Back spasm from hell… Tips

So may back went a couple of days ago. Like most people I have a bad back but keep healthy.(47) Lots of cycling etc.

On monday my lower back siezed up. Couldn’t stand up all day. Intense pain like I’ve never felt.

Went to docs: crawled into a wheelchair. They gave me diazepam and co-codamol. Drugs don’t seem to do anything and I’m getting conflicting advice about resting or keeping moving. I’m showering on the floor, toilet trips a full on Raiders of the lost ark challenge etc.

Any extra tips? Go back to docs – hard because I just can’t walk. Even with stick I can’t stand up.

Lying on bed is my last resort and even that is painful.

Got a few of them pads and gel. Don’t seem to touch it.

Any ideas?

(could lack of water riding caused this? I’ve gotten so used to not drinking on rides.)

deliberately dehydrating yourself is not ideal .
get or borrow a tens machine ? – It could help , Amazon will deliver one.
It might help if there is some description of whether the pain is muscular or not known?

Doctor said mechanical. So that means not trapped nerves? Dunno.

Thanks, used to have one of them buggers.

My suggestion would be a physiotherapist.

What even when you’re in lots of pain?

+1 for a physio. They should be able to release the spasm then get you on a course of treatment and exercise to sort it.

Ta.

Yeah, even when in pain. I rocked up at 24:12 one year with proper neck pain. Couldn’t even rotate my head because of the spasm – just locked. The physio there (Revolution Sports) got onto it straight away and released the spasm. It was utter relief.

Diclofenac prescription from GP got me through a year of lower back agony back in summer 2008. Don’t know if Voltarol is reduced strength, which has been available over the counter in the years since.

I was completely dependent upon Homedics shiatsu massagers from late 2008 until mid 2017 outside work, fitted nicely inside my “bucket” pc desk chair, was easily running ~12 times a day. Bought the latest replacement in summer 2017 and I’m not sure if I’ve even used it ~12 times in total.

The whole thing about trying to stay active despite the pain is something I wish I had been more resilient about in the immediate aftermath of my injury. I could barely walk for the first three weeks, due to pain like I’ve never known before or since, while lurched forward and to one side. I wish I’d forced myself to go for a ~15min walk every ~60mins etc. because staying static for too long is absolutely fatal for back injuries.

At some point, you will want to start strengthening your back muscles through specific core exercises, such as “the plank,” “the bridge,” “superman” (including one-leg variants).

My referral to NHS physio took stupidly long, ~6 months IIRC, I could have done with am initial appointment far sooner but paying for a private session wasn’t an option for me at the time.

While cycling has its fitness benefits, the almost constant posture puts strain on certain muscle groups. When I started doing rides of 2+ hours up in the South Downs in 2017, my lower back core muscles gave me some grief, but things thankfully improved over the summer on those longer rides.

Lack of water while riding sounds like a red herring to me as the cause of this.

Thanks, all useful.

Generally thought my core was actually strong to be honest. But when it aches its hard to force it do things like the plank.

lack of water is a known cause of such problems

Interesting. I’d picked up on this somewhere.

Don’t do plank stuff etc while your back is in spasm. Walking is a good thing to do.

Ibuprofen, rest,back support to get you through the initial agony. Don’t attempt any exercise until you know what’s causing your pain.

Get an MRI scan, £250 privately.

Take that to a physio so that she knows what she’s dealing with, then gradually work on core strength exercises and flexibility. Go to a pilates instructor for 1-1 sessions.

Avoid driving as much as you can.

Get a decent office chair if you can – I went for a HAG Capisco from Back In Action with a sit-stand desk (I work from home and self-employed so I could get it all on the company).

This is all from personal experience, identical symptoms caused by severe disk bulge at L-5. Off the bike for 5/6 months but now back to 50 milers no probs, a year later.

Don’t rely on your GP for the answers. They don’t seem to know about this kind of injury; my physio told me that the painkillers I was prescribed by GP don’t touch the pain pathways activated by this kind of injury.

Good luck, and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Go easy on yourself for a bit though.

