Back pain can be debilitating when unwise lifting or shoveling techniques cause strain in the muscles of the low back.

Dave B., a slim man in his late twenties came into my Neuromuscular Therapy center in Metro-West Boston for treatment of back pain that came on suddenly while lifting cement blocks. There were no sounds to indicate something serious, but the pain was so bad he had to stay in bed for a week. His doctor examined him and thought the pain pattern he described indicated an injury at the highest vertebra in his low back (lumbar spine). At first the pain went across his low  back, but was mostly concentrated on the right side. It hurt to turn at his waist and he had pain into his abdomen and groin. Laughing hurt!

Over the next week, symptoms subsided and when he came for his appointment he just felt like he couldn’t sit up straight and was experiencing pain only in his right low back. His job entailed sitting most of the day at a computer where he had a good chair and an efficient workstation. Physically, he said he had never been very flexible so he avoided stretching, but he did get some exercise riding a bike two or three times a week for up to thirty minutes. He didn’t do any weight training or back strengthening exercises so his muscles were not conditioned to do any heavy lifting.

Even though Dave had been feeling better, his girlfriend advised him to get his muscles treated to speed his healing and to avoid future problems from lingering untreated tension.