I figure this is as good of a place as any for medical advice these days.

I’ve got this recurring back problem that happens every once in a while. Today I was moving cement blocks and leaning forward and “strained “ my back. Not sure if it is a muscle strain or disc and pinched nerve problem. It happens time to time. Sometimes just leaning over the sink to brush my teeth.

It is usually from lifting and leaning. Any thoughts on what is causing this? Pain usually lasts a few days to a week. Sharp pain.

Wonder if doing planks or core exercising would help.

Appreciate any help or thoughts.

Disc.

Exercising the core is always good.

Nerve damage obviously is never good. Threw my back out at work and started getting a "dumb" rightt leg. I was tripping over nothing. Did almost 6 months of therapy since the bulge was there but just starting to penetrate the spinal cord. Nothing but core and no issues since.

Normal back pain I guess for a 50 year old who builds 700 lb transmissions everyday would get I guess but no nerve issues

Yep. With a pinched nerve.

I'd just go to a doctor. Sucks but webMD usually doesn't end well, especially here on the fire.

Thanks guys. Kinda thought that might be the case. It’s weird how it happens. I can as moving heavy furniture the other day without a problem. Didn’t think my core was that weak, but I’m gonna try to do something to help. Seems to happen every few months.

Whoever said getting old isn’t for sissies was right.

I'd just go to a doctor. Sucks but webMD usually doesn't end well, especially here on the fire.

Did mine Wed getting off the couch.
Sore.
But still went to work, lifting crap

TENS unit and beer the plan after work. Maybe heal up enough to do something Sunday

I have such a spot. Doesn't take much and it'll put me to my knees and then gimped for a couple of weeks. A design flaw, but, it's better than many alternatives!

Yep. Same here. And I’ve had back surgery before too.
Never again.

Buddy I grew up with was taking a crap and his went out trying to wipe his ass. He shouldn’t have told us that one. We never let him live that one down. 😬

Go to the best doctor you can find, helps mine to stretch a lot. For some reason, splitting wood loosens mine up.

I ain’t one for yoga, but maybe tai chi or something….

I could be like Tex Cobb in Uncommon Valor..

Stretching is about the only thing that helps mine. I use an old fashioned heating pad every once in a while. But too much heat is not a good thing.
I just hate using ice.

Shave, OJ, work your core.

Go the apple store and download the MRI app.

Dang, wouldn’t you know I have an android.

Time to retire from your Rickshaw gig.

Traction, hanging helps stetch and relieve pressure points.

Sounds familiar. Ice it. Motrin + ES Tylenol helps. Keep your hamstrings stretched. Would not rule out seeing a chiropractor, either.

A good Chiro can help. Not all are good.

The disk has come out and is putting pressure on the nerve running down you leg.

Have the doc do an MRI and if damaged bad enough get it clipped.

Fusion is the last thing i would have done as long as i could deal with the pain/numbness.

I have had the L-5-3 levels fused and it is as stout as before.

Thing is i waited to long and things had deteriorated to the point that i have a lot of nerve damage.

I would still get it fixed today even with the limits i have.

Good luck and i hope they can get it fixed.

Good God.

LOL

I had a similar issue for many years. Went to a regular chiropractor 20-25 times a year for about 35 years. Then I went to a NUCCA chiropractor. Haven’t been to a regular chiropractor now for 5 years. All I can say is that it worked wonders for me. Worth a shot.

Exactly. I've been dealing with this for 30+ years.

Lots of unknowns- mostly your age, smoking status, and occupation.

Its probabably a paraspinal strain. You'll live. Motrin, tylenol, heat, and stay active.

It is actually NORMAL to have a certain degree of disc bulging and stenosis. Not that i do this kind of stuff for a living...

If you think smoking causes disc injuries, you definitely don’t do this for a living…

I had 3 levels of lumbar fused. 2 operations , 17 yrs apart. 1st one went so well that I was back to work in 9 wks and to the gym in 12. 2nd had to fuse 2 more and replace hardware from the 1st. Didn’t work out so well but I was 60 then. It’s the last thing you want to do and , it sounds that you’re a long way from that. PT really works. Proper lifting technique is vital for the rest of your life. Stretching really helps. You need a mri and a GOOD spine doc to read it so you know where you stand. Long winded reply but I been there so I hope it helps.

Thank you folks. I am 54 if that matters. Don't smoke, but I've heard mj is good for back pain, so I might start...

I'm sure this will pass. I'd give up the Rickshaw gig, but it's who I am.....

Yep. Sounds like a disk is pushing on a nerve. Some of the above advice is good. I will add an inversion table to what has been mentioned above. Those things can work wonders in some cases. An ice regimen can help too.

Physical therapy is what I would recommend. As someone mentioned, strengthen your core. I know several people who have gone the surgical route. Not a one has what I would consider a successful outcome and a few are worse than before!

Going through it right now. Had an MRI with contrast. Disk is bulging against the sciatic nerve at L5-S1. I can't get comfortable in a chair or laying down. I can stand for about 20 minutes. Pain radiates in my lower spine down my ass, sometimes legs. I've tried all the meds. They don't work much. Same with heat. Massage gun helps for a bit. Had the Ortho give me the steroid shot. He had to go in 3xs to find it and then only got a partial dose in. No joy. PT has me doing core exercises as tolerated. 10# lifting limit. It sucks, but I'm not doing surgery until they get better result percentage. Who knows when that will be or if it's even possible. Until then, keep moving.

You may be lucky - it may just be a psoas muscle spasm.

