I know it’s a joke " oh haha you’re 30, everything hurts now cuz you’re so old!" But really, is something wrong with me or are backs just this stupid? Not overweight. Decently active although I don’t exersize every single day. No genetic issues, doctor always says im in perfect health. But my lower back will randomly act up, sometimes it gets so bad that I about black out from the pain. Thats pretty rare though, usually it’s just an ache all day when I move or try to put my socks on. Its not sciatica, as I never feel numbness or pain in my legs. Mild weakness maybe if it hurts really bad.
I feel like any doctor is just going to say welp, you’re old it happens, or tell me I need 3.5 million dollar spinal surgery.
I am 29, and I only once (and many years ago) had severe back pain for like half day.
Such pain is not normal. I used to get backpack every month or so. To a level that I could not move anymore. Posture is very important. I now walk like some bodybuilder who is compensating for his small penis and it has done wonders for my back. Also it has lowered expectations about my penis, so women are always pleasantly surprised now.
I’ve had slight scoliosis all my life due to being very tall and having multiple growth spurts in my teens. That has bothered me in the mornings pretty much since I was 16. Last year, I started getting increased pain around my pelvis which eventually got diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, associated with another diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. I’m 32 now and doing physiotherapy in order to keep flexible, the exercises seem to be a subset of pilates, also been prescribed dicofenac which is like a stronger version of ibuprofen which works well.
Blacking out from pain doesn’t sound normal. I’ve got a degenerative disease diagnosis and have never blacked out - although I have had days where I’ve struggled to move.
Blacking out from back pain is not normal, though a little back pain is, since most jobs of the century are done on a computer, you should be worried.
No. Chronic back pain is not normal. Acute back pain so bad you pass out also not normal.
Occasional back pain, I think is normal - over my more than half a century I’ve thrown my back out about 4 times and it hurt for a few days each time. Then went away. That seems more normal.
Once doctor rules out kidney, cancer, and spinal issues, see a physiotherapist. Before anyone says chiropractic, it’s a scam.
Chiropractors and acupuncturists are grifters
So many people think chiros are legit… it’s fucking infuriating that shit is still around.
They have chiropractors for horses…yes a massive animal that’s stupid muscular and stands 95% of its life. People are duped into thinking a 200lb or less human can “adjust” it’s body…
It also annoys me that my insurance groups chiro together with physio so people might think that they’re alternatives to each other. I had a colleague who said “physio just gives you exercises/homework while chiro fixes you on the spot”
I also have issues with the fact that major pharmacy brands like Walgreens and CVS put homeopathic remedies right alongside real meds. Make sure to actually read the labels on medicines, because lots of them are pure placebo. Zicam is an extremely popular cold medicine that claims to shorten the duration of a cold or the flu by like 50%, and it is completely homeopathic. There are lots of homeopathic labels scattered throughout the pharmacy, so checking the labels is extremely important.
If you ever see something on the ingredients label like “{ingredient} X6” then that means that ingredient has been diluted 6 times. Homeopaths claim that more dilution makes the med stronger, like how fresh water is better able to dilute salt water. But many are so diluted that there likely isn’t any of the medication remaining.
Sounds like you have abnormal issues. Guessing you have some issues with your discs.
After checking for physical health issues, ergonomics, stress, posture, etc, take a look at better shoes. If you ever feel like your heels often hit the ground hard when you walk, and especially if you more often feel pain after having carried something heavy, the impact on your spine might be bigger than you think even if you don’t feel it at that moment. Better shoes (and posture, etc) reduces the impact significantly.
This video helped me a lot.
Basically your lower back near the spine doesn’t get a ton of blood to heal itself. I’ve been doing back bends once or twice a week and my low back pain went away after about 6 months.
You’re confusing “normal” with “common”. Pain is never normal.
What definition of normal are you using, then? I mean, OP’s thing definitely is neither, but lots of things can trigger pain, even chronically.
Well, I mean I guess after a long day or working really hard it can get a little achey and-
But my lower back will randomly act up, sometimes it gets so bad that I about black out from the pain.
No. Holy shit, no. Not normal at all. Go see a doctor ASAP. If you’re ever in debilitating pain for no obvious reason, that is a colossal flashing “go see a doctor now” sign.
That ain’t normal nor common, if you can go see a doctor. Passing out from pain is definitely not a regular situation.
I had chronic, persistent back pain in my twenties. Less severe back pain in my thirties. The first, I linked to job stress. I took a three week vacation and came back and noticed my back tensing up from stress in the first fifteen minutes that I was at work. The second, I link to ergonomics. Once I got an adjustable desk (for occasional standing) and combined that with my wonderful Aeron chair, my back pain ended. The adjustable desk that I loved at my old job wasn’t as useful as I’d suspected: I just had a shitty chair at work.
I don’t think persistent pain is normal (I’m in my forties with no pain). You should try seeing a doctor for a pass over to physical therapy. Caution: I thought working through pain in a workout was a positive and fucked myself up worse in PT. Tell your trainer if you’re hurting when working with them. Also, they may not be able to help you identify environmental factors that they can’t observe. No one knew that my job was causing tension but me. No one knew that my chair was hurting me but me (and only after the fact!). It might take a lot of introspection to locate external factors causing your pain.
Stretching can help a good amount. I can touch my toes because I used to stretch so much to lessen back pain. Do research to make sure you aren’t using improper technique that will cause problems (like asking a PT person). I hope you have good insurance and can go that route. Good luck!
You may have herniated discs. It’s not super common at 30 but it’s definitely not uncommon. It’s more common the older you get but many young people get these. Depends on genetics and activity. You should go to a neurologist or orthopedist and tell them what’s happening.
OP, it sounds like a herniated disc to me. Especially when you said “put on socks” (it’s worse in the morning, and forward bends are bad?)
When things get bad (or anytime), go lie on your stomach, and if you can, push yourself up into “cobra” pose. If that helps, you almost certainly have a herniated disc. And that pose kind of un-herniates it.
You need an mri to officially diagnose it. Might find one for under $300.
Learn Stuart McGill’s big three, the McKenzie press up (mentioned above), take more walks, and maybe get an inversion machine.
Tall desk jockey, heavy walker. Not trying to diagnose, but I learned from experience that weak abdominal activation caused over compensation in the lower back to an extreme degree. Went from zero back pain, to plenty during covid, back to relatively little. Yoga, walking and lifting to improve core strength helped. Could it be something like that?
