Put my back out

[Mooshamoo]

I woke up yesterday with a really bad back. If I like down it doesn't hurt . But if I try to walk, it hurts terribly. It's really awful pain. Even taking a tiny step gives me severe shooting pain
I've been laying flat out in bed yesterday and today.

Ive been reading online and see some people say just rest , and it should get better. Other people say go to the doctor.

If you just rested , did your back come back. How long did it take to come back?

I don’t think a soft bed is the right place to lie. I’m sure it’s a hard:supportive surface and maybe even moving…

https://thephysiocompany.co.uk/active-rest-back-pain/

Usually most back problems are benefited by gentle somatic movement, but it's always best to have an mri and find out what's going on

I hurt my back this week too and it's taken about four days to get to a point where I'm not thinking about it all the time. Mine doesn't sound quite as bad as your though. Are pain killer helping? I found the dissolvable solphedine to be brilliant.
Hope you feel better soon. Back pain is the worst.

If you can't move, then rest for a few days. Hopefully you'll then be able to start moving. Ice pack then heat. Naproxen and strong cocodamol might help you to start moving.

When I put my back out, the GP basically laughed at me when I asked for stronger painkillers. I think my chances of being referred for an MRI were precisely zero 🙄.

I was in agony for 2 days, so basically lay on my bed trying not to move. Cocodamol helped a bit but can make you constipated. Heated belts can also help. By day 4 I was able to go to work although still quite sore. Hope you feel better soon!

but it's always best to have an mri and find out what's going on

great advice, pop to your nearest hospital and I’m sure they’ll squeeze you in no problem.

@fourelementary those exercises look helpful. Do you think they could be done lying on a firm sofa?
Lying on the floor and getting up again is pretty much a no no with a bad back.

Yeah my friend said to me " why don't you go to a and.e".

And i thought "they probably wouldnt do.much. The thought of sitting in a and e for ten hours with bad back pain, only to be told to go home, probably isn't the best thing to do.

If it's not any better in a couple of days I'll go to doc I guess

I've had several bouts of back pain. One that kept coming back for years after a fall from a horse that a&e said had caused no damage. Once after falling down the stairs and once after falling in the snow last year . My advice would be to go and see a good osteopath. You'll struggle through the front door and bounce out half an hour later. Mine told me that the fall form the horse had twisted my pelvis and the painful attacks Id been having for all that time was the result of my body trying to compensate... Money well spent that could save you years of pain.
My other go to is a TENS machine. They offer an amazing level of pain relief very quickly so if you can't get out of bed, get Amazon to deliver you one. Good luck

Back pain is horrible op you have my sympathy. I had two bouts of it back in august and September. Rest but stay mobile. Heat and ice and paracetamol and ibuprofen which you can take alongside each other. If it doesn't get better within a week give your gp a ring. I also see an osteopath regularly.

I agree with others about rest and painkillers. The majority of back pain will resolve on its own. Unless you have symptoms of cauda equina, you absolutely do not need an MRI. If the pain is persisting, it is best to be assessed by a specialist physio. You should be able to contact one through your GP practice. They will see and assess you, as well as treat you. If you need imaging or referral, then they should be able to do that.

Acute back pain is usually due to muscular spasm, the worst thing you can do is to rest, this allows the spasm to continue and tighten up more. Current advice is to move move and move some more, taking pain killers to facilitate this. In the long term back strengthening exercises are key. Lots of helpful stuff on u tube.

The times I've hurt my back I've slept on the floor for several nights which really helped.

Rest yes but don't stay completely horizontal the whole time. I've had some debilitating bouts after a herniated disc a few years ago and it was brutal but you need to get up every now and again and get some movement in. I'm fairly good at managing it now, I might need a couple of days diazepam and naproxen initially to get it out of spasm and then gentle stretches and exercises to help get it back to normal but definite rest in between.

It all depends on where it is and what's causing it but, like someone else mentioned, a lot of the time it's muscular and that almost always benefits from some movement.

Anti-inflammatories, heat and cold patches like others have said. Don't neglect diet. Make sure you're eating the most nutritious food you can to help the healing and remember to hydrate.

Look us some exercises online or, at the very least, make sure you're getting up regularly to stretch out as best you can and move around. I can't remember exactly but NHS used to have an MSK (Musculoskeletal) app that you could download that also had some exercises you could follow. Do the best you can while it's in the acute, "I can't move" stage and then increase whatever stretches and exercises you settle on as it gets better. Even once the pain is mostly gone, keep going for a while. It never hurts to be looking after your back as it'll prevent reoccurance.

If you have a sympathetic GP, you might be able to swing some good painkillers but just be careful you're not masking it too much. Sometimes you want to know when it's painful so you know you're not pushing it too much. But sometimes you just need to be off your face so you get a break!

Actually OP. Set a time limit. Don’t be fobbed off it it persists. It’s true that 99% of back pain will right itself. But you don’t want to be in the 1%

my DH ‘threw his back out’ last Xmas.

After 10 months of fob offs and massive doses of co-codamol and naproxen we reached oramorph stage.

MRI has diagnosed advanced cancer.

@Rachie1973 goodness, I'm so sorry . What a devastating shock. Made worse by delay in diagnosis.
I don't know what to say, I'm so sorry that you're going through this.

I called my doctor as i couldnt get off couch after three days. They advised me to call an ambulance. Went to a and e

Doctor thinks that I have lower back nerve damage/inflammation from a fall that I had off a ladder three months ago.

She has given me medication and given me an appointment for a physiotherapist in a couple of weeks.

I'm still in pain. I'm in a little bit less pain but I'm still in pain and my back is spasming

Had anyone recovered fully from lower back nerve damage? I hope so