had a back issue one other time in my life - was jogging a year ago, and it also seemed to just come out of nowhere. It seemed to last about a week that time.
Wondering if anyone here has had these type of issues, and what you've done that's helped it. Not really dying to go to a doctor's office these days (for anything less than an emergency), but I'll prob. pay them a visit if this lasts for much longer.
I've thrown out my back sneezing, getting out of bed, going one way and then turning to change direction. These things sometimes happen, especially as you get older.
Rest and anti-inflammatories help me: aspirin mostly.
Also, I like to use Tiger Balm, an ointment for pain and soreness. _________________ Garvey, Lopes, Cey, Russell
Joined: 10 Apr 2001 Posts: 65135 Location: Orange County, CA
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 11:55 am Post subject:
I don't know about upper back. Used to have lots of lower back issues due to work. Ate better. Did more yoga for a "happy spine." Light weight training.
Haven't felt that pain since. _________________ Resident Car Nut.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 68034 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 3:53 pm Post subject:
If its muscles, google back exercises. Sometimes stretching helps. When my lower back muscles cramp I do lower back exercises. If you hear a click or feel like its a joint see your doctor. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
I don't know about upper back. Used to have lots of lower back issues due to work. Ate better. Did more yoga for a "happy spine." Light weight training.
Haven't felt that pain since.
Yoga practice has done wonders for my back as well.
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 9:00 pm Post subject:
If there is not a triggering event as in you was lifting something heavy....and it has happened in the past and the pain diminished over time without medical treatment, it could be stress related, something physical like an addition of weight or even something lacking in your diet.
I have lower back issues (nothing serious), but I have also had severe back, shoulder, neck pain come from seemingly nowhere and go away in the same manner that in hindsight I have attributed to stress. I personally know people that went to the emergency room with severe back pain that was eventually attributed to stress, and not an actual physical problem in structure.
Sometimes stress in not always identifiable on the surface like financial or relationship issues, but can be the result of something like a mild buildup of the altered lifestyle from COVID restrictions.
I don't know about upper back. Used to have lots of lower back issues due to work. Ate better. Did more yoga for a "happy spine." Light weight training.
Haven't felt that pain since.
Can confirm this, also for lower back.
Eat real food, fix your gut microbiom. Light training, movement without or only light weight. Gymanstics, Yoga, whatever you feel comfortable with.
Joined: 25 Apr 2015 Posts: 32179 Location: Anaheim, CA
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 2:56 am Post subject:
cathy78 wrote:
Mike@LG wrote:
I don't know about upper back. Used to have lots of lower back issues due to work. Ate better. Did more yoga for a "happy spine." Light weight training.
Haven't felt that pain since.
Can confirm this, also for lower back.
Eat real food, fix your gut microbiom. Light training, movement without or only light weight. Gymanstics, Yoga, whatever you feel comfortable with.
Yeah, I had struggled periodically with lower back issues for the last few years on the tennis court (or, more aptly put, I'd feel the effects of it more AFTER playing tennis, like the next day), and that coincided with me having been at my heaviest weight I had ever been at over the past few years. I made drastic changes to my exercise and dietary routines starting on June 1 and I've lost 35 pounds. Back in the best shape I've been in since 2010. I had been eating crappy fast food -- often -- for years, drinking very little water, doing almost no exercise on my non-tennis days, and drinking a lot of sugary fruit punch drinks. Essentially, I had become a lazy person eating terrible food and drinking a lot of sugar.
For the past few weeks, any back aches I've felt have been extremely minor in nature, and I just attribute those to the fact that I'm 43 now and I'm not a kid anymore, when it comes to the physical style of tennis I play. So yeah, I think diet and lifestyle and losing weight does play a part in back issues.
I will back the yoga suggestion (especially hot yoga if/when you can; it's basically a back-centered series of poses in a lot of ways). For now, some full-spectrum CBD would likely help you out in terms of the pain/inflammation. _________________ one dog goes that way the other dog goes the other way
Joined: 29 Jan 2016 Posts: 963 Location: The Dark Side of the Moon
Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:18 am Post subject:
Don’t know how much I can help since my issues have been with the discs in the low back but I can share what has helped me.
- Decompressing the spine
Basically hang from a pull up bar, tree branch, etc just high enough so you can get your toes just touching the ground and a yoga type stretch laying face down pulling chest off the ground. First time I did it provided a lot of relief. Not like a magic pill but very noticeable. I try to do it at least a couple times a week, every day if I remember. Only takes a minute or two.
- Strengthening the core would be good for your back regardless because if it’s weak, the back has to take up the slack.
- Be aware of your posture. Try to sit/stand up straight. Pull the shoulders back a bit.
Hopefully it’s nothing. Sometimes something dumb causes bad temporary back pain like another poster mentioned. _________________ We pour this booze and we drink this booze because we think it's yummy. YUMMY! So over the tounge and down the throat to party in our tummys.
DOWN THE HOLA BITC*OLA!!!
Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 18248 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 10:05 am Post subject:
PartyMan wrote:
Don’t know how much I can help since my issues have been with the discs in the low back but I can share what has helped me.
- Decompressing the spine
Basically hang from a pull up bar, tree branch, etc just high enough so you can get your toes just touching the ground and a yoga type stretch laying face down pulling chest off the ground. First time I did it provided a lot of relief. Not like a magic pill but very noticeable. I try to do it at least a couple times a week, every day if I remember. Only takes a minute or two.
- Strengthening the core would be good for your back regardless because if it’s weak, the back has to take up the slack.
- Be aware of your posture. Try to sit/stand up straight. Pull the shoulders back a bit.
Hopefully it’s nothing. Sometimes something dumb causes bad temporary back pain like another poster mentioned.
I have dealt with upper back pain since I was in my early 20s due to a fall where I fell flat on my back. All the tips suggested above do help.
Posture and core strengthening, especially if you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, are important. Spending years and years in front of one at work and home really takes it toll.
Decompression also helps. An inversion table is best but I find you can also use an exercise ball and just lay across it to stretch the upper back and neck muscles.
Massaging the area helps. Using a foam roller on the floor or a tennis ball against a wall.
For pain management, I've been using a combo of Excedrin Tension Headache(i.e. Tylenol w/caffeine) and an herbal supplement called Formula 303 for about 15 years. It contains Valerian root which is a natural muscle relaxer. It's worked better than any muscle relaxer that was ever prescribed to me and without the side effects. _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum