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Old 03-12-2010, 07:37 PM   #1  
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So, for the last couple of days, my back has been bothering me. However it wasnt so bad that I couldnt do anything. This morning was a very different story. I had to roll out of bed because I couldn't sit up. Getting dressed was a hasle...putting on sock hurt really bad. I'm not sure what I've done, but I don't want to over do it and hurt it worse. So, when you have back pain, or any kind of pain, do you exercise anyway? Or is this kind of pain the one "reason" to take a day off of exercising? My trainer told me that if you are sore, like muscles are a little tight, the best thing for it is the hair of the dog that bit you so to speak. But if its unbearable then you should take a break. Any suggestions?
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Old 03-12-2010, 07:40 PM   #2  
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Ice for 20 minutes every hour. I would only do light exercise like walking or stationary bike if it does not hurt too much.
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Old 03-12-2010, 09:11 PM   #3  
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Did you do a core workout or back workout or even a lower body workout with lower back involvement (squats, deadlifts, etc.) in the last 24-48 hours? If more recent than that, you may have an injury. If in that time period it could be DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Outside of that maybe an overuse injury? There is a difference between muscle soreness and pain from an injury. Muscle soreness will "feel good" when you stretch (but not necessarily go away). It will be generalized in a large region also. Injury pain typically feels worse as you move around and you are likely to have a stabbing pain.

I am not a medical person, but my guess would be that you have a muscle strain. If that's the case, I would ice it and take Advil. It should be better in the next 3 days or so. Also, the Advil should get rid of most of the pain. If it doesn't, or you develop redness, swelling or a fever, then seek medical attention immediately.

In the meanwhile, I wouldn't do any physical exercise that causes localized, sharp pain. When you work through DOMS, it is like stretching and kind of "feels good." Working through an injury will really hurt and you could make it worse. While I hope that your trainer will give you the best advice, I would caution you that it's best to follow your gut instinct.

I hope you feel better soon!
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Old 03-12-2010, 10:45 PM   #4  
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I am going to take today off from exercising...although that doesn't sit well with me, I know its what I need to do. Depending on how my back feels tomorrow, I may do a very light workout tomorrow (30 minutes on a bike or something). Thank you for the advice.
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Old 03-12-2010, 11:03 PM   #5  
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I sometimes get low back pain, and usually there's no particular activity or injury that's triggered it. Sometimes it's just irritating, sometimes the pain is very, very sharp and I have to do things like you did--roll out of bed, etc. A doctor sent me to physical therapy after one particularly bad episode, and what the PT had me doing was mostly stretching. I have now mostly figured out how to manage the pain when it happens. I do various stretches -- lie on a bed and pull my knees up towards my chest, get on hands and knees on the bed and arch my back like a cat. The one thing that I think helps the most, though, is to sleep on my back with my knees bent. (I pile up pillows and put them under my knees.) I also use a wedge pillow under my back, so I'm sleeping on an incline with my knees bent. This really stretches out the the back muscles and makes a huge difference for me. I start sleeping that way as soon as my back acts up and I keep doing it for several days after I think it's well, just to be safe. This is not at all my normal sleeping position, so I will often take an antihistamine before I go to bed to help me stay asleep in that position. Good luck. Bad pain is no fun.
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Old 03-13-2010, 08:24 AM   #6  
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I am in pain most days. I work out pretty hard. I try not to ever let the pain stop me. It was very bad in the beginning. In the run of a day I would have shin splints, back pain, and muscle pain. When you are realy big you can be very sore from working out. I would take it easy a day if it is unbareable and check with your Dr. if some advil, stretching, and a hot bath doesn't take care of it.
But don't let the pain get you down. You can still do this.
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Old 03-13-2010, 09:19 AM   #7  
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I try to be very careful with stuff like that. I believe in over caution rather than undercaution. and I also try to plug in my common sense. like how painful is it, is it sore muscles or something more? if it's something else, it may need rest and recuperation. I think of it this way, a couple of days rest is better than really straining or injuring myself and being out of whack for possibly weeks (which I have done).

if it's stiffness from overuse, I try to stretch more, tone down the workout, and it does work itself out.
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Old 03-13-2010, 08:19 PM   #8  
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I have to agree with Tracey here..
work through the pain. If your back is hurting today - work on your legs.
The question you must ask yourself is are you sore or are you in pain?
My upper back was killing me on Wednesday.. I had an appointment with my trainer @ 4:30. I didn't want to cancel. When I went in I told him my upper back was killing me. I took 4 tylenol before I left.. 20 mins in to the workout my back felt great. The next morning... my back was fine.. my hips and butt were killing me. Sometimes you need to just work through it.

Ask yourself are you sore? or are you in pain? there's a huge difference!
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Old 03-13-2010, 08:53 PM   #9  
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Thank you all for your advice. However I must say that when driving or sneezing hurts, I'm pretty sure its pain. I saw my chiropractor yesterday afternoon and he told me that my back felt almost like my spine had a curve to it (although I have never been diagnosed with scoliosis). I am just going to do some light walking today, because I dont want to tweak my back anymore. Hopefully I will be back in the exercise game tomorrow. I have been really watching my calorie intake since I have to be careful with the exercise.
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