Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with back

Sudden intense back/rib cage pain?

Taft — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:13:15 -0800

Medical question: I'm a 17 year old male and last night my rib cage and upper back began to hurt like never before. I thought a night of sleep of help, but it hasn't. Should I be worried? By 'hurt' I mean my movement is extremely constricted. turning my body to the left or right causes intense pain in my back, bending down or up causes the same pain in my chest and back. I have never had pains like this before and they started almost abruptly last night.

Should I see a doctor? Is this normal at all?

Also, I was dancing at a party last night, if that helps. Thank you, DoctorFilter.

The Subway vs. My Back

airguitar2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:12 -0800

Is the subway causing my body to hurt? I've been riding the NYC subway twice a day for the last few months, and I'm noticing an overall body/back ache that I haven't felt before. I've looked around for research on this, but all I can find is a study showing that a test group of subway operators suffer more back and neck pain than a control group. Apparently total-body-vibration is not such a good thing in large doses.

Is the subway causing minute but detectable bodily injury?
Have others noticed this?
What can I do about it, other than walk three hours to work every day?

Thanks, Mefites!

(It's also possible that my teaching job, what with its stress and being on my feet all day, is also contributing.)

Help me strengthen my trapezius....

dfriedman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:01:29 -0800

Weightlifting/strength training filter: what exercises do you recommend to strengthen/build up the trapezius muscle? Right now my workout regimen consists of pullups, chinups, bench press, squats, calf extensions, pushups, and the rowing machine for cardio.

I pulled my trapezius muscle two or three weeks ago and it has more or less healed. Now I'd like to work on strengthening it.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Help me find useful yoga and/or pilates DVDs.

rosethorn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:23:37 -0800

Can you tell me about your experiences with pilates or yoga in regards to lower back pain? DVD or CD recommendations especially helpful. I have chronic lower back pain that I'm hoping can be diminished by starting to regularly practice yoga or pilates. Mostly, I'm hoping somebody can point me towards a DVD or CD that I can practice with. I took classes in college that introduced me to both pilates and yoga at a beginner's level, so I'm fairly comfortable with most of the terminology, but I would still consider myself to be no more than a beginner.

I'm also looking for experiences people have that would help me to decide which would be the best for me. What do you like about yoga? What do you like about pilates? Do you have back pain and one of the two really helped you? Right now, I'm leaning towards pilates, as I remember some of the exercises making my spine feel really good, and also because I perceive it as being easier to practice without an instructor present (I have no idea if this is true. Any responses regarding this are also welcome!). I can't afford to go to classes. No, not even the low cost ones.

I really enjoyed the few moments we would spend at the end of class, being mindful of our bodies. I am interested in any stress relief either exercise can bring, but I would probably be turned off by anything that feels too over the top hokey. I am also turned off by a focus on weight loss. I don't want to slim down or sculpt anything or lose inches in only ten minutes a day, just move and feel good about my body and possibly lessen my back pain. I am not very flexible, so something that gives alternate ways to practice moves that require more flexibility would be welcome.

Help me stop stomach sleeping.

Thrillhouse — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:59:20 -0800

How do I stop sleeping on my stomach? When I go to bed at night I try my best to fall asleep on my back but it almost never works so I move on to my side and sometimes that works but more often than not I find that I wake up having been sleeping on my stomach. Whether I'm consciously doing it or not I need to stop sleeping on my stomach. It hurts my back when I wake up and I have to learn to sleep on a wedge pillow for reflux.

What can I do to train myself to sleep on my back?

What is the best way to adjust to a new mattress?

miasma — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:59:03 -0800

MattressHackingFilter: I recently upgraded from a fairly firm queen sized mattress to a king-sized soft pillow-top (Simmons Beautyrest). While laying down feels noticeably different (and pretty damn comfy), I do wake up with some back pain, most notable a tightness in my upper back and in the shoulders towards the neck. Are there any quick-and-cheap solutions (besides returning it) that can alleviate the pain? Is this just my body adjusting or am I S.O.L.?

Can I get my money back?

3dd — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:27:51 -0800

The AC of my Mercedes Benz 2002 stopped working so we took it to a well known Used Car Dealership for a check up. They charge me $150.00 just for the check up and gave me an estimate of about $3,000 to fix it (basically they said all the system had to be replace it). I didn’t want to spend that kind of money so we took it one of those ‘basic repair shop’ chains and they fixed it by changing a $25.00 sensor. I want my $150.00 back, I live in Florida and don't know if I am entitled to a refund? If I am, what is the best way to ask for it? I’m pissed at them but I want to behave civilized and effective.

