Dr. Hive - back pain?

[Night Elf]

So my job is usually pretty physical. I'm lifting, bending, stretching and moving around. By the end of my shift, all I want to do is go home, get a cup of coffee and some ibuprofen or tylenol and sit with my heating pad. I assumed it was the movement of whole body with the lifting, etc. that was causing one specific spot in my back to hurt. It's upper back. However, yesterday all I did was register work and at the end of my shift, my back hurt in the same place. So I'm rethinking this. Is it possible my back hurts simply because I'm on my feet for several hours? 

I sent an email to my doctor asking her opinion about treatment. I'd like to see a physical therapist who can show me some exercises perhaps to strengthen my back. I don't like the exercises my chiropractor gave to me. I don't feel like they're helping. Anyway, I told her I didn't want this to involve my employer. I don't want them calling this workers comp. I remember when my dd broke her arm at a school fair. We got an email to fill out a report and also got a call asking for specific details. It was like they were trying to blame her school. We never heard anything back so I guess they were satisfied. I just don't want that happening with me.

[ktgrok]

 Maybe just tell the doctor your back hurts whenever you are standing on your feet for more than a few hours straight. Don't have to say it happens at work in particular. 

For that matter, DOES it happen if you are on your feet doing other things?

[Night Elf]

13 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

 Maybe just tell the doctor your back hurts whenever you are standing on your feet for more than a few hours straight. Don't have to say it happens at work in particular. 

For that matter, DOES it happen if you are on your feet doing other things?

I never have occasion to be on my feet for a long period of time. When I was only a volunteer, I worked 2 hours and didn't have back pain. At home, I spend a lot of time sitting down. The only shopping I do is grocery and we're only gone 1 hour.

[Pawz4me]

My back hurts whenever I'm on my feet for more than 30 minutes or so at a time. Good shoes--really really good shoes--help a lot. Doing yoga or any kind of stretching on a regular basis helps a lot, too. It seems to me to be a normal part of aging. I've never felt it was something that needed to be diagnosed. I mean maybe it does, but I don't know of many people my age who don't have it to some degree or other.

[ktgrok]

47 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

I never have occasion to be on my feet for a long period of time. When I was only a volunteer, I worked 2 hours and didn't have back pain. At home, I spend a lot of time sitting down. The only shopping I do is grocery and we're only gone 1 hour.

Honestly? Sounds like you need to build your stamina. Sitting is REALLY bad for your health, if you do it that much. There is actually a slogan that sitting is the new smoking. 

How about going to the mall and walking around for a few hours and see how your back feels? Although I do find that walking is easier on the body than standing in one place. 

But yes, if you are sitting all day most days, i agree with your that you need either a personal trainer, gym membership, physical therapy, etc. Your body is definitely trying to tell you something!

[happi duck]

Does work stress you out at all?  You might be tensing up without knowing it.  If so you might need to "check in" with those muscles and consciously relax them periodically.

Also, have you tried ice instead of heat?  I find ice much better for pain.

[Dynamite5]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

Honestly? Sounds like you need to build your stamina. Sitting is REALLY bad for your health, if you do it that much. There is actually a slogan that sitting is the new smoking. 

How about going to the mall and walking around for a few hours and see how your back feels? Although I do find that walking is easier on the body than standing in one place. 

But yes, if you are sitting all day most days, i agree with your that you need either a personal trainer, gym membership, physical therapy, etc. Your body is definitely trying to tell you something!

All of this....plus, in addition, you need to strengthen your core. Your core is what holds everything together and your back is hurting because your core is probably not strong enough. 

The other thing to check is your posture. How are you standing? Head and stomach tucked in, shoulders down and back, knees slightly bent?  This is important stuff, but you don't need a physician. 

[aaplank]

I would recommend you try some quality over-the-counter orthotics like Superfeet and very supportive shoes. 

[Night Elf]

I did buy some orthotics that I think have helped me. Since wearing them the pain has lessened. 

Yes, I do sit a lot on my off days. The most activity I get is walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I do get up every 30 minutes or so to go to the bathroom, or go to the kitchen, let the dog in or out, do one chore or part of one. So at least I'm not sitting for hours at a time.

My normal work schedule is working 4 hours 4 days a week and 5 hours 1 day a week. The only time I get on the treadmill on those days is when I need to hit my goal of 10K steps a day. I'm usually less than a thousand away by the end of the day so I get on the treadmill just to meet the 10K. On my off days, I average about 5K.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, happi duck said:

Does work stress you out at all?  You might be tensing up without knowing it.  If so you might need to "check in" with those muscles and consciously relax them periodically.