Back support like this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Proworks-Support-Lumbar-Exercise-Sports/dp/B071J4V2Q2?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_2826214031_4&pf_rd_p=c0fdd0eb-ddea-551f-906d-cd8f2969804d&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2826214031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=J3J93SDQEW2DJFHAAW27&pf_rd_r=J3J93SDQEW2DJFHAAW27&pf_rd_p=c0fdd0eb-ddea-551f-906d-cd8f2969804d

Just to offer a bit more of my experience: when I went to my physio, she watched me walk from the waiting room to the the cubicle, and said “yeah, I’m not even going to touch you”.

She did give me a lot of incredibly useful info, including the thing about the MRI.

My physio is who got me through the injury and back to normal life, and not just through ‘doing physio’ – just in actually knowing something about the injury, and knowing how to explain it and giving me tips on how to deal with it, including the pilates.

I was on my third day of lying on the floor with spasms like a 240volt shock if I moved any way at all . I had four different doctors and all sorts of drugs which didn’t help at all.
I was about to be carted off to hospital when the latest Doc asked if I would try acupuncture; 10 minutes later I was walking around the sitting room.. It worked for me .

My emergency kit is ibuprofen and a hard floor. Flat on my back with maybe a thin book for a pillow.
Beds don’t really help me.
Lots and lots of ibuprofen and force yourself to relax your back.
Then find a good physio who does manipulation as you need to get the muscles operating again.
Mind you, I know what my problem is (with the back!) so I can also understand why a mri might be a good idea.

Diclofenac

Is what my wife used when a recurring neck injury (caused by whiplash injuries – wish we had never accepted the one-off pay off settlement at the time 12 years ago) flared up badly. She coupled it with over the counter codeine/paracetamol tablets and it is settling down a bit now.

Great stuff. Been thinking about an MRI but they seem to push for it not being useful. Happy to pay for one.

Been on phone to a new doc. She’s upping the valium from 2mg to 5mg.

And she said lie down and get up every 60 mins.

Ibuprofen I never touch due to stomach issues.

A Naturopath suggested the following for my back spasms, and it helps (though mine aren’t usually as severe as you describe): When showering, run water over the spazzing area at hot and cold temps in 30-60 second intervals.

I haven’t had many spasms recently but my lower back can get painfully tight at times.

Anyone got any experience with TENS machines easing muscle tension?

Would be keen to try acupuncture but feel it needs to be ‘little and often’ which I couldn’t afford.

How else do physios ‘release’ a spasm?

Get an MRI scan, £250 privately.

Not really recommended, unless a Consultant has some reason to think you’ve done some real damage. Anyone over 30 will show all sorts of age related disc degredation, most of which is normal, harmless and doesn’t cause any pain. There is some evidence MRIs deter patients from exercising, which is the best fix for most lower back pain issues, as they know they have a ‘damaged disc’ or whatever.

Most likely scenario is it’s just muscle spasm with no long physical damage (you might get DOMs once the Spasm stops) and will ease off over a few days.

I literally feel your pain! I’m 5 months in to an l5 Disc prolapse, Sciatica and added complication of spinal canal narrowing that the MRI picked up, I paid privately and it was £444.

Now going to see a spinal specialist privately before bouncing back to the NHS for treatment, whatever that might be.

How else do physios ‘release’ a spasm?

Usually some manual therapy (and here is the important bit) they give you exercises to do to get your mobility back.

TENS machines can help, but once you switch it off, it all the pain comes back.

You can try suppository ibroprufen if you have a dicky tummy.

You have to relax your back and gently restore muscle strength, I feel your pain as I was the same a few months ago. I couldn’t wipe my own backside. I found sleep helped, but I couldn’t get up in the morning.
Yoga/pilates really helps once you are back to normal.

If you spend a lot of time sitting then cycling if probably the dumbest exercise there is, amplifying all the imbalances caused by sitting/internal rotation.

If it’s a torn muscle then expect to suck up the pain for a while, but it will get better.

If you want to avoid it happening again then exercises that improve thoracic mobility will pay dividends.

All sporting activities create imbalances that’s why it is nigh on impossible to avoid injury if you are an elite athlete.

Tens machine is what my mate recommends and he’s always moaning and whining on about his back. I’m surprised I still talk to him to be honest. He even had a operation which worked for a bit but has started again about his back. His back is so bad he can’t be arsed to write this himself.
He’s a BIG fan of drugs but still prefers his Tens machine. Boots £60 one he says.

