And it's the second worst pain I've experienced - kidney stones easily beat this.

Went to lift something that was 5lbs today and felt something funny in my back. This was then followed by loss of the ability to straighten my back. Been laying on the couch since this happened (happened at about 4pm today) and it's not gotten any better. Anyone got any tips or tricks to help this along? Ibuprofen takes the edge off, but not enough to motivate me to get off the couch.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

prednisone is your only friend.

Seriously, see a good doctor sooner rather than later, untreated injury and subsequent inflammation can result in long term damage.

To be perfectly honest you very well might be thinking twice whenever you bend your back the rest of your life, it can be that bad. You can feel that little weirdness and you will be signaled with sharp pain each time you bend and lift at the wrong placement. My experience is no matter how good you can recover it's never like it was.

I have a bulged disc, but it seldom causes me pain now. I am careful how I bend and lift and keep myself fairly fit. The swimming seems to help the most.

When it first hit me I was about 29 and it was very very bad like yours is. I recommend seeing a doc soon too.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

you can take up too 3000mg ibuphorpen a day.take 900mg every 8 hours,and two 500mg tyenols every 6 hours for pain.No more than 6 tyenols a day.You can buy predisone from online pharmacy. take 40mg the first day spread out reduce by 5 mg each day. I use both for my spine.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

do eat,and if possible chew 3 tablets of tums.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

I did mine to the point of requiring surgery, according to two doctors...one bulging and one herniated. L4-L5 herniated, and L3-L4 bulging. They claimed barely a 50/50 chance of being normal after surgery. This was in 1999, and my wife had just had our 3rd child. The risk of raising him like that was too great. Between a chiropractor and acupuncturist, and 4 months flat on my back, I was able to work through it and return back to work. I'm still plagued with back pain and sciatica, but can walk instead of needing a wheelchair. The good thing from my treatment...I have been able to raise my kids upright.

The last MRI of my back shows that I'll likely have to be fused within the next year or two. The damage is still there, but not hurting as bad as it was. The MRI showed the degenerative back disease has increased over the last two years.

My advice to a younger person with back issues is to get to a doctor ASAP, and practice not only safe lifting, but practice the strengthening techniques the doctors suggest. I see prednisone and a physical therapist in your near future, as well as 800mg tablets of Ibuprofen or something stronger.

Don't screw around with this...your spine is what holds your body up.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

naraproxen sodium (alieve) may work better,3 pills a day,but take two vegetable stool softners,and tums withem.They will consipate.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

You're correct Tom. See a doc soon. It's my general impression that docs don't like to do surgery on young males, certainly not a fusion.

Iwrock, are you having any pain radiating down your legs? Or is just in your back? If so, you probably have a herniated or bulging disc. Go see a doc & get some meds to calm it down. They hand pain pills out like candy these days.
I had a pinched nerve in my cervical spine and a "six-pack" of steroids (stuff you take over a period of six days in decreasing strength) calmed it down nicely. My lumbar spine issues were related to stenosis. The fix there was a laminectomy of L3 & L4 - basically they cut the back of your vertebrae out to give spinal cord " room" to maneuver freely.
Good luck. Back pain, as you know, is misery.

I agree with the others. See a doc asap. Short term use a heating pad and lay on it. It will do wonders to relax and relieve pain.

Once you have recovered, look into doing core strengthening exercises and learn to use correct posture. For a person with a bad back posture makes a huge difference and will reduce the frequency of re-injury.

About 80% of men have back problems sooner or later. Welcome to the club....

__________________
Toyota is a leader only because their drivers block everyone behind them. Oh what a feeling.

Modern medicine has nothing for back problems. Last time I slipped a disc I spent a few minutes on an inversion table. It was sore for the rest of the day but fine the following day and no problems since.

__________________

90 300TE 4-M
Turbo 103, T3/T04E 50 trim
T04B cover .60 AR
Stage 3 turbine .63 AR
A2W I/C, 40 LB/HR
MS2E, 60-2 Direct Coil Control
3" Exh, AEM W/B O2
Underdrive Alt. and P/S Pulleys,
Vented Rear Discs, .034 Booster.
3.07 diffs 1st Gear Start

90 300CE 104.980
Milled & ported head, 10.3:1 compression
197° intake cam w/20° advancer
Tuned CIS ECU
4° ignition advance
PCS TCM2000, built 722.6
600W networked suction fan
Sportline sway bars
V8 rear subframe, Quaife ATB 3.06 diff

As everyone said, see a good doc ASAP. Been battling back issues for decades and putting off multiple fusions. Not sure how old you are, but these are common "aging issues" for many folks or the results of injuries (or both). DDD is a mystery to the medical community. Personally, I went back on the wagon with diet and supplements and so far things have improved to the point where I can put off fusion again (LAST RESORT IMO). Hit CL and buy an inversion table as that helps with decompressing the discs.

I've had many back issues over the years. In the last 8 years or so, I have a found a chiropractor to be the best solution. My PCP recommended his chiropractor. Once I was only able to get to his office on crutches but I walked out fine.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Howdy Justin,
See a doc. Then get a teeter hang-up and an exercise wheel.

__________________
Frank X. Morris
17 Kia Niro
08 Jeep Wrangler 4 door unlimited

I got help during a back pain crisis from a chiropractor about 15 years ago. Saw him regular for about a year then stopped. It hasn't come back except in milder flareups now and then.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I have had back trouble since I was 35; that is 43 years. It is ruptured or bugling disc. Several doctors have suggested surgery, but I have always dealt with it conservatively -- meaning pain killers, massages, exercises, and just going to a swimming pool to wade in water that is about to my shoulders. Generally, the pain lasts from one to three months and then goes away for perhaps several years.

The last two times I've had pain, my doctor prescribed what is known as a 5-4-3-2-1 medication. It is a steroid which somehow reduces the swelling in the disc. It is very cheap (about $10) but very good. My insurance would allow much more expensive prescriptions. It has been effective both times I have used it. The pain pretty much went away within a week. Aleve has also been a pretty good over the counter medication.

I have been pain free for about 5 years; I am very careful. I sit in straight back chairs; I sleep on a hard mattress; I avoid lifting things that are heavy and try to walk with an even load so that one side of my body does not carry more than the other; and am careful generally to avoid hits on my body. (One time I had a recurrence of really bad pain for about two months just because I carried a wet (rained on) 20 pound briefcase away from my body so that it would not rub against a newly cleaned suit.)

I have received prescriptions for very powerful pain medications and have used them only when the pain has been unbearable. I have never gotten more than 10 or 12 pills at a time and have never used a full prescription or gotten a refill. These pills are addictive and can cause more problems than you have with your back. If you get them, use them only when the pain is truly unbearable.

You should go to a doctor. He or she will arrange for x-rays and probably an MRI. He will give you a plan for recovery. I would suggest that you ask for conservative treatment that avoids surgery.

The reason I suggest conservative treatment is that I worked for 35 years in a law office that handled appeals for a large city. I handled one or two police or firefighters disability retirement case most of those years and supervised the office for the five years before I retired and supervised 15 or 20 of those cases each of those years. Forty to fifty percent of those cases involved back injuries to police and firefighters who were generally young and fit before their injuries. Almost all had had surgeries (some two or more time) and most were worse off (or no better) after the surgeries than before. I have done everything thing I could do to avoid surgery and think it was a wise course.