Keep hurting my lower back any tips so this will stop.

[Still Hunter]

Lots of good feedback here. 64 yrs here. Active life! Intermittent back issues. Work related back problems back in 92. L4/L5. Another injury in 95' , T3, T4,T5.

Learn to lift items correctly. Good Posture is critical. Don't lift and twist at the same time. Keep you body mass weight low. You can be strong without " bulking up". Don't be that guy that doesn't ask for help and even if you are strong as three men don't try to lift by yourself. Been there done that, It catches up with you!

I sleep on the floor when the back flares up and scoot my butt up against the bottom of a chair and I place my knee's and legs up in the chair, pillow under my head. Makes the back flat and I will just sleep that way a few nights if necessary to help relieve the pain. Start with isolated dumbell squats with good posture. Build the Legs. Do "planks" to help build your core. Good Luck!

Sorry you are hurting. No Pain like back pain. No none even understands until it happens to them. Then they know!

 

[Elk97]

I've got two badly degenerated and herniated discs, problems for almost 50 years. Have had lots of nerve pains, etc
My advice and what has worked and not worked-
1. Chiropractor- forget it.
2. Surgery- Surgeon told me for discs it will cut down on time but end result will be the same over a period of two years. Obviously this varies with each case. He also said that 1% of patients get a staff infection in their spine which is good unless you are the 1% then it's a disaster.
3.Epidurals- help for a few months then you need another one (my experience)
4. Physical Therapy- some are good, others not. A good one can really help.
5. Diet- losing weight and staying in shape can make a huge difference
6. Being smart- you have a back problem, don't do stupid stuff that's going to aggravate it or make it worse. No exceptions unless you are willing to pay for it.

Best exercise that I've found is doing a pushup while keeping your pelvis on the floor, go up slow and let your back arch as you go up, hold there for a few seconds and then lower. 10 reps without going so far that it causes pain. This usually fixes sciatica in a few days, and gives some immediate relief. Angle slightly at the hips toward the side that is giving pain.

 

[Wyo_hntr]

Best exercise that I've found is doing a pushup while keeping your pelvis on the floor, go up slow and let your back arch as you go up, hold there for a few seconds and then lower. 10 reps without going so far that it causes pain. This usually fixes sciatica in a few days, and gives some immediate relief. Angle slightly at the hips toward the side that is giving pain.

This was huge for me. Fixed a bulged L5S1 for me, along with flexibility training. 6wks of painful work, but it worked.

 

[grfox92]

I suffered with pretty extreme lower back pain from age 18 to 30. Literally constant pain every day and then blow outs where I would be in bed.

I have degenerative disc, and visiting the chiropractor when my back was out would give me some relief.

Then one day a co-worker told me about his inversion table and how it helped his backpain. So I went on Craigslist and found one that day and drove over an hour to get it.

Within a week of using it, my back pain was gone. All I needed to do was stretch my back, put space between my disc's to get the pressure off the nerves and the pain was gone. 12 years of suffering and a $50 inversion table fixed it in a week. I still have one and use it every few weeks and no longer suffer from lower back pain.

That's my personal experience. I hope you find some relief.

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

 

[Steve from GA]

Pretty much the exact same spinal issues here. I did get minor back surgery a few years ago and that helped, but I would recommend avoiding that if you can. Last year, I had a collasal flare up - like 8 months of thinking that I was f*cked. Believe it or not, this machine pretty much fixed my back in 2 weeks. The decompression is an added benefit, but I am convinced that the core strengthening is what did the trick. Doing back raises on this thing will get deeper into that supportive muscle structure than just about any regularly recommended PT exercise can. It's like building an internal steel frame from your thighs/glutes and deep into your back. That and hip/hamstring flexibility should keep the back pain away. Good luck.

https://teeter.com/product/dex-ii/

Not chaep, but totally saved my ass and worth every penny now.

 

[jimh406]

I had friends tell me what worked for them. It was as simple as walking. Many people spend a lot of time sitting/standing which isn't good for our discs/backs.

In my own case, I had a consult with a surgeon who told me that I didn't need surgery. I wasn't doing anything that intense when my pain started. The way the surgeon explained it, the disc has a framework of fibers that hold the disc in. At the point that the fiber breaks, you get pressure on the nearby nerves. It doesn't matter if it is an extreme movement or not, when it breaks, it breaks.

My surgeon suggested stretching and walking, but also said it would take 6-9 months to heal the disc. The walking was pretty painful for the first couple of weeks. That was over twenty years ago. He was right, fwiw. Fwiw, walking also works for sciatica pain.

I have to say the Chiropractor that I tried was very good, and I was pain free for a day or so. Obviously, that wasn't going to be a long term fix. My physician gave me drugs to get rid of the pain. The problem with that is I couldn't work.

If you don't need surgery right now, and you don't do anything crazy, you may very well recover quite well. But, like I said, you might be looking at months to heal completely.

 

[sodaksooner]

This was huge for me. Fixed a bulged L5S1 for me, along with flexibility training. 6wks of painful work, but it worked.

