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

[ghudson.livejournal.com]

I also hurt my back while lifting something (I was helping someone move, and I lifted a box containing a TV out of a car trunk, which is a tough lift to do with one's legs), and have had lower back problems ever since.

My mother sent me a book about exercises for back pain, which I can't find or precisely name at the moment, unfortunately. It said that there are many, many different causes of back pain, some of which are nigh impossible to diagnose, and no form of care can be relied on to work, but that exercises to strength relevant muscle groups can help in many cases. Based on the book, I picked out a set of exercises which I do daily, and I make an effort to walk more often. It keeps the problem to a manageable level--which is to say, my back is often stiff, particularly in the mornings or after an extended walk, and I have to be careful about the kind of chair I sit in or I might have trouble standing up, but I feel fine while I'm sitting, I'm pretty much always capable of walking around, and I rarely have distracting levels of pain.

My doctor also gave me a pamphlet recommending some exercises, so that approach seems to have some validity. "Amateur physical therapy," I guess you could call it.

The best kind of seating for me is a folded-up futon in a frame: not too soft or too firm, high back angled slightly off of vertical, seat angled a little downwards as it goes from front to back. (Imagine an L rotated counterclockwise about ten degrees.)