When it happens, does the pain seem to concentrate in the lower back? Does the pain make you bend forward and walk like an old man shuffling along, looking at the floor? Does the pain decrease when you force yourself to stand up straight and walk like a marine on a parade ground?

I get mine when I overdo it lifting, rotating and putting down heavy objects. The psoas muscle on the right or the left will spasm (I get mine on the left) and not want to relax.

Heat or cold will relax the muscle a bit, offering a short period of relief. But the muscle will go back into spasm soon after the therapy stops.

You can google "psoas muscle pain" and get all kinds of advice online, but this is what works for me:

I have a foam roller and a very firm rubber ball about halfway in size between a hardball and a softball (you can get these cheap at a Walmart). I mostly use the rubber ball, but you can use the edge of the foam roller. The key is to put the ball directly against the muscle that has tightened up, and roll on it with your full weight. It HURTS, but a minute or less directly on the pain spot will force the muscle to elongate and stretch, taking it out of spasm. I'm not a cussing man, but I sure want to when I'm putting weight on that spot!

If you do it right, you will get relief immediately - no drugs, no surgery. Sometimes I have to repeat it to get it completely gone, but that's because I'm too much of a wuss to take the pain more than about 20 seconds or so at a time.

Good prevention helps a lot - strengthen and stretch the core muscles, and learn how to lift without hurting yourself. A physical therapist taught me that you should never twist with a heavy object in your hands. Have your toes pointing in the direction you are lifting and move your feet to the direction that you are putting it down. Also, stand up straight and walk like you're pushing off with your back foot and coming down smoothly on the heel of your forward foot. - if your forward foot is slapping down on the floor as you walk, you're doing it wrong and contributing to your back problem.

An X-ray with a good back doctor or a GOOD chiropractor will show you whether you have a bad disk or it's just a muscle spasm. If the doc suggests surgery, be SURE to get another opinion! I had a good friend who was a back surgeon, and he said surgery is the last resort - you're at about equal odds at whether it gets better, stays the same or gets worse!

If it seems this fits your problem, do some reading on the subject and give the rubber ball a try. For me, it's fast relief for the price of some moaning and groaning.

It doesn’t “cause” disc injury, but it greatly inhibits the healing of a disc injury.

Get stronger. Barbell training, back squats.

If everyone over 40 took an MRI, they'd all discover disk problems. It's just that some people have lots of pain as well. So how do you minimize the pain?

Muscle imbalance sets the conditions for lower back pain. By that I mean strong quads and hip flexors combined with weak hams and glutes. Squats - go down far enough to engage the hams and glutes. Deadlifts if you know how to do them properly. Lunges. This solved my lower back problems.

Yoga is good - there are probably "low back pain" or "psoas" videos online.

Other core strength.

Likely true statement(s). However, only an MRI will tell you for sure.

Get to work on your core strength, it will help out immensely. Lengthen and strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and quads. Otherwise, you will just be miserable.

Lots of YouTube plans/routines that would help you establish something to help you out.

Start serious stretching.

Actually sounds potentially like testicular nemocystocrosis.

At 35 I had a back injury that my Dr. said was career ending. He said I was done working. My company sent me to a Dr that specialized in Rehab through stretching and exercise. I followed the plan and worked hard at it. Been working the last 25 years. If my back starts bothering me I stretch my hamstrings. It solves the problem.

I would definitely want to go to the doctor first and see what is actually wrong, although the most probable cause is what the others said, a bulging disc. My spine is a mess, so all I can do is tell you what has helped me, and that's mostly a repeat of some of the things mentioned already. If you're overweight, try to lose it as quickly as possible, that puts a huge strain on your spine. Alternating hot and cold can help, along with some TENS unit electrical stimulation. Muscle stretches while in the shower with the water as hot as I can stand it help a lot. The physical therapy people can work wonders for getting pressure off of nerves. I've been in agony multiple times nearly to the point of suicide but the PT folks were able to get that pressure off of the nerves and get them soothed to a bearable point where I could relax and heal. Anti inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxers like Robaxin help too. You can pretty much forget about getting any sort of opiod pain relievers these days thanks to all the drug abusers, so NSAIDS and acetominophen are about all you can do. Big doses of ibuprofen had my stomach bleeding so the doc switched me to meloxicam which helps the pain and inflammation just as much without near as much gastro disruption. I was taking large amounts of Prilosec when I was on the ibuprofen, now I need none. The physical therapists can work on your core muscle strength around the spine taking some pressure off of the spinal column, relieving some of the bulging disc trouble if it hasn't gotten too far yet. After a ruptured disc and ever increasing leg pain and motor nerve problems, I had L5-S1 fused back in 2009. I thought that I was going to die both before and then after the surgery but after around nine weeks the pain started fading and I recovered very well eventually. Most people don't have that much trouble with the after surgery part; I had let the damage go far too long and it was super inflammed and took a while to settle down and stop hurting so much. Anything that you can do to reduce the inflammation, relieve the excess loading and strengthen the muscles around the spine can do wonders in avoiding surgery. Sometimes it's unavoidable but you don't want to go there unless you absolutely must. Getting cut on isn't much fun.

Lots of things can cause back pain. Most everyone has had back pain so we're all experts on your back....not.

Go to a Doctor and consider physical therapy to learn the right exercises to strengthen your back.

Learn how to lift and deal with loads (no turning when lifting!).

"Threw my back out at work and started getting a "dumb" rightt leg."

That's a nerve issue.

Go to a chiropractor. They are really good.