The weekend before last, April 4-5th I spent the weekend up in Maryland with an old friend. It was about a 3-3.5hr drive up and back, about half way up there I started playing with the lumbar support to make things a bit more comfortable. Everything seemed to be okay, nothing horrible.

Saturday I woke up rather early, from around 11am-6pm I was walking around DC enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival. Bad for me, I don't have any running/walking shoes so I was wearing a pair of old Nike SB Dunks. Sunday I did probably an hour or so of walking around the Tyson Corner Malls.


Well, Tuesday my lower back started to hurt a bit. Nothing horrible, but a bit of discomfort. I noticed it mostly when driving, but I blamed it on me messing up the lumbar support and not being able to get it back in a comfy position.
Wednesday I laid in bed for a couple hours, 20 mins on 20 mins off with a heat pad on my lower back and it helped.
Sunday it started all over again.. but now it's getting worse and much more consistent.
Yesterday I went to see the doctor... prescribed me some ibuprofen & flexeral. It's definitely helping!


What I'm wondering is if anyone has any ideas on how to prevent future lower back pains... and possibly anything that will help my current one.

So far I've been making sure to sit more upright with my back straight and shoulders back. As well, during the work day I'll occasionally get up and stretch a bit.

Any help?

 

You're getting old.

couple of things:

-Stretching daily will help out.
-Working out your core muscles.
-If you're worried about your posture, get a pilates ball and use it instead of your workchair. It helps.
-Buy new shoes. IIRC, you should buy new shoes roughly every six months or when the rubber on the sole of the shoes start to show "wrinkles" when you aren't wearing them.

 

Maybe it's because you're starting to grow...

 

LMAO .... growing pains!! hahahaahaahaaaa that's so damn funny.

I can always count on you peeps to bring me to tears!! hahahahaaaaa luv ya chaddie!

 

Stretching will work wonders for you, as will hydro therapy. Have a hot tub?

I have had degenerative disk disease since I was about 17 or 18. I suffered from seemingly constant lower back pain. I've had sciatica twice and the second time was so servere, it was recommended I have emergency back surgery. The second time also resulted in nerve damage which causes twitching and cramps from my hips to the toes of my right leg, for any reason and at any time. I did not have the surgery because at 26 I did not want to get the surgery ball rolling. I opted for therapy and pain killers.

It has been eight years since the last occurance and I feel great (only took pain killers the first couple months). While I still have a herniated and a ruptured disk, my back is stronger than ever and when I do have the cramps and twitching, I use them as indicators of my back becoming inflammed. When I get them, I start to stretch. Thats pretty much it.

The best stretch for me:

Lay on my back, pull my heels to my butt, use right hand to help pull my knees to the right, hold 30 seconds, use left hand to pull my knees to the left, hold 30 seconds, and repeat for several minutes.

I've found doing this will take the pressure off my lower back and reduce inflamation. Give it a shot.

 

Sciatica'r over here too mine is caused by a slipped disc and piriformis syndrome... but anyways, Chad, I would alternate ICE and heat.. that seems to help. Also, if you sleep on your side, put a pillow between your legs. Stretching helps me a lot too, as well as inversion.

 

That was you... I saw you briefly in the crowd man, but had my doubts since it had been a while. Sorry for not saying hello...

 

getting a memory foam pad for your mattress or a memory foam mattress will help the back pain as well

 

& consider seeing a Chiropractor. Mine is a real life saver & I have only had to see him 2 times in about 2 years so it is not some scam...

 

lol CAPTAIN AMERICA DAT ASSING!