Also, have you tried ice instead of heat?  I find ice much better for pain.

Yes, Ice helps to stop spasms in the muscle, and is what you want to use for immediate, within 24 hours of it starting to hurt, relief. 

[klmama]

So, it sounds like your work days have double the steps!  No wonder you are sore those days!  Could you try to get a bit more exercise in on your off days to help build up your stamina?  Maybe take the dog for a walk a couple times a day instead of just letting it out?  

[Acadie]

I'm getting a lot of relief from Esther Gokhale's book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. Her emphasis is on how we sit, stand, sleep and move in order to support spinal health.

I love the back-to-basics approach and feel like I'm correcting some lifelong posture issues that have contributed to back and neck pain. It's not a quick fix, more like examining how you hold and support your body and gradually shifting that over time. She has an interesting comparison between diagrams of the ideal spinal curve in medical textbooks from a century ago and now--they're quite different! What she advocates is moving back to the kinesthetic knowledge of our forbears.

Amy

[Night Elf]

2 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

I remember reading another recent post about your back hurting, and the way you described it, it sounded a lot like trigger point pain. I have chronic myofasical (trigger points) pain syndrome. The burning, tightening muscles...it all starts when the muscle has become fatigued enough, then the trigger point becomes irritated. Trigger points are painful to the the touch, so if you can press down deep into your muscle in the area where you are having pain and you find an especially tender spot, that might be the problem. They have to be worked out with lots of deep SELF-massage and very strong direct pressure. If you think this might be it, Google about the treatment. If you have any more questions, ask me because this is my living h%ll every day, and I can give you more detailed advice if needed. Basically, YOU are the best person to treat it. I've had no luck with chiropractic, therapy, or massage. There is a whole book written about this and how to self-treat.  It takes a lot of determination and persistence to lick a trigger point, but it can be done, and the relief is great. Trigger point pain originates in the fascia (layer covering the muscle) in contrast to fibromyalgia, which is nerve-related. Fibromyalgia has certain tender spots in certain areas; myofasical pain is more random. However, lots of people with fibro also have trigger point knots. 

You don't have to have a chronic pain syndrome like me to get just a knot or two here or there that needs to be worked out. So if you have one or two tight, tender spots, they just need to be worked out. It's common to have a trigger point in an overworked muscle or group of muscles. Mine is chronic because of skeletal abnormalities.

I really think you should investigate this because what you posted before really resonated with me and what I experience.

What's the name of the book? I am not sure I can treat it myself because of where it is located on my back. I can't reach back there very well. I can press on it but not deeply. My DH said he'd try tonight. Right now I'm icing it and I'm getting some relief. Well that and a cup of coffee which helps anything for me. ?

[klmama]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

What's the name of the book? I am not sure I can treat it myself because of where it is located on my back. I can't reach back there very well. I can press on it but not deeply. My DH said he'd try tonight. Right now I'm icing it and I'm getting some relief. Well that and a cup of coffee which helps anything for me. ?

You might try using a lacrosse ball to work the spot by leaning on it against the wall and rolling it back and forth a bit.  A tennis ball can work, too, but it's not as firm and so isn't as effective.  

[ktgrok]

These physical therapists have a ton of videos that I found helpful. 

 

[Pen]

7 hours ago, Acadie said:

I'm getting a lot of relief from Esther Gokhale's book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. Her emphasis is on how we sit, stand, sleep and move in order to support spinal health.

I love the back-to-basics approach and feel like I'm correcting some lifelong posture issues that have contributed to back and neck pain. It's not a quick fix, more like examining how you hold and support your body and gradually shifting that over time. She has an interesting comparison between diagrams of the ideal spinal curve in medical textbooks from a century ago and now--they're quite different! What she advocates is moving back to the kinesthetic knowledge of our forbears.

Amy

I was also going to recommend her book.  There is also a video which I found easier to follow  for exercises. 

TTapp also has videos with exercises I found helpful for back. Including some ideas of how to do things in a less painful way. 

I am currently wearing Altra Escalante shoes which I think help my back. 

[aaplank]

This is another option for stretching and back exercises. https://back.thebacktolifesystem.com/sales-page-20910364216967591

She has a great Youtube video for a stretch that helps with low back pain. 

[LarlaB]

I would recommend getting a massage.  I remember talking about this a few weeks ago. ?

PT and Chiro can only do so much and have a fairly predictable scope of approach.   A few sessions with good MT could really help reset things, quickly!

Edited August 12, 2018 by LarlaB