BACK PAIN: I hate doing the dishes

bdoop21 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:42:55 -0800

Why does my back always hurt when doing the dishes? It always hurts when I'm doing the dishes, and sometimes hurts at other times. I need to strengthen my back muscles and I've been working on it but I'm worried that it might be something more than weak muscles. Sometimes I have pain in the area that I believe is the sciatic nerve, above my butt crack to the left just slightly. When I do back exercises and yoga it seems to worsen the sciatic nerve pain, but lessen the more lower central dish doing pain. What might be going on and what should I do?
I've never been to a chiropractor...should I go? Any recommendations for back doctors in the Seattle area?

Sleep positions or other ways to help a bad back during the night?

bross12 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:20:33 -0800

For the past few months, I've been experiencing a lot of back pain during sleep and when I wake up. I've tried many solutions - sleeping on top of a bunch of blankets (to make my firm mattress softer), sleeping with a pillow between my legs (helps a little but not much, it seems), putting a towel under my hips, sleeping on my back, sleeping on my stomach, sleeping on my side. In a nutshell, I'm losing it and really could use some help. Anyone with a super-sensitive back who has found a comfortable way to sleep??? I have scoliosis, so that's one thing to keep in mind. Also, if one of the strategies I mentioned above worked for you, pleae don't hesitate to mention it - maybe you tried it in a different way than I did! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

You're not supposed to get injured from yoga!

Eudaimonia — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:18:06 -0800

How do I nurse a wounded shoulder back to health? Sooo...I seem to have blown out my shoulder, in some way. I've been doing Ashtanga Yoga as my primary means of exercise (and have had a lot of success...I love it. A lot.), but we do many many chaturangas during class (around 50 or so). Chaturanga Dandasana is a push-up like move, where you start in plank pose and descend downward as you do in a push up, keeping your body in a straight line, but with you elbows in towards your body (instead of splaying out).

I've spoken to my yoga teachers countless times about form and modifications but I keep getting a LOT of pain in my back and shoulder blade, near the side and bottom edges of my shoulder blade (a brief perusal of wikipedia tells me its near the intersection of the bottom of my trapezius and infraspinatus muscles and the top of my lats).

I don't know if I've done any permanent damage (...yet) but I'd like to do whatever I can to heal/strengthen/prevent this from getting worse so that I can get back to my yoga asap. Any advice would be *much* appreciated!

Is sleeping on the floor medically approved?

KMH — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:16:45 -0800

Hard medical evidence about sleeping on a hard, flat surface? There's a good discussion of the anecdotal pros and cons of sleeping on the floor already, but I'd like to know if anyone can point me to something more scholarly / Government health department guidelines or anything vaguely authoritative?

lower back pain after lifting legs in the gym.

l2yangop — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:50:14 -0800

lower back pain after lifting legs in the gym. I lifted legs (squats, lunges, etc) about 2 weeks ago at the gym and ever since then I have been experiencing persistent lower back pain. it is not sharp, just constant. It gets worse when i bend sown or get up from sitting. I didnt notice anything at the time of my workout that i can point to, and perhaps its even just a coincidence. but i am wondering if need to see a doctor or will it eventually go away? i cant really afford to be seen.

also, do i need to quit working out all muscle groups for the time being or is upper body still ok?

My backpack is crushing my sciatic nerve

a robot made out of meat — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 15:01:42 -0800

My backpack is crushing my sciatic nerve. I'd like that to stop. After a long absence from doing such a thing, this summer I'm going on a long (10-12 days) trip up a fair amount of elevation. To get my legs back into shape, in addition to running up more inclination that I usually do, I've been taking a loaded (50 lbs or so) bag up as many stairs as I can. It seems like no matter how I start out adjusted, the bag after a while will slip down in the back so that much of the weight is pressing down into my lower back. This happens much faster when the bag is heavy. If I'm only using 30 lbs 80 flights of stairs is fine, but if I'm using 50 lbs it happens after two or three dozen flights, and with 60 lbs it will happen after ten.

Part of the problem is that I lost weight. I'm about 40-45lbs lighter than the last time I went on this kind of thing. I'm working on building back up the muscles, but the fat pad isn't coming back. I'm not eager to replace perfectly good gear, but I have the hip belt pretty much as tight as it can go. I never had problems like this before.

What can I do to stop the low riding in the back? Do I need to bite the bullet and buy a new refitted pack? Can I reasonably adjust this to work comfortably?

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

scaryblackdeath — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:26:51 -0800

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?

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. (or megapixels and HD Video?)

DrAlbin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:17:14 -0800

Buy the Canon 450Xsi or wait for the 500TSi? I have been on the ledge about to take the leap to DSLR from point and shoot. I have read previous posts for newbie’s, read the reviews, went to a store picked the associates brain for a half an hour, picked up and tried (as much as you can in a store) the different brands and models. I finally justified spending $700+ for a Canon 450xsi. This week was going to be the week. And what does Canon do to reward me for my future purchase? They announce a new version of the camera to be released "early May".

