The wheat bag is hot, the anti-flammatory pill packet is empty, you have set up camp on the couch, and you're wincing with every breath. Every few months you do something as simple as getting out of your vechicle, sneeze, or reach for a can of spaghetti out of your pantry and bang there it goes. You grab you lower back and start hobbling knowing exactly well within the next few hours you will be wheat bagging, drugging and lying down trying to stop the pain and muscle spasms. The next few weeks are 50-50 as your robotic movements kick in to help protect that area in hope you wont set it off again. You may get a few months of normality again and then bang the cycle starts again.
I'm just waiting on the pharmicist to fill my script, I can't stand straight. I got out of the tractor yesterday and it just went. I need to come and see you to get this sorted.
Lower back pain that regularly occurs with a high pain level should be investigated further with some form of imaging to see what is causing that level of discomfort. Just saying 'my back is f**ked' doesn't help anyone that is trying to help you (GP, physiotherapist, trainer, chiropractor etc).
Once we know what we are dealing with structurally then we can start:
Unloading and decompressing that area.
Start positive movement patterns that help reinstall how your muscles should be moving rather than staying in 'protective mode'.
Concentrate on improving and practising movements you do regularly at work/ home, so you are doing these more effectively and start to erase bad habits, laziness, and start to switch on consciously to how you hold yourself and move.
Help you to feel more comfortable and confident to move again. Tasks such as putting on socks or getting out of a car give those with back issues very high anxiety, as they are always 'waiting for it to go'.
Having a management plan in place that you know works for you if you need it. Getting this plan in motion the second your back pain kicks off.
Know we can make this better, but it will take several months. It's a long process and it requires patience and commitment.