Lower left back pain help?

Question

so im 16 years old and i have some lower left back pain. It all started about 2 years ago when i was playing basketball and i got boxed out really hard and my upper body bent forward really fast (i dont know if that made sense) and then i would get lower left back pain alot and it would come on like 1-2 days at a time. and last year i asked our schools sports trainer doctor guy and he said i strained my lower back. So after a while I stopped getting the pains, but i just now started getting them again about 3-4 days ago, and i am still having them so i have just been going to basketball practice in so much pain and i would stay home a day or to to rest it, but its exam week and i cant realy miss those. Its kind of like a sharper pain in my lower left pack and is mostly there when i bend over or twist in a sertain way and sometimes when im sitting in my chair and I raise my right leg just a little it makes my back hurt as well. im not having any other pains or sickness feeling if that helps at all and when i put biofreeze on it the pain goes away, and i guess i should mension i just sprained my ankle i think it was 2 days before my back started hurting, but i doubt that has anything to do with it. So does anybody know what the cause of the pain is and how to get it to go away and stop coming back.Please help, help would be very very greatly appretiated, thank you!

megalomaniac · Accepted Answer

Warm up before you exercise.  Stretch a lot (when warm).  Always stretch your back and legs before and after exercise and do those stretches on days that you don't exercise.  Do all over stretching but focus on stretching your lower back and hamstrings.  (for example lie on your back and bring your knees up to your chest and hold for a minute, or one knee at a time to the opposite chest - but there are many good stretches)  Use a hot bath when it's in spasm and you can't exercise.  (you can even stretch in the bath)

Don't stretch if it is painful, but do rest until the pain subsides and then do regular exercise and stretching to prevent recurrance.

Pain relievers and muscle relaxants can help in the short term but stretching is your best bet for the long term.

Back pain can't really be eliminated but it can be managed.  90% of all adults experience some kind of significant back pain in their life but that shouldn't stop you from doing stuff.  However, the time to start managing it is now before it becomes a chronic problem.  Regular stretching and regular light exercise (without overdoing it) will be your best long term strategy for both pain reduction and overall health.  Exercising your abs and obliques a lot will also help stabilize your lower back and help both your athletic perfomance and overall health.

Edit:  It is most likely back spasms.  You probably strained one of the many little spinae erector muscles (the ones that hold your spine together).  Once those muscles get injured they often go in and out of spasm (uncontrolled contraction which is painful - that's also why it's either hard to bend over or you kind of get locked in an odd position when the muscle or muscles are in spasm).  Depending on the amount of damage and your overall fitness level and your genetic disposition to back problems (which is more or less all of us) it can recur the rest of your life or it may go away with good management.

Edit 2: Lifting can sometimes help and sometimes hurt.  Basically if you overdo it you can do a lot of damage to your lower back, but if you warm up properly, do your exercise with proper form and don't do too much weight, it can help.  When you are lifting weights or doing other exercise, sometimes you don't feel the pain, even when you are doing damage, because when your body is warm and limber your muscles don't spasm as much and also your body produces endorpines (natural pain killers similar to morphine).  It's when you cool down that you normally feel the lower back pain or if you feel it during exercise it is usually worse when you cool down.

Depending on exactly where your injury is, you may want to adjust your sleeping position.  (good thinking!)  Sleeping in a fetal position is usually good for lower back spasms (because it keeps the muscle stretched out) but it's not the same for everyone.  I used to sleep on my stomach but when I experienced severe back problems I was advised to switch to a fetal position.  At first it felt really uncomfortable because I was used to sleeping on my stomach but I eventually adjusted and now I only sleep in a fetal position (switching back and forth from left to right side while I sleep) and I believe that that has had a very positive effect on my back problems.

Edit 3:  Good luck.  If you have any more questions feel free to e-mail me, you can send one via my profile.

Kennith · Answer

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Lower left back pain help?
so im 16 years old and i have some lower left back pain. It all started about 2 years ago when i was playing basketball and i got boxed out really hard and my upper body bent forward really fast (i dont know if that made sense) and then i would get lower left back pain alot and it would come on...

Anonymous · Answer

I'm not a doctor, but it sounds as if you need to see one if it happens again. Knowing what it is requires one to know exactly where the pain is located. And usually a physical exam is the most reliable way to obtain that information. It could be bowel related or if lower it could be gynecologic. I could even be gas. No way of knowing accurately.

Alres1936 · Answer

1

? · Answer

You can try 3DRX sciatica relief. It’s a 3D app specially designed for back & leg pain.You can preview whole sciatica nerve & Piriformis muscles. Mark the pain area & get rehab exercises. It also provides complete medical history & notes. You can use it on iPad & android too.

http://www.3drx.com/sciaticaandriod
http://www.3drx.com/sciaticaIphone
itunes.apple.com/tw/app/id457029203?mt…

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Lower left back pain help?

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