Back Pain

What is the best or quickest way to fix lower back pain?

I hurt my lower back when I was weight lifting last year. I thought the pain would go away over time but instead its been getting worse. The pain that I get is very excruciating. I'm only 20 years old and I can't even walk fifty yards without squatting down to stretch my back for relief. I tried several chiropractors, I've even tried acupuncture, and swimming but none of these gave me good results. So what is the best way to fix my lower back?

Public Comments

1. To get relief follow the undermentioned routine. Do not sleep for at least 3 hours after a meal. This is most important. If you are a sports person / or work out regularly - do not drink water within 2 hours after a workout. Also you should not drink water within 30 minutes before starting workout, 1. First 2 days Drink 2 glasses of water before each meal. So total should be 6 glasses a day. Stop all other liquids. For example if you take lunch at 2.00 pm, take 1 glass each at 1.00 and 1.30 pm. Some deviations from suggested times are ok. Do not drink water after 7 PM. 2. Next 2 days Reduce water intake to 3 glasses day. 1 Glass before each meal. 3. Next 4 days Reduce water intake to 1 glass day. 4. Next Repeat 2 and 3 again and again. After 1 month repeat 1,2and 3.
2. how about trying an MD, for an MRI, possibly d/t a herniation, bulge or rupture; possible a re-injury to the same tissues that have not truly been treated prior..if you are only 20, & you've seen a chiro, go to the next specialist up if you are getting no relief;; if I were you, I would head for a surgical neurologist who specializes in backs...good luck, but until you actaully GET a diagnosis, you will not know WHAT treatment would be effective;; if you use heat, or ice, dependent on the diagnosis, you can injure yourself further;; if you use certain flexion ex when you should use extension ex, you again, can further inhibit the condition;; get a true diagnosis & let them treat the daignosis, THEN the symptoms...good luck!!
3. Have you gone to a regular doctor and had an x-ray? you could have a disc problem etc. for the time being, start taking a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement, the strongest one you can find, and fish oil or gla omega 3 oil capsules daily. These will help with the pain. Also try orthotics for your shoes - many stores sell these now, Dr. Scholl's even has a machine you stand on that scans your feet and recommends the best orthotic insert - you want one for lower back pain. It may be that your pelvis is not aligned properly due to the back injury and this will exacerbate the pain if it is muscular and not a disc injury. What happens is the muscles tighten up and you overcompensate by pushing your pelvis forward ( you don't realize you are doing this) which causes the muscles to work harder and end up with lower back pain that is excruciating, as you describe. Also you should be stretching those muscles every day - lay flat on the floor, bend one leg, and with your arms bring it as close to your chest as possible, keeping the opposite leg on the floor. Hold the stretch for about a minute - you will feel the muscle slowly releasing the leg further into your chest - lower it slowly and then repeat with the opposite leg. This stretches, warms, and tones the muscles in your lower back. Hope all this helps, lower back pain is the pits !
4. you 100% need to start treating your problem (after finding out what it is of course) and not cover up the pain by seeing a chiropractor (who could be doing more damage than good) my advice: go to AT LEAST 2 doctors for a second opinion. if the chiro was doing their job they would have referred you to someone before treating you because you dont know what your problem is. have an MRI, and get it looked at by more than one person. listen to their advice, youre 20 years old you dont want to be crippled by the time youre 30
5. OK, as a chiropractor, I would have referred you for follow up tests. If there was anything the chiropractor could do, you should have seen some results within the first 2 weeks (hopefully you did not try each one just once). However, since you got the injury while lifting weights, I would be willing to bet that you damaged a disc. I would recommend that you get to your doctor and get an MRI right away. However, if it is a disc, I would still recommend chiropractic, but a specific type. There are 2 chiropractic techniques that work really well for herniated discs. The first is a DRX-9000 machine. It is a fancy traction machine that really helps with disc injuries. The second is Cox-flexion distraction technique. Both of these can help with this condition. However, due to the cost of the machine and the COx table, many chiropractors do not have them. I recommend that you call around ( assuming you have a herniated disc. Also, Core exercises ( you can look up online) can help with back pain. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water and avoiding caffeine. These can also help releive the back pain. I hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at dare2care@dishmail.net I wish you the best
6. After multiple doctors’ visits, X-rays, MRI’s, pain medication, therapy and sometimes even surgery, your back does not get any better. Why is that? According to journalist Jonah Lehrer, “The conventional method of diagnosis…can explain only about 25 percent of patients with back pain.” (The Psychology of Back Pain Men’s Health). What’s more, the fact that doctors can use technology like MRIs to peek inside our spines can actually have its downsides. According to Mr. Lehrer, with age, all spines get normal wear and tear. But a doctor will look at an MRI and say, “Whoa! That bulging disc must be causing all the pain.” Oftentimes, however, it has been shown that bulging discs don’t necessarily cause any pain at all. So should you give up hope on getting rid of your back pain? Especially if you can’t tell where it’s coming from? Absolutely not. Just because there is no identifiable cause of pain doesn’t mean you can’t do anything to treat the pain. There are multiple ways to help reduce back pain, I know you have tried some but Tens is a great way to deal with back pain. There are a couple of systems out there but personally I have tried on patients The Pain Zapper system and it worked great. You can surf around the web and will find multiple ways to relief your back pain with tens.
7. As an Acupuncturist, I have to agree with dares2cares. If you received no relief after a course* of acupuncture treatments and chiropractic treatment this indicates some sort of persistent structural defect, such as, a potential disc herniation. You most likely need a MRI scan of the region. There are chiropractic practices and physical therapies that can often rehabilitate the area, and strengthen muscle groups that provide structural support to protect the area. * Acupuncture, like chiropractic, is a therapy process that most often requires a course of treatments to have a lasting effect. One treatment would not be enough to determine response.