Upward dog, kinda!!!!! hell of a stretch

 

[blackdog of vt]

I've got a lot of experience here, shattered L3,4,5 and herniated l6. Surgery was obviously necessary in my case. You mri doesn't look real bad. Diet and exercise fix a lot of issues. Forward and reverse Nordics are great for strengthening and fixing as does hot yoga. Low starch, as in low inflammatory diet will help too.

Agmatine is something I take religiously every day now for years. safe, cheap effective. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20447305/
I'm also a big fan of bpc-157. All these things have got me back to the best I can be.

 

[Bigborealaska]

I second the hydration idea above. It almost sounds too easy, but staying hydrated helps me. I suffer a bad back too. My doctor told me three things will help. Loose some weight, strengthen your core, and stretch multiple times a day. So far these things have helped ease the pain a bit.

This 100%. I suffer a herniated disk l5/S1 and this above and yoga have helped me extremely well. Dr's don't know why I am as pain free and can do what I do without surgery. I'm 42 and I take good care of my body I put through the ringer in my 20's growing up in the Wyoming mountains.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Stretching and doing 80-100 pushups every other day

 

[bpitcher]

I'm going to echo a lot of what has already been said. I'm 37 with 7 (and counting) bulging, degenerated and/or herniated discs.

I am not a fan of the surgical option (personal opinion). My initial consult was done by a spine surgeon and he told me "You are 31, If I fuse your L5-S1 right now, I'll be seeing you in another couple years to do the next one. The more you do on your own without surgery, the more you will be able to do."

Core strength, exercise and PT have been lifesavers for me. It will take some time, but learning the specific areas that increase your pain and targeting them with stretches and exercises will help immensely. IE. Hamstrings for low-back, chest/shoulders/upper back for neck. TENS Units, traction devices, heat patches, etc. have all helped a bunch as well.

Above all, remember that it is a marathon and not a sprint. Keep on with the exercise and stretching. It took me probably two years or more to get to the point where I didn't have to worry about my back doing simple tasks.

Chronic pain is mentally and physically exhausting. Just remember that there is an end to the tunnel through one treatment or another and to keep your mind focused on other things besides the pain. It will get better.

 

[NCTrees]

if you’re carrying some extra pounds do what you can to lose them, it’ll help.

Along w/ weight loss, PT and strength training have been real helpful for me. I have white mans syndrome (gut too big / butt too small) so exercises to reduce the gut and build the butt have been good. I’d recommend finding a good therapist and taking at least a few sessions. Mine pushed me away from yoga movements and towards Pilates movements. They help. As has been noted, it’s a marathon. Give yourself months to honestly evaluate results.

I’ve had the steroid injections, no relief at all. Candidate for nerve ablation and surgery but so long as I can keep the pain managed I’m holding off. If you go the surgery route I recommend deep research. Find the “A+” team and fly to them if you have to. I’ve some friends that’d gone that route and it’s been good for them.

I am curious if anyone on here has tried ozone injections? My doctor has brought them up as a possible option. Seems there are some published & peer reviewed studies out there that would indicate it may be worth a try.

 

[jslove]

I had regular low back pain when I was younger. Started sport climbing pretty seriously in my 20s and that helped a lot due to building a lot of core strength (which I had apparently critically lacked). Now, many years later, that’s not enough. Climbing still helps a lot as it’s great for core, tractioning, and some range of motion, but I have to do sustainable strength work too. Just stretching doesn’t work for me. Have to push weight, controlled, thru full range of motion.

Obviously every body is different and no one can tell you exactly what will fix yours, but I think strength work throughout a full range of motion is a good start for most structural issues. Hydration is a no brainer too. I don’t know that I’m ever hydrated enough here in CO.

 

[highcountrymuley]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but reducing inflammation through changes in diet might help some of the pain. Cut out sugar and alcohol and read up on other ways to reduce inflammation. Good luck

 

[Boltgun]

Ruptured a disk in a motorcycle wreck at 18, spent years with pretty intense pain intermittently. It never stopped me from doing the exciting stuff (rock climbing, MMA fighting, military) but there were downtimes I could barely walk down the hall.

Being physically fit doesn’t necessarily mean a strong core, and it took me a long time to learn that. 22 with ripped abs, working out every day and still in pain.

Now at 34, I’ve been pain free for about 5 years, and the big change was proper exercise and lifting. Good form for deadlifts, pull-ups and squats works wonders.

Other things helped (chiro, tenzing unit, yoga) but proper, regular lifting definitely did the most to help it heal.

 

[Fdh]

No short term fixes unfortunately, exercise and stretching are basic for mine. Mine is more arthritis.

 

[199p]

I also hurt my back but mine was in full contact stockcar dirt track racing that we do down here in new zealand.

Best things i found helped
Inversion table / hanging
Mckenzie back stretches
Lotus wheel back roller
Hamstring and hip stretching and mobility
custom orthotic insoles trying to get some sheep feet but for now they wont ship internationally

 

[SO4Runner]

Have you talked to more than one doctor? Maybe get a second opinion