Would it be more beneficial to wait till "early May" for the Tsi (the extra $200 isn’t going to be an issue if it's worth it)? Or take the plunge and buy the Xsi (even though with the new release the XSi will probably drop in price in "early May")

Question is not so much "What should I do?" rather "What would you do?"

Video wouldn’t be a huge selling feature, I have a decent Vid cam, just not HD.

Acronis won't answer emails

Carbolic — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:47:51 -0800

I'm having a hell of a time with Acronis True Image Home 2009. My OS is VISTA. I have emailed Acronis twice with no response and have read through their support FAQ. I have a 1TB USB drive partitioned into two 500 MBs. The back up works perfectly on one partition but... I keep getting "failed to read sector X of hard disk 5" for multiple sectors on the second partition. I have run "Check local disk" in properties and checked both "Automatically fix file system errors" and "Scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors". I have run chkdsk X: /f and /r and told Acronis to ignore bad sectors (it doesn't). I've also gotten "File I/O error" and "Failed to read data from disk". Needless to say, it isn't backing up my data. If it matters the drive is NTFS.

Any suggestions??

Argh, my nucleus pulposus

boo_radley — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:42:10 -0800

How does a ruptured disk benefit from an epidural? I suffered a ruptured disc at the L5-S1 last week, and I've been talking to my doctors and a neurosurgeon about treatment options. I understand how surgery works, but how do non-surgical options repair the damage?

I know that steroids help by reducing swelling, but it seems like a short term treatment of the symptom, rather than addressing the real problem. If the disc is ruptured, though, how will steroids provide long-term benefit? It seems like the pulposus would essentially just be drawn back into the disc, but not addressing the rupture.

Ideas needed for back side of business cards

bleucube — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:12:31 -0800

What neat ideas could I print on the back of business card for a Technology Consulting company? My customers are small to medium business that have little or no onsite tech support. What neat ideas could I print on the back of business card for a Technology Consulting company? My customers are small to medium businesses that have little or no onsite tech support.

I started a new business and it's thriving through word of mouth. Hooray. I have the front of my business card all set, but need some ideas for something that will be useful on the back that potential customers might use regardless if they purchase my services. I like my cards to be functional.

Some examples:

* Subnet mask chart
* TCP/IP stack chart
* CAT wiring diagram
* Some sort of password encrypted chart so customers can write passwords down

shoulder blade/back/neck knots

figTree — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:44:08 -0800

what is going on with my shoulder blade and neck muscles? hello there! i have an odd pain that comes every year or two in my shoulder blade - im not sure if the best way to deal with it is accupunture, massage, chiropractics etc etc...

I was hoping to find someone with a similar experience. Here's my case:

Seemingly random sudden onset (within 10 minutes), not from anything strenuous - at least not that day. Perhaps it comes due to strenuous activities from a day or two before that my body is not used to.

Initially it starts sort of at the side of my spine (right across from the shoulder blade). This is the only time that my back is a bit hurting. Then within a few days, the pain totally migrates over to what seems to me like under my shoulder blade and stays there. Here on in my back is totally fine. It feels like the problem is in the muscles - im not sure if its just a really big knot? or if its more to do with nerves? (same thing?)

Its only really bad for a week or so, then its totally managable (can go skiing with it even). It doesnt seem to drastically get worse once it starts and usually takes 1 to 1 and a half months to totally get better. Also, at the same time, on the opposite side of my body, my side of the neck usually develops a similar pain a few weeks in. Pain perhaps isnt the best word, as it only hurts in certain positions that my neck is in (pertaining to both my neck and shoulder) and in that way constrains motion.

So a few things - first of all, what is this called/what is going on medically? and second of all, any particular therapies that people could recommend? Any preventions too?(particular stretches or something..?)

Thanks for any tips! i am almost completely better now (a month after initial onset), but now im more curious than anything as to any sort of things i could be doing, and if this is a common problem and how people deal with it.

thanks MF!

Quick camping trip a few hours from Savannah, GA?

apipameme — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:21:19 -0800

Camping spot near Savannah, GA that isn't populated by RVs? Looking to head out 2-3 hours north or south to find a primitive camp site with a group of 5 friends. Any suggestions? I know eastern Georgia isn't prime for camping, but we are looking for a place to camp that isn't crammed in with people. We're open to heading north, south, or east! Thanks for your advice.

