You know, you reach down to close the cupboard, and Whamo. Shooting pain, inability to stand straight up without holding on to something. What is happening?
In: Biology
Easier when you’re older because people stop working the supportive muscles in core area. Important to keep those muscles working, so get thyself to the gym before back problems start!
Pressure from a weakening disc is causing a bulge which is pushing on the nerve root. As we age, natural disc desiccation occurs. These are commonly referred to as slipped discs, although they have not actually slipped.
From my experience, the vertebrae in your spine slide or move from deteriorating cartilage between them. This can cause inflammation or the vertebrae itself to irritate a nerve (usually sciatic) that causes immobility and flashes of pain that make it nearly impossible to move.
That’s what has always happened to me, but I’d be interested in hearing if other people have a different experience. Some require surgery, but although mine has been chronic for over 20 years (I’m now 38), it has been vastly corrected with foot surgery, orthotics, and breast reduction. Yoga and core strengthening has also helped.
Talk to your doctor.
IME with my bad back, which was from an injury when I was younger, it was due to weak core muscles. It sounds counterintuitive but I started doing Bar Bell Squats and deadlifts of decent (but not excessive) weight and with proper form and haven’t had any issues since going on 2 years now. Also erging (rowing) with proper form helps too.
“Throwing your back out” often refers to busting a disc. What we learned in physical therapy school is that your discs contain a jelly like substance that causes pain when it extrudes. It’s uncommon to bust one as a young person because the connective tissue that holds the jelly in is healthy and does not have wear and tear that can lead to larger rips. It’s also uncommon to bust a disc as an older (like over 70s) person because aging dries the jelly out so it doesn’t get squished around as easy. But ages 30ish-60ish are prime disc busting years, because cumulative damage in the outer layers has occurred, but the inner layers are still squishy and prone to protruding.
I’m not a doctor.
What you’re describing sounds like sciatica or other temporary swelling which is putting pressure on the nerves of the spine.
The short answer is that one or more discs which act like shock absorbers have shifted, putting pressure on the spine and the strong, shocking pain is your body’s way of getting you to stop moving so it can heal.
The spinal cord is built of different vertebrae or segments and discs between them which act as shock absorbers so you don’t have bone grinding on bone as you bend. If you put too much force on these discs, they can slip and depending on how they slip and how much, they can put pressure on the spine. Like any other injury, there is some swelling involved, which helps immobilize the segment so it can heal, but it also puts pressure on the nerves causing the pain.
A common kind of injury like this is called sciatica, it’s a ‘pinched nerve’ in the lower back which sends pain radiating down one or both legs especially when lifting the leg up or bending the back.
Another common point is between the shoulder blades and this is the one you more commonly get when closing a cabinet door, drying your back off after a shower, etc.
Bad posture, poor physical activity, a poorly designed chair or mattress can all make it easier for these injuries to occur.
They are seldom serious, just painful and anti inflammatories like Naproxen, Ibuprofen, can help with the pain by reducing the swelling.
Regular stretching and moderate exercise helps the muscles of the back support your weight more evenly and help provide support to the spine to make pinched nerves / slipped discs / sciatica less common.
This isn’t medical advice, if you have concerns you should talk about them with a doctor.
Question: what medication have you found that helps? I can’t always work out or stretch at work and I take a combo of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to make it bearable until my shift is over. I’m not sure if the drugs are actually fixing the inflammation or just masking it.
A lot of people are just pulling/straining a muscle when this happens too, like the multifidus. Same phenomenon causes it as causes disc herniation and some other disc issues. Basically there’s a muscle weakness (at least relative to the load applied), and if you lean or twist just a bit too far, you overdo it and have a pull. That one is easier when you’re older largely due to immobility–kids roll around and are generally limber, while over 50 you tend not to contort yourself regularly.
Latest Answers