seriously bad back... any ideas?

[followthestarlover]

have no idea what i expect anyone to do... but i have the WORST back ache ever.

all across my lower back... feels like it's going to give out if i bend over or anything.
hurts just sitting here.
have taken dihydrocodeine but no effect as yet.

haven't pulled it at all... it started yesterday, then felt much better and now feels awful again

You want iboprofen. Maxdose. Take it now.

Does stretching it out help?

Pilates are a good longterm fix.

glucosamine is good for ongoing back pain, can take a few weeks before it starts to work though.

If you do take ibuprofen to mask the pain, for heaven's sake don't forget you've got a bad back and do too much!!

An osteopath might help (but can be expensive).

A good stretching exercise is to lie on your back and pull your knees up to your chest.

Don't sleep on your back with your legs out straight - on your side is better but if you have to lie on your back, put something under your knees to bend them up which takes the strain off your lower back. Do not sleep on your front.

yeah have done that before! lol

might try the glucosamine, AND pilates... although that is a bit scary! lol

actually, my best friends aunt is an osteopath so i do get cut-price treatment

oh good, i usually do sleep on my side!
it's agony to lie on my back right now...

I regularly lock up my lower vertebrae so can sympathise! At those times, I love my osteopath.

if you try the glucosamine you need to start on 1500mg for at least 2 months, then you can switch to 1000mg.

I've found physios to be good for back pain, too. You can sometimes get treatment on the NHS.

try a book by Robin Mckenzie called Treat Your on Back. The physio recommended it to me. It is marvellous. In the meantime use ice packs for 15 mins stints and lie face down on floor. Try to push up so shoulders are up put waist still on floor. Ideally with arms straight iyswim

hmmm i suppose i ought to go to doctor and see what they say.

nqc... do you do pilates? do you go to a group or have a dvd/video?

I have a DVD. A Lynn Robinson one. That's the kind my physio recommended.

I've not been so good about doing pilates after having DS2, and, unsurprisingly, my back isn't great. But I do know tricks to strengthen it up, without bothering to sit down and do the DVD - ones I learned on the DVD, iyswim.

Oh, it's worth noting, in case you don't catch the full explanation on the video: "zip" means tighten your pelvic floor, and "hollow" means suck your stomach in. They say "zip and hollow" all the time. Bizarrely, your pelvic floor affects your lower back. Go figure.

I think the pelvic floor is all part of the "girdle" of core muscles that support the lower back. Pilates strengthens all these which in turn hold your spine where it's meant to be

Cat stretches are good (all fours shoulder hip width for hands and feet, breathe out and arch back, breathe in and drop back, raise chest, do 10 times).

Also sit or squat with your whole back pressed against a wall (either with heals touching the wall or sitting with feet together in tailor pose), it's very releiving!