Ask Doctor LJ: Back pain

[nathanjw]

Somewhere in August, either while packing for the move or while moving, I hurt my back. I probably lifted something badly. I don't remember noticing it happening at the time; I was probably too busy. After the dust of moving had settled, though, I started noticing this ache on one side, fairly localized. It doesn't spasm, and it's not really at the level of preventing me from doing specific motions - though I have refrained from going to the gym, out of fear of making it worse.

A month or so later and it's not really better. The ache comes and goes, reappearing more if I do much (any) lifting or even just standing/bending for a while (like cooking in the kitchen). Sometimes it's present in the morning when I wake up, too. I still haven't found specific acts that make it hurt right at the moment; it's always something I notice a bit later. OTC painkillers have a mild effect, but Advil does not seem like it should be the breakfast of champions.

I'd sort of like to know what I did to myself. But the real question is this: is it worth seeing a doctor about it? I suspect that going to a doctor will yield no more diagnosis than I have now and some directions to not overdo it and wait, which I'm already trying to do. I also suspect that if I call now, I will get an appointment some time next March, which doesn't exactly inspire me to hit the phones (Darkly, I also suspect this is my body telling me "Welcome to your 30s", and that it's a lifetime of chronic pain from here on in).

What say you, unprofessional back-pain specialists of the Internet?

Comments

[awfief.livejournal.com]

This question is akin to "What should I do to lose weight?" Different strokes for different folks.

If you have a doctor to whom you can say "I've had this back pain, it's not going away, I don't want to be on painkillers all my life" and think that doctor can help you, so be it.

Everything depends on how good the person you seek help from is, combined with how readily you follow their advice, combined with how readily you can communicate with each other. Given that you're a pretty together kinda guy, I would say what you really need is a clear diagnosis and understanding of what you need to do. Ie, is it muscle strain? Sprain? do you need to strengthen it or leave it alone?

That being said, things people swear by, and how it might help you:

Physical therapy -- basically the right kind of exercise. Stretches, crunches to strengthen the other site, whatever.

Yoga -- see Physical Therapy. ;) Also, yoga can relieve stress, which your body may be storing in the form of "well, this part's already in a knot, let's just add more!"

Chiropractor -- One or more of massage, realignment, heating pads, etc. They might also give you exercises to do at home.

Massage -- Stress reliever, plus might actually help the problem. Might hurt it too, hence the comment that you want to know what's up.

Acupuncture -- don't know why it works, but it seems to for many.

Reiki -- ditto.

So I would pick something on the list, pay attention to what part of that makes your back seem better or worse (and what terms they are -- PT may hurt more immediately but the next day or 2 feel better). If it's not working, try something else.

Given your scientific mind and reasoning abilities, I'd suggest starting with PT. They'll be able to show you pictures of muscles, explain what they believe is wrong, and explain why they believe their suggestion(s) will help. If it's not helping in the way(s) they say....

[nathanjw]

Yeah, I'm still in an information-collecting phase. I have no doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, masseuses, or other that I have a relationship with - even my PCP is someone I've seen for a total of ten minutes in the past six years, and those ten when I wasn't having any problems. So anyone I go to is going to be an unknown quantity in terms of my trust in their ability to help.

PT does seem to be the growing consensus here, so I think I should start the wheels of the insurance-industrial complex moving in that direction.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you can usually get your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist but sometimes you have to suggest it to them.

I'm another on the physical therapist bandwagon.