It�s my Achilles� heel!

I always tell myself not to overexert my back but when I feel great, I always seem to find a way.

I strained my lower back over some stupid thing last Friday and I�m still paying for it this Sunday night.

I can hardly get out of bed and I�m walking around like a decrepit 90 year old.

Moral of the story? Bend with your knees.

Don�t forget about your spine! It�s pretty important!

learned that lesson too late at the age of 20 ...... but eventually i no longer had to deal with the pain because i lost feeling in my leg ...the sciatic nerve became damaged enough to stop sending pain signals. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me

Bend with your knees, keep objects close to your bodies center of gravity. Do partial sit ups and turn over on your stomach on the floor or mat and while laying down lift both your hind legs and your face off the mat as far as your can ....this works out the muscles of the lower back. The partial sit ups will work out your abdominal muscles which are also important in supporting your back.

If you haven't had an MRI of the lower portion of your back i recommend that you do so you'll know exactly what the problem is. If possible stay far away from any back surgery as it often does more harm then good.

Easy to forget how much the back does for us...until it can't.
Stay off your feet if you can. That crap tends to linger.

On 26 December 1982, I was a foolish young 37 year old engaging in a drunken competition with a few mates on who could lift a huge roll of fencing wire over their heads. I won the contest but ruined my back. Held together with bolts, my back has given me pain every day of my life since, but I learned my lesson....it is actually possible to lift a heavier weight than your spine can physically support....the cartilage between the vertebrae squirts out.

I damaged my lower back in the early 80's lifting a motorcycle.Every so often it rears its ugly head to make my life a misery.Sitting in front of the PC for hours doesn't help and I know it,yet I still do it.I take anti-inflammatory and pain killers when it happens.

I used to see an Osteopath but was never sure if it was a good idea or not.The doctor recently advised I seek alternative means of pain relief such as acupuncture.Anyone ever had this?

I'll take your exercise advise Haggart and see if that helps,thanks.

How about back pain if you stay in bed sleeping for too long? Is that a sign of aging?

I take 1500mm of glucosamine msm on a daily basis.

Starting in my 40's I had hip and shoulder joint pains. My physician suggested glucosamine and initially I was skeptical. He stated after he blew out his back after getting rear ended he feared the worst but he too was surprised by glucosamine.

A week ago I was talking to my wife's uncle, aged 69. He's a NY state champion in archery for many years. Last year he fell off a ladder onto his shoulder and couldn't draw his bow. He recovered taking glucosamine.

My mother, aged 79, had back surgery a year ago and takes it too.

I'm not in the medical field nor push vitamins but it sure works for me.

Greg

Same here!

About six years ago I was having hip pain for some reason. I would limp around at times and people would ask, �Why are you limping?�. I started taking glucosamine and haven�t had a recurrence.

Funny thing is that a veterinarian clued me onto it. He prescribed glucosamine for my brother in law�s German Sheppard for joint pain back then and ever since, it can run up and down stairs way easier. I thought, �If it�s good enough for the Sheppard, then it�s good enough for me!�.

BTW, Haggart, thanks for those tips.

My Osteopath put me onto glucosamine,the real high grade stuff but I never found it did anything for me. At the moment Naproxen and Co-codamol are my main weapons.