Injured while grocery shopping? I've got to start working out.
July 8, 2010 6:24 AM Subscribe
A week ago I tweaked my back, but the pain isn't going away, and I can't seem to find a stretch that will make the muscle feel better.
Last week, I went through the grocery store self-checkout, and while I was moving items from my cart to the belt, my back spasmed on my left side, right underneath my rib. At the time, even breathing hurt. It felt like a charlie horse in my back.
I used heat and ibuprofen when I got home, but a week later, I'm still feeling stiffness and sort of fluttering, twitchy pain. When I try to stretch, I don't feel like I'm stretching the muscles that are hurting. The pain isn't bad--I'd say a 2 or 3--but it's waking me up at night. If I felt like it was going away, I'd be less concerned. I did stop taking ibuprofen after a couple of days: it didn't feel like it was helping, and I try not to take that very often.
I'm between health insurance at the moment, so I'm a few weeks from being able to see a doctor (although I don't really think this needs a doctor).
Are there stretches to target this area? I'm 34 and not a regular exerciser. Do I just need to wait for this to heal? It will heal, right? Sneezing won't always hurt this much?
Last week, I went through the grocery store self-checkout, and while I was moving items from my cart to the belt, my back spasmed on my left side, right underneath my rib. At the time, even breathing hurt. It felt like a charlie horse in my back.
I used heat and ibuprofen when I got home, but a week later, I'm still feeling stiffness and sort of fluttering, twitchy pain. When I try to stretch, I don't feel like I'm stretching the muscles that are hurting. The pain isn't bad--I'd say a 2 or 3--but it's waking me up at night. If I felt like it was going away, I'd be less concerned. I did stop taking ibuprofen after a couple of days: it didn't feel like it was helping, and I try not to take that very often.
I'm between health insurance at the moment, so I'm a few weeks from being able to see a doctor (although I don't really think this needs a doctor).
Are there stretches to target this area? I'm 34 and not a regular exerciser. Do I just need to wait for this to heal? It will heal, right? Sneezing won't always hurt this much?
I am also in no way a medical professional of any other kind.
Just to be on the safe side!
posted by mukade at 6:39 AM on July 8, 2010
Just to be on the safe side!
posted by mukade at 6:39 AM on July 8, 2010
This sounds like the sort of thing physical therapy is meant for. I know you're between insurance, but you would really, really benefit from getting a referral to a good physical therapist--the initial doctor's visit will run you $50, and physical therapy sessions won't be much more than that. My insurance declined to cover extra sessions, so I'm out-of-pocket for weekly sessions, at about $60 a pop. Best money I've ever spent. If the pain is somewhere where it's something potentially more serious than a muscle strain, the doc will point you at treatment options that will prevent complications (even if you hold off on starting them for a few weeks), and if not, PT is like magic for back injuries--this is their bread-and-butter, and most of the improvement you'll get from it will be from exercises they give you for home, based on your exact problem.
posted by Mayor West at 6:53 AM on July 8, 2010
posted by Mayor West at 6:53 AM on July 8, 2010
Best answer: Sorry, but the best thing is to check it with a doctor -- I had something similar happen last summer (overdid it on yardwork). The doctor made me stand and do a lot of poses and stretching positions to figure out that it's not a slipped/torn disk or broken bone or something more serious. She identified it as an overstretched muscle that was trying to heal, but I kept using it, so it kept zapping me with pain to tell me to stop moving (continuing to stretch would only further aggravate it). She gave me two prescriptions -- a muscle relaxant, and something else 'to help it heal' -- and after a week it felt like a million dollars, no physical therapy or anything. She did said it would have healed on its own eventually, if I were to take it easy and stop making the muscle do work, but IMHO a month of pain isn't nearly worth it.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:24 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:24 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You definitely need to see a doctor as soon as you are able.
I experienced a similar "tweek" of my back last year. I tried stretching and heat and whatnot, but the discomfort wouldn't go away. Then, about 3 months later, the discomfort suddenly escalated to actual pain. Then, it exploded into OMFG-i-CAN'T-LIVE-LIKE-THIS!!!. Turned out I had blown out a disc in my mid-back and I was having surgery. The pain I was experiencing radiated around my mid section, along the ribcage, and not down the leg, as is more common. Get this looked at.
As an aside...Once you get insurance and access to a doctor, and if you can stand it, I'd suggest you wait a month or so before you see the doc. And, then, tell him the pain started sometime in the period after you got insurance coverage. Otherwise, the insurer could very possibly deny any necessary procedures (including surgery) if there is a record showing the injury occurred before coverage was in effect. Dealing with insurance can make you pretty paranoid that way.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I experienced a similar "tweek" of my back last year. I tried stretching and heat and whatnot, but the discomfort wouldn't go away. Then, about 3 months later, the discomfort suddenly escalated to actual pain. Then, it exploded into OMFG-i-CAN'T-LIVE-LIKE-THIS!!!. Turned out I had blown out a disc in my mid-back and I was having surgery. The pain I was experiencing radiated around my mid section, along the ribcage, and not down the leg, as is more common. Get this looked at.
As an aside...Once you get insurance and access to a doctor, and if you can stand it, I'd suggest you wait a month or so before you see the doc. And, then, tell him the pain started sometime in the period after you got insurance coverage. Otherwise, the insurer could very possibly deny any necessary procedures (including surgery) if there is a record showing the injury occurred before coverage was in effect. Dealing with insurance can make you pretty paranoid that way.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: See a doctor or at least a physical therapist, chiropractor, or anyone with enough knowledge to help identify and isolate exactly what is wrong. A few months back, a buddy of mine, super fit, tore a muscle in his back lifting a 5 lbs bag- because he was dehydrated (flight to asia, no water, etc.).
