Originally Posted by
Dwight Schr-Ute
I've struggled with lower back pain for years, and I'm getting a bit fed up with it. I wake up every morning feeling pretty stiff but usually loosen up to some degree within the first couple of hours. But I'm frequently uncomfortable. Always shifting and stretching things out. About every eight months or so, I find that I get completely locked up.
Most of the issues seem to be concentrated in my lower back and hips just to the right side of my spine. When things are bad (like they've been the last four days), I'll find an hour massage (still haven’t done so with this episode yet) somewhere which makes a huge difference and reset me for a while. This makes me think that it's all muscular/alignment related and not a disk that's giving me problems. It could be nerve related with a pinch or sciatica, but I’m don’t know enough about this stuff to pin point a particular diagnosis.
Like I said, I'm usually functional during any given day but feel that I'm on the cusp of debilitation. A basketball game, or helping someone move away from putting myself out of commission. If possible, I'd love to gain back some quality of life. Here are what I think my possible culprits are:
Age: I’m 40. Things seem to have gotten worse over time.
Height: I’m 6’6” Maybe relevant, probably not.
Weight: I’ve put on about 20 lbs over the last 10 years of being married/having kids. Having said that, it only puts me at 205, but the weight is all belly weight and even though I’m not worried about the weight itself, I’d like to get it off my stomach and either get rid of it or put it somewhere else as muscle.
Bed: Given that mornings are where I feel it the most, I can only assume that my mattress isn’t doing me any favors. We’ve had our current mattress for about 4 years now. We bought it when my wife was pregnant with #3. It’s one of those sleep number beds and I figured it would be good since our preferences are polar opposite. I like firm, she likes soft. I was hoping for a miracle cure, but haven’t really seen any difference. I play with my numbers every once in a while to see if it makes a difference, but haven’t managed to find the unicorn sweet spot.
Sleep style: I tend to sleep on my right side in a semi fetal position. Is there a “best way to sleep to avoid back pain” position?
Lack of activity: I’ve never been a “gym guy” but when I was younger, my field assignments were definitely more strenuous. I haven’t been running/cycling for years and my overall fitness level has probably dropped considerably. Now that my youngest is nearing two and doesn’t require the constant tending to, I’m feeling that I can start getting a little selfish and take some time during the week work on increasing my activity, but the thought of bending over on a bike or trying to run in my current condition, makes my lumbar ache.
Any recommendations? Several years ago, I got sucked into a chiropractor black hole for several months. It would only help for a few days (much less effective than massage therapy) and there was never any discussion about “what to do” outside of making more appointments. I know that I’m not a flexible person and that stretching would be beneficial, I guess I just need a little hand holding for this to show me what really works and what’s just rolling around on the floor. I’ve heard that Yoga can be a game changer for guys like me. I guess I’d be open to it, but only if I could look that pathetic on the privacy of my own home. At least during the beginning.
