40 is the new 60?

July 5, 2017 7:52 AM

My lower and mid back, and to a lesser extent my shoulders, suddenly started aching and being really stiff a couple weeks ago, and it's only getting worse. Nothing has changed in my lifestyle or activities. What is going on?

I'm 42 and moderately active: I walk to and from work (about a mile each way), do some gardening and plenty of household chores, swim, and keep up with an active 6-year-old. I haven't changed my mattress, chairs, etc. recently. But suddenly a couple weeks ago I started waking up with enough pain and stiffness in my back that getting out of bed was difficult, and the past week it's not going away at all during the day. My shoulders are also somewhat achy. If I sit for more than about 20 minutes or so, I can barely stand up straight when I get up.

What the heck? Is this just what it feels like to be over 40? I'm going to be ramping up the core exercises but I feel like this change was so out of the blue it can't just be a weak core... can it? Is there something else that could explain this?

posted by rabbitrabbit to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

This is typical thing that happens to me when I'm facing a lot of emotional stressors. My mind likes to focus on the pain and disability rather than the insecurities that the stressors bring up - it's a distraction. For me, realizing this makes the pain go away. The mind and ego are strange tricksters sometimes.
posted by Lucky Bobo at 8:08 AM on July 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

It could be something else that's exacerbating this particular episode of stiffness (stress, slept funny, etc.), but I will say that some of this is just what it feels like to be over 40, yeah. (Sorry. Deep stretching helps a lot.)
posted by desuetude at 8:24 AM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

Have you had any fever? Since it was sudden and is getting worse consider Lyme disease. Unfortunately the test isn't very good so the decision to treat it can be guess work.
posted by Botanizer at 8:29 AM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

This has been my normal and would be still if I didn't do yoga every day (I'm 58), but the fact that this is so out of the blue and has been getting worse for weeks makes me wonder if there's something going on besides just aging. It's probably nothing serious, but I would suggest getting it checked out just in case.
posted by FencingGal at 8:31 AM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]

Long-shot suggestion: get your Vitamin D levels checked. I started waking up with terrible lower back pain when I was 32, to the point where one night I cried before I went to bed because I knew I was going to wake up in pain. Anyway, I had a physical shortly after that and we discovered that my Vitamin D levels were crazy low. Once I started taking a large dose of Vit D, the pain went away. Even if it's not the primary cause, low Vitamin D can exacerbate inflammation.
posted by lunasol at 8:33 AM on July 5, 2017 [7 favorites]

It could be all kinds of things, and yes, part of "over 40" is that minor things like a sneeze while standing in the "wrong" position or a night of restless sleep can have drastic and/or long-lasting effects. 10 years ago you wouldn't even have noticed, five years ago you would've shrugged it off by mid-afternoon, now you've got a couple of weeks of stiffness and pain.

Go to the doctor, get checked out.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:39 AM on July 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yeah, over 40. But it may be time to start doing regular core exercises. Like planks, etc. They really helped me.
posted by jtexman1 at 8:48 AM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

Have you tried a stand-up desk at work?
posted by empath at 8:57 AM on July 5, 2017

All the things everyone else is saying, but also: how old are your mattress and pillows? Either they have dropped below optimal support or you may have aged out of needing the support you did before.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:59 AM on July 5, 2017

Another long-shot suggestion, also get your B-12 levels checked especially if you eat low/no meat. I was having terrible spasming back pains and was having trouble sleeping and even walking (periodically) for a few years leading up to a diagnosis and once I started supplementing it went away.
posted by nanook at 9:19 AM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

In the same vein as the B12 and Vit D suggestions - you could do worse than increase magnesium. Magnesium is the reason why I'm not doubled over with back pain constantly. And it's water soluble.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:32 AM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

Regular abs work is necessary for me to avoid back pain. Just something you may want to add to your exercise routine.
posted by suelac at 9:56 AM on July 5, 2017

You say that you haven't changed your mattress recently. But how old is your mattress, and what kind of mattress? How often do you normally rotate/flip your mattress, and have you actually been doing that lately? I aim for monthly mattress rotation/flip, but if I forget and go 3 months, Ms. nobeagle's back starts acting up. (on preview: damn you Lyn Never)

Would your SO know if you've recently changed sleeping positions?
posted by nobeagle at 11:00 AM on July 5, 2017

You don't suddenly get too old to walk at 40. Don't listen to anyone who tells you it's just age. Go to the doctor, there are some excellent suggestions above, and demand they check you out. And be aware that some bony changers in your spine are normal and won't cause acute pain without a change of some sort. In short: this isn't normal, get it checked out and don't accept blahblahblah answers from your doctor or anyone else
posted by fshgrl at 12:32 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]