When you do figure out what is wrong, stretching it may not be the answer. Assuming it's muscle and not a disc issue- if it's locked up, you might need bodywork or in severe cases muscle relaxants, and, it might just need to be left alone in "neutral" position for a while before you try to train it to stretch out.
Longer term from that, you'll need to strengthen it and it's stabilizing muscles. And probably learn some good body mechanics on top of that. You know how they say, lift with your knees, not your back? Biomechanically, backs don't like to twist AND bend simultaneously, while bearing weight. Which is how a lot of people pull or strain something.
See a professional, figure out what you need, and consider "treatment" to be something that might take months or years, even after it stops hurting, if you never want to have it again.
posted by yeloson at 8:04 AM on July 8, 2010
When you do figure out what is wrong, stretching it may not be the answer. Assuming it's muscle and not a disc issue- if it's locked up, you might need bodywork or in severe cases muscle relaxants, and, it might just need to be left alone in "neutral" position for a while before you try to train it to stretch out.
Longer term from that, you'll need to strengthen it and it's stabilizing muscles. And probably learn some good body mechanics on top of that. You know how they say, lift with your knees, not your back? Biomechanically, backs don't like to twist AND bend simultaneously, while bearing weight. Which is how a lot of people pull or strain something.
See a professional, figure out what you need, and consider "treatment" to be something that might take months or years, even after it stops hurting, if you never want to have it again.
posted by yeloson at 8:04 AM on July 8, 2010
Best answer: As a note for the future, in general when you have back muscle spasms, cold should be applied rather than hot. But yes, definitely go see a doctor about this to make sure it's not something more serious. When my back "goes out" with spasms, I will be in pain forever or until I take a muscle relaxer.
posted by Kimberly at 10:59 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kimberly at 10:59 AM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Something to try before seeing a doctor would be a professional massage. I had back pain for about 2 months after i twisted myself shoveling snow, and I went and got a massage and it went away. for the record, I wasn't even expecting the massage to do anything for my back muscle pain, i just happened to get a gift certificate for a swedish massage.
posted by WeekendJen at 12:28 PM on July 8, 2010
posted by WeekendJen at 12:28 PM on July 8, 2010
Since no one's been able to tell you about stretches yet, here's why I usually do. Get a pretty detailed anatomy picture of the muscles in the area, like this, take some guesses at which muscle is bothering you, and then google "stretches for _________ (mucscle x)".
posted by kitcat at 12:40 PM on July 8, 2010
posted by kitcat at 12:40 PM on July 8, 2010
It could be that what you have are muscle spasms caused by a pinched nerve.
In this case what you want to do is treat the swelling where the nerve is being pinched with an anti-inflammatory, and not exercise or stretch the muscle at all which will only make the spasms worse (it seems that the spasms further irritate where the nerve is being pinched which leads to a vicious feedback cycle). That is why a common treatment is muscle relaxants and bed rest inactivity.
Sometimes spinal stretching (because the nerve is being pinched somewhere in the spine) is recommended which can consist of grabbing something like a chin-up bar or door lintel and suspending your full weight from it.
This is the standard pinched nerve treatment though you really need to see a doctor to determine if you have a pinched nerve.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:59 PM on July 8, 2010
In this case what you want to do is treat the swelling where the nerve is being pinched with an anti-inflammatory, and not exercise or stretch the muscle at all which will only make the spasms worse (it seems that the spasms further irritate where the nerve is being pinched which leads to a vicious feedback cycle). That is why a common treatment is muscle relaxants and bed rest inactivity.
Sometimes spinal stretching (because the nerve is being pinched somewhere in the spine) is recommended which can consist of grabbing something like a chin-up bar or door lintel and suspending your full weight from it.
This is the standard pinched nerve treatment though you really need to see a doctor to determine if you have a pinched nerve.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:59 PM on July 8, 2010
IANAD but I've had occasional problems with muscle spasms and have always carried a very high deductible on my health insurance so I have experience seeking treatment for this problem on a cash-out-of-pocket budget.
My first approach is usually to see a massage therapist. Call around and you can probably find something in the $50-$100 range, or much cheaper if there's a massage school in your area.
If it doesn't go away within a day or so after a massage, my second approach is to go to a cheap walk-in clinic (again, call around and you can probably find something in the $50-$100 range) and get a prescription for a cheap generic muscle relaxer. Drugs and a couple days flat on my back have always resolved any lingering spasms.
Since it's off to one side and not right adjacent to your spine it doesn't sound like something a chiropractor would be much help for. (Again, IANAD.)
posted by Jacqueline at 4:58 AM on July 9, 2010
My first approach is usually to see a massage therapist. Call around and you can probably find something in the $50-$100 range, or much cheaper if there's a massage school in your area.
If it doesn't go away within a day or so after a massage, my second approach is to go to a cheap walk-in clinic (again, call around and you can probably find something in the $50-$100 range) and get a prescription for a cheap generic muscle relaxer. Drugs and a couple days flat on my back have always resolved any lingering spasms.
Since it's off to one side and not right adjacent to your spine it doesn't sound like something a chiropractor would be much help for. (Again, IANAD.)
posted by Jacqueline at 4:58 AM on July 9, 2010
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It sounds a lot like a trigger point. I got these a lot in my back. Assuming it is one, if you can relieve it first using pressure (lie on a tennis ball / get a SO to push on it / DIY etc.).
If this works (ha!) apply heat for a bit and then try to stretch. Based on your description, I would sit on the floor with my legs out in front and try to touch my toes. A variation of this is to sit with your legs apart as far as they can goand touch your left hand to your right foot and vice versa.
posted by mukade at 6:38 AM on July 8, 2010