mid back pain

[ttcycle]

The last three days, this back pain has cropped up and it's irking me now.

It's like a twisty, turning dull ache and is on the left hand side that radiates. Irritating with a pang every now and then than breaks through the usually twisty feeling. It's located mid point of the latisimuss dorsi or lats for gym goers. I've had grief with the trapezius mid point in the past that reoccurs when stressed but that is usually on the right side under the shoulder blades and I have been told my trapezius is weak (never been able to lift much weight on the rear delt machine in comparison with everything else) as the shoulders come too far forward when standing normally.

Any ideas? Been for physio for the original trapezius issue which was useless - I found being active and fending off stress worked better. It's not disabling but irritating and not sure a GP referral will help much but may go along anyway to get it checked out.

 

[iLB]

i have often suffered from lower back pain, resulting in noticeably reduced power output, it's possible that like me you have very tight hip flexor muscles- i find that stretching these out as often as possible helps to reduce the effect. essentially when they tighten up your pelvis will rotate forwards which inturn causes the muscles in the lower back to become tight as well, for me it almost feels like cramp. google 'hip flexor stretches' for more info

hth

 

[ttcycle]

Thanks for that but it is further up as lower back seems to be ok. It's located next to the spine but leftwards and about ribcage height.

 

[potsy]

Thanks for that but it is further up as lower back seems to be ok. It's located next to the spine but leftwards and about ribcage height.

Sounds like old age/wear and tear tt,not much to be done

 

[Crankarm]

I have used a carpetted stair for lower back stretching/massage to good effect. Far better than physios that I have used in the past. Sit on stair with bum well into the tread, lean back supporting your weight with your hands or elbow and legs. Place yourself on the carpetted stairs so the edge of the stair above sits between your vertebrae starting low and working higher. S'pose you could do it in reverse. You can also use the stair to massage your side lumbar and muscle groups by again taking your weight on your elbows/hand and legs and rolling slightly on your side. This is gooood. Gently rotate your hips clockwise and counterclockwise, to left to right a few times, then move up or down to the next vertebrae. You can gently massage your lower back and muscle groups by varying how much weight your elbows or legs take. It can be very very satisfying. You can apply exactly the pressure you want in the area you want. You can also stretch your spine by twisting and aligning your vertebrae by sitting square against the back of the stair. Just slightly lift your leg on the same side you are going to twist and look behind keeping your hips facing forward. eg still sitting on stair, breath in, slightly raise right leg with left hand whilst twisting to the right. You might hear or feel a nice satisfying/relieving crack as the vertebrae move over each other and align. Once finished and on your feet slowly rotate and twist your hips with hands on your hips.

Of course before you do any of the above you should consult with your doctor if you have any doubts of carrying out any of the above.

HTH tt.

Also you can get these far Eastern self massage sticks which are basically short poles sticking out of a board mounted on a wall or a securely fixed hat stand, on the end of which are placed wooden/plastic spheres of various diameters. You then select one set the stick to the height to correspond with the area of your back you wish to massage then lean against them massging the sphere into the area of your back which is painful. They work a treat. I don't have one, but tried one whilst visiting Malaysia a few moons ago and it was brilliant.

 

[Crackle]

Simple muscular spasm maybe. A course of anti-inflammatories?

 

[ttcycle]

potsy, there's just no hope is there....though years back - I had a scan on my spine and apparently the degeneration of the spine has progressed ten years more than it should have..so maybe you're not too wrong after all- was told it was nothing to worry about though and it didn't go any further in solving the weird spot of pain under the shoulder blade.

I'll make a GP appointment and see what he says-Crackle it may well be a need for anti inflammatories as it seems to be muscular rather than anything else (I hope)

Crank thanks for the description-I'm not sure if it will give me much relief as the pain is mid and upper mid in its location- I do like to fold my arms back and crack the back though.

 

[Crankarm]

potsy, there's just no hope is there....though years back - I had a scan on my spine and apparently the degeneration of the spine has progressed ten years more than it should have..so maybe you're not too wrong after all- was told it was nothing to worry about though and it didn't go any further in solving the weird spot of pain under the shoulder blade.

I'll make a GP appointment and see what he says-Crackle it may well be a need for anti inflammatories as it seems to be muscular rather than anything else (I hope)

Crank thanks for the description-I'm not sure if it will give me much relief as the pain is mid and upper mid in its location- I do like to fold my arms back and crack the back though.

I would agree with you. You need a good local and frequent massage in that area. Perhaps you should enlist some help .......