Your lower back is hurting. Hurting badly. Perhaps one of these scenarios is all too relatable:
- You’re relegated to the couch for a few days while your partner does everything for you
- Your friends tell you that you’re a little bent over or crooked even when you think you’re standing up straight
- You can barely get on and off the toilet
- You drop a spoon on the floor and know that there is physically no way that you will ever be able to pick it up.
If these sound familiar, turns out you threw out your back. That’s OK, these things happen! Take a breath and take comfort in knowing that things will get back to normal. It might take a few days or even a few months, but you’ll get there. I’m here to share with you some advice on how to get there as soon as possible.
To be clear, ‘throwing out your back’ isn’t a medical term and isn’t even a specific injury – it can be caused by a variety of underlying medical diagnoses. At some point you should seek a proper diagnosis and more involved treatment options, but for now you just need to sit tight until you get over the hump.
Cancel your day, call a friend or family member to help out if possible. Get to a comfortable spot and relax as soon as possible. Load up this blog post on your tablet and remember the golden rule:
You have to Break The Cycle!
When you throw your back out there is swelling, inflammation and possibly torn tissues. On its own, this is bad enough, but the body’s response to those changes can be even worse. It will clamp down certain joints and hold on for dear life. Often it will do this in a lopsided manner giving you that crooked stance. This high tone will limit the space for the nerves, arteries and veins which causes increased swelling and nerve irritation. The irritated nerves then tell the muscles to clamp down harder which limits the nerve more, which tells the muscles to clamp down harder…This is “The Cycle” I mentioned above. This is why sometimes a small tweak to the back one afternoon can feel worse the following morning.
But, how do we Break the Cycle?
1. Medications and Supplements
It wouldn’t hurt to use some over the counter medications and supplements. These range from magnesium and curcumin on the more natural side to Ibuprofen and muscle relaxants for the real doozies.
2. Ice or Heat?
I find this to be very individual. Just go with whichever makes you feel the slightest bit better.
3. Stretches, Postures and Movement
This is the heart of the blog post and where I will add the Osteopathic perspective. Remember the golden rule? We have to break the cycle. This involves tricking those clamped down muscles deep in your spine to let go. In Osteopathy, we do this by slowly giving the muscles a little of what they want. The best analogy is the Chinese finger trap: the harder you pull your fingers apart the stronger the trap clamps down. The solution is to push the trap together to loosen the bind. Those deep muscles in your spine are holding on tight to avoid whatever caused the original injury. The more you stretch those muscles, the more they hold on even tighter. We have to give those muscles a little of what they want in order to convince them their job is no longer needed. In broad strokes, this means positioning your body in a way that supports the spine without the use of the spinal muscles.
Try the following three postures at home to find some relief. It’s important to move in and out of these postures slowly. The goal is to settle into a position that is less painful and wait for at least 90 seconds. If for any reason these postures irritate you, try the next one. The key is to find one that brings relief and be in that feeling of relief for as long as it lasts.
Posture #1
Lay flat on your back with your knees up and legs fully supported on the couch. Use a yoga mat if the floor isn’t carpeted. Use a pillow to support the head. Let the weight of your legs fully go. If needed, put pillows under your knees or beside your hips. Stay here for up to 20 minutes, breathe and relax.
Posture #2
On the carpet or yoga mat, pile up some pillow or cushions in a pyramid shape. Slowly lay on top of them so that the peak of the pyramid lands across your hip bones. Let gravity spread you apart as you breathe slowly and relax. It takes time to convince your body to let go. Give it at least 90 seconds, but you can stay here for up to 20 minutes.
Posture #3
Lay on your side with knees bent and stacked. Prop yourself up on one elbow. Place the other hand behind your head. Slowly turn your chest facing down. Breathe and relax. Experiment with this posture on both sides and only continue the side which brings the most relief. This is the most complex of the three postures and has the highest likelihood to be irritating. But I believe it to be the most effective if you can master it. Remember to move slowly and in the direction of most relief. Breathe, relax and hold for 90 seconds to 3 minutes.
Remember, you will get through this! Take the time doing these simple exercises and you will slowly and steadily get better… relaxation is the best way to break the cycle!
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