Diclofenac was good for me. Lots of walking (since getting a dog!) has really helped my back/ neck. I was prone to lots of minor strains and the odd big spasm much less so since walking loads. Single speed good for core strength.

My experience probably isn’t particularly helpful to relate, but I’ve been there too, unable to move and unable to not move with blinding back pain, recurrent over several years, lasting up to 5 days. Caused by sit-ups, and made worse by bad kayaking technique (pushing back on footrests exerts 60lbs per sqr foot on your lower back at an angle it’s not designed for). Took up kayak due to being off bike with knee injury- should’ve gone into sports injury industry. Ibuprofen gel was some comfort but I avoid painkillers as much as poss so really suffered. Long story short- I’ve done no physio, no treatment, nothing, got fatter and less fit as the years roll by, and haven’t had a recurrence in 4 or 5 years. Back in the kayak after a few years out so I might have spoken too soon. I found cycling seemed to make no difference suprisingly, it was little things, like lifting a weight- child, paving slab, etc while twisting that would set it off.

NICE advice https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/back-pain/causes/

Anecdotally one thing that has helped me is to hang by my arms from a door frame adn let your body weight stretch the back

However given teh severity of your pain I would get GP or physio advice before doing any exercises.

DO NOT go to an osteopath or especially a chiropractor. The evidence is they do no good and can cause a lot of harm

TENS machines are great. Get a cheap one for £20 massively helps with my back when it spasms

How else do physios ‘release’ a spasm?

Pressure point release, they find the tightest / most painful spot and apply additional pressure to the muscles, which then persuades your brain to relax the muscle tone a bit. You can do it yourself with a lacrosse ball or similar…

Lots of stuff to go at there.

The new dose of valium 5mg x 3 a day is starting to work having done a phone appointment.

Got to move slow and try and stand up.

Doctor said to try and spend some time resting and some time moving around. Walking stick is helping.

Yep, sitting at a desk and cycling are no good at all. Might get one of those stand up desks long term.

Lots of walking (- – -) has really helped my back/ neck. I was prone to lots of minor strains and the odd big spasm much less so since walking loads

This. I used to get a bad back quite often, but thankfully not for the past twenty years or so. The only thing that helped at the time was gentle walking. I found a slight incline, say 1% to 2%, most effective.

All the studies show that movement is the best cure / preventative action for lower back pain (obv there are some people with something really bust which needs surgery, but they are the very small % exceptions).

I’ve had lower back spasms on and off for the last few years, the good news is the more I learn about it and realise it’s just a muscle having a bit of a tantrum, the less grief it causes as the pain is moderated by the brain going ‘oh, it’s you being a tit again’ rather than ‘oh my God, I’ll never walk again’…

My back went into spasm a couple of years ago. Complete agony to lie down, sit or walk. I could ride my road bike gently but pushing hard uphill was too painful.
I had 2 lots of physio and did all of the stretches that he instructed me to do. All that helped but it still took nearly 3 weeks to recover.

My GP prescribed me a couple of diazepam to try but that did nothing at all…

My GP prescribed me a couple of diazepam to try but that did nothing at all…

Going from 2g x 2 a day to 5g x 3 a day has made all the difference in a matter of hours.

Walking is easier said than done when you just can’t stand up.

Does diazepam address the source of the pain or just mute the systems that report it?

I am thinking, if you have severe inflammation/hernia, say, and are muting your pain pathways, is there a risk that you continue to do things which make the injury itself worse, not better?

I am not a doctor.

Mine went in exactly the same way on Sunday – putting a garden umbrella up. Ended up on the floor for a couple of hours unable to get to my feet.

I had some diazepam in the cupboard, so took some of that, which was enough to allow me to stand up – and once I got walking about it started to ease of a little. Still getting spasms today, but much smaller and less frequent. Reckon it will have eased off by the weekend.

I’ve booked to see an Osteopath next week, but on the back of the comments wondering if a physio would be better?

Think mine is a result of a bad crash I have about 4 years ago where I ended up over the bars on a steep roll in, and caught the chainring, resulting in me landing on my head and scorpioning while clipped in. Had exactly the same pain after that for a few weeks.