i pulled a muscle in the base of my back right by the spine at work on new years eve. i work as a nightclub bouncer and we had to carry out kicking and screaming a rather drunk women in the 230lb region. pub full of people women on floor kicking and screaming hence pulled muscle.

after a week of hot water bottling it and laying down alot its much better no stabbing pains when i move. just a dull pain now which is great. walking is out as well its covered in snow and ice and i don't have the core support to correct myself if i slip and don't fancy breaking my arms. swimming is out as i have no cash.

ideas? only for a week or so i just need to do something not for fitness reasons but cos i'm seriously bloody bored

If you're sure it's just a pulled muscle, it sounds like something where your upper body would be okay. This isn't the time to sit on the core ball and do exercises though. On a sturdy surface, you should be able to do light lifting on your upper body (shoulders, biceps, chest flys, overhead triceps). Make sure to hold your tummy really tight. Try something you don't use often and make it an opportunity to challenge your muscles in a different way. Do you use bands? A lot of men don't but the bands are similar to the cables in the gym because they exert negative resistance (resistance on the opposite direction of the movement). It might help you come back stronger once you're better.

Don't completely stop moving your back or you'll have a bit of muscle loss to recover from. But stretch very gently after thoroughly warming up - the shower can warm you up also. It sounds like a short term injury, so maybe it's best to just let it heal.

Don't forget about nutrition - keep it especially tight during your recovery period focusing on protein to repair those torn muscles.

You'll be back better than ever in no time!

I just finished 2 months of physical therapy for a strained back and degenerated disc that started to affect my sciatic nerve with pain all the way down my right leg. The safest exercises are going to be stretching. Using a band, my pt started me with calves & hamstrings, then strength training for the thighs and core strengthening (abs) exercises that help to take some of the pressue off of your back. I used a heating pad every day. And sometime ice if I was really swollen & sore.

What she told me was the thing with a back injury is those muscles that are injured can tighten and pull other muscles and joints like your hips out of wack.The best thing you can do is stretching which will help all your other muscles loosen up and move freely giving your back a better chance to heal.

Check this out: http://www.bigbackpain.com/post_injury.html

Best of luck and if you have any questions, just pm me. Feel better