"My back! My neck! By back AND my neck!"

April 6, 2009 11:26 AM

I've had sharp, upper back pain for about a week. I just woke up one morning and there it was. Do I need a chiropractor, massage, doctor or should I just man up?

I'm 34. I don't exercise nearly enough. Conversely, I have a fairly light build & I'm not hefting around any sort of gut at all. Admittedly, my posture usually isn't great -- though when I sit/stand up straight, it reduces the pain noticeably.

The pain is right along my spine, and it's affecting my range of movement. It doesn't feel like a muscular thing at all. On the first night of it, I laid down on the floor for my gf to try to pop my back, but she didn't get very far with it.

Range of motion is not so good. Moving my head very far left/right or up/down results in pain that I can slowly turn through.

I had all last week off (spring break; I'm a substitute teacher), but today it's been worse & I'm really getting concerned. Naturally, I don't have any sort of insurance for this. I've never had a problem like this before, so I'm a little lost as to where to start with it.

A quick cruise of Web MD makes me think this may be a herniated disc that will eventually go away, but... insight and advice, o great collective?

posted by scaryblackdeath to health & fitness (16 comments total)

You need a doctor. Please do not go to a chiropractor.
posted by The World Famous at 11:40 AM on April 6

IANAD etc etc. Well it kind of sounds like you just "tweaked" your back a bit - these can take a while to heal. However, you really, really dont want to procrastinate with a herniated disc - if that's what it is. Trust me on this. You will develop a whole new vocabulary for pain if it gets bad. And it probably is a muscle thing. Try and see a Doc if you can. I dont have a lot of faith - or any actually - in chiropractors, but that's your call. Take some naproxen sodium (Aleve) and see if that helps and take it easy for a few more days. If it persists, definately get thee to a physician.
posted by elendil71 at 11:40 AM on April 6

but today it's been worse & I'm really getting concerned.

If you're concerned, then go see a physician. WebMD does not count.
posted by gramcracker at 11:45 AM on April 6

did you fall? sleep weird? do any strenous or contorted lifting? the answers to that may give a clue as to what's wrong.

if it's been about a week and hasn't gotten even a bit better, it's probably time to see someone. i personally would suggest a chiropractor, though there are people who will chime in to say A CHIROPRACTOR KILLED MY AUNT THEY'RE THE DEVIL. so, you know, there's that opinion as well.

go online, find some chiropractor recommendations in your area. read the reviews. then pick a couple and call around. tell 'em your problem, that you don't have insurance, and see if one of 'em can work with you.

until you can see someone, try warm, moist heat to loosen things up. maybe heat some water on the stove (not to boiling!) soak some towels in the water, then lay on the towels. i'm not sure how else to do it since you say it's your entire back. but you can figure something out.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:48 AM on April 6

Go see a doctor. You're going to hear this a lot.

In the meantime, stretching using child pose might help. Whenever I tweak my back it helps. YMMV, of course.
posted by sephira at 11:57 AM on April 6

When my back's tweaked (which maybe yours is- it sounds similar) ibuprofen and a hot water bottle help immensely.

Of course, if it's your kidney, ibuprofen will help munch it. So, you know, YMMV.
posted by small_ruminant at 12:13 PM on April 6

DEFINITELY get it checked out with a specialist - either internal medicine or orthopedics. Someone needs to check you out.
posted by watercarrier at 12:28 PM on April 6

While you're at the doctor, ask about Lidoderm patches. They're prescription lidocaine patches and are wonderful for pain relief. My mom, who's in her 60s and has arthritis and a lot of lower back pain, has been using them for a couple of years now and they help a lot. I've tried one or two when I've pulled a muscle and I love them.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:29 PM on April 6

This could be something I had 3-4 times that all the doctors here in Germany told me was a pinched nerve. In my case it goes away within 1-6 weeks, 1 if I treat it really well with warmth, stretching, and light movement. But you also could easily have something completely different. If I were you I would go to a doctor.
posted by creasy boy at 12:30 PM on April 6

It's not my WHOLE back. It's actually pretty localized, and doesn't radiate out much at all.

I'm much more likely to see a doctor than a chiropractor. I'm just worried that I'll blow the money on a walk-in just to be told to keep taking over-the-counter pain killers, apply heat and do something else that a dozen other non-doctor types could tell me.

The night before it happened, I was at a club & I didn't dance much at all, but did lean over a balcony rail watching the floor a lot. I don't know if I slept funny. I certainly didn't have any heavy lifting that day, or the next.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:52 PM on April 6

I asked this a while back, and it helped a lot. If it's a back spasm, which it hopefully is.
posted by hermitosis at 12:58 PM on April 6

Nobody killed my aunt, but I think you're better off getting a real diagnosis. A chiropractor once told me my foot needed "an adjustment" and quoted me a price for a bunch of sessions; a few weeks later, a real doctor took x-rays and found a bone growth that needed to be surgically removed. I'm sure chiropractors are great for some things, but find out what's really wrong first.

The only thing I feel comfortable recommending is taking a good multivitamin-multimineral to make sure you've got the proper nutritional support you need to heal.
posted by aquafortis at 1:12 PM on April 6

Hermitosis -- your question sounds a LOT like my own experience. Thanks.

Thank you to everyone else who's answered, too. I think I'm gonna give it a heat pack, stretches & more consistent Alleve / Motrin for a day or two before I go to the doc. I haven't been consistent with the pain meds (Advil) yet, and I haven't tried heat.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 1:41 PM on April 6

I advocate seeing a good physical therapist over a doctor and definitely over a chiropractor, but that might depend on your location. In our state, a patient has to have a prescription from a doctor to be treated by a PT. However, a patient doesn't need a prescription to see a PT one time for an evaluation. We have found that good PTs know far more about the body's structure than doctors (the PTs we see have doctoral degrees), and they can often treat things that doctors aren't aware of. The PT can tell you if there's anything that they can help you with, and a good PT will have working relationships with doctors. Having seen chiropractors in the past and PTs more recently, there's no comparison. A good PT will explain what is going on with your body, how it happened, how to avoid it in the future, will do some things similar to chiropractic manipulation but more carefully and effectively, and they will give you exercises to do at home to help you recover and prevent a recurrence. If they feel you need to see a doctor, they'll tell you.

The only problem with physical therapy is the expense if you don't have insurance to cover it and finding a good one.
posted by onemorething at 1:52 PM on April 6

To really get a definitve answer you'll have to end up getting at least x-rays and possibly an MRT. You'll also need to talk to somebody who can confidently read them. If it turns out to be a muscle thing I would suggest finding someone who can do ART.
posted by P.o.B. at 5:05 PM on April 6

NO HEAT!!!!!

Get a gel pack from the drugstore that you can keep in the fridge. Lay on that with great regularity, at least twice a day for 20 minutes each. If it's inflammation, heat will only make it worse (I know this from experience). No heating pad, no hot baths, no massages. Just ice. Take it v-e-r-y easy-- no lifting, etc., and listen to your body. If something hurts, don't do it. Don't just gut through the pain to help your buddy move, or to lift the laundry basket, etc. You'll only do more damage.

I just "woke up" with bad back pain a year and a half ago. After two useless chiro appointments I went to an orthopedist and got an MRI. Turns out I had two herniated discs. There's not a lot you can do when it's inflamed-- just ice and be nice to it. Keep the aleve/tylenol in your system regularly to reduce inflammation, and ice it regularly to reduce swelling. After a week of that, go see a pain management doctor or orthopedist and talk about physical therapy. Sometimes that first week is all you need. Sometimes you'll need physical therapy to deal with a disc issue.
posted by orangemiles at 11:33 AM on April 7