Please help me get back in the saddle!

bunnycup — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:32:58 -0800

Where should I start - a chiropractor, a sports massage, an orthopedist, acupuncture or what? I recently started horseback riding again, and though I have NOT suffered a fall or other acute injury, I have had crippling pain in my upper back (between shoulder blades) for about 2 weeks. I have tried stretching and gentle yoga, soaking, heating pads, ibuprofen etc., resting the muscles - and none of it has helped. I really want to get back in the saddle sooner rather than later, because it is really helping me cope with a very difficult personal situation and has become my primary form of exercise.

I know there are a lot of directions to go, and I've gotten some conflicting advice about what to pursue first: a chiropractor, a sports massage, an orthopedist, acupuncture or a few other things. If anyone has some advice on which may be most likely to help, which should logically precede the others, which is not likely to help at all, or any other thoughts, I would be really grateful. If you want to accompany your advice with any recommendations for specific practitioners in the Bucks County, PA area, I would welcome that, though it is not the primary purpose of my question.

Assume cost is not really an issue (my insurance covers these things if referred by my PCP) and I have easy access to each type of practitioner. I am female in my 20s.

Once again back is the incredible / the rhyme animal / etc etc etc

Cantdosleepy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:14:21 -0800

Your favourite 'Back' and 'Return' songs. Music fans - hit me! Hi all,

A sibling is returning from a far-off place and I'm driving to the airport to collect. I need to make a badass mixtape full of returning songs.

Provisos:
*It's a sibling - so no romantic 'got you back so let's make love'-type songs.
*Cheese-wise we're talking power cheese or no cheese at all. The compelling stupidity of Backstreet's Back is a good choice. The over-every-college-movie-montage horror of The Boys are Back in Town is less okay. Back in the USSR and Get Back are great. Tangential stuff like Back from Fan Francisco by Magnetic Fields is good too.
* The sibling is not into the metal.
*The sibling will likely by hysterical with jet lag. Subtle cuts from a dubstep mixtape with 'back' in the title will likely go right over heads.

Thanks!

Which one is the hip pocket?

exceptinsects — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:20:34 -0800

Is the "hip pocket" the front pocket or the back pocket? My whole life, I thought the hip pocket was in back. But I just read something that seemed to imply that the hip pocket is in front.

My visual dictionary is no help in this case--it just calls them "front top pocket" and "back pocket".

Is it a regional thing, or is it like how I used to think "mausoleum" rhymed with "linoleum" because I never heard anyone say it?

Bend Over Beethoven

Christ, what an asshole — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:28:39 -0800

Hoping someone can help diagnose what my lower back pain is. A month ago, I was at the gym, doing lower back exercises, and I probably pushed myself a little too hard and didn't use the best form. I didn't feel any pain, and continued on to play some basketball. It's when I got home and got up from my car seat that I felt a slight twinge of discomfort. It's not chronic, and while subsiding in degree of discomfort over time, it only appears when I get up from a seat or am bending over too long. I gave myself a week before resuming activity (as well as when I didn't notice any more discomfort), and while working out is fine (I won't dare test my lower back in that respect), it's when I go running or play basketball that the discomfort is reaggravated. I decided to hold out on any cardio for a couple weeks, but this morning, it came back after an hour of basketball.

What I'm trying to figure out is whether it's a muscle, tendon, or ligament, and how I can best go about rehabilitating it.

The focus of the pain sits distinctly above the iliac crests. Along with when I'm bent over, I can feel the pain when I massage the area.

I'll be taking care of further cardio by using a stationary bike and taking as much stress off the lower back as I can, but the freedom of mobility is paramount to my sanity. Any prospective ideas?

/uninsured

yikes! a life of crime is starting to sound like an option

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:53:47 -0800

I need ideas and inspirational stories on finding a new way to make a living. I used to work in computer programming, but I hurt my back and can no longer sit for very long (up to 45 minutes at a time, and altogether no more than 3-4 hours a day) or do anything that strains my back (no heavy lifting or bending). My neck was also hurt, and I cannot hold my head bent forward and frequently use a neck brace. The long hours of a programming job are out of the question and I need new ideas on how to earn a living.

So far nothing I have come up with is enough to pay the bills. Not many people need a part-time programmer and the pay is low. I did some part time writing and editing but I had problems sitting and the pay was too low. I tried a part time job at a library, but couldn't do the bending involved with putting books back. I love research and have thought of returning to academia, but even if I found a way to finance and sit it out, I no longer feel connected to the field I studied years ago.

I'm 39 years old and a woman (though don't be gender based with ideas. I have no problem doing a "guy's job"). I'm an introverted analytical thinker who loves problem solving.

Any idea that comes to mind is welcome, including ideas totally unrelated to anything I've done. I'd love to hear stories about people who found a new way to make a living. Anything that can spark an idea or hope would be great.

throwaway email account: badback.towork@gmail.com