We've been seeing quite a few episodes of acute back pain in the clinic recently, the kind of back injury that people often talk about as "I bent over to pick up my shoe and my back just went”.
Most of the time they are something like a strain or sprain and nothing too serious in the long run, but they can often hurt like crazy and might make you think that you've done something terrible which can add to the intensity of the pain.
Why does it hurt so much?
The intense pain normally lasts about 3-5 days and is because of the acute inflammatory phase of healing, a process that is designed to cause you pain because it wants you to not keep inuring yourself further (It’s a good thing really!)
However with your back this can be quite debilitating because you’ll realise pretty quickly how many movements you need your back for. We also tend to freak out more when we’ve injured something near our spine.
What to do when it happens
Keeping moving gently, don’t stretch or train heavily.
It’s only very rare that complete rest is the answer. With these injuries we normally recommend gentle movement with deep, slow belly breathing to calm the nervous system.
You can start by lying on your back and gently letting your knees rock side to side, stopping before any intense pain but giving it at least a minute or 2 to settle into the movement. Obviously stop if this exacerbates your pain!
Taping
We find taping can calm down some of the fired up nerves and muscle spasming and make everything feel safe and supported until that inflammatory phase has calmed down.
The taping method below is what we use, which can get you through a day or 2 before coming to see us. You'll need a friend to help and we'd advise against the taping if you have tape allergies or any other concerns.
Disclaimer: This post is not a substitute for individual advice. Please get in touch if you are unsure or have a specific issue that needs addressing.
Formotion Physio is a Physiotherapy practice based in West Perth & Osborne Park, Western Australia