Has anybody ever "thrown their back out"?

That's why I stopped doing barbell squats in 2005, in my mid-40s. Try these squats:

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19524102/pistol-squat-to-skater-squat/

You will only need a couple of light dumbbells for counterbalance. (I prefer a dumbbell in each hand rather than the "goblet" style in the video.) If you do them slowly and right, don't lock your knees at the top, and also go low on the skater squat and hold briefly, I promise you won't get in more than 15 reps before you will have to put your non-working leg down. And that's training to failure. It is truly kick-ass.

 

January 2014. My neighbor put her Christmas tree out for pick-up a few days early because she was going out of town. We had wind storms, and her tree kept getting blown on the street when she was already gone. I kept returning it. After a few iterations, I had enough and decided to plant it firmly in the snowbank on her property. I was holding it upright and away from my body (my first mistake), as I tried to pound the trunk into the snowbank in front of me. But I slipped on ice while doing so, and felt something inside move on the right side of my lower back. It hurt like the devil. It got a bit better after a day or so, but it lingered for well over a year. Occasionally it got so that I had to bend over at the waist for a few seconds or, better yet, crouch, for temporary relief.

In the summer of the following year, 2015, it actually started getting worse. I remember limping slightly, but painfully, to my car from after visiting my aunt at the hospital, and wondering if this was the beginning of the end for me. And then, perhaps a week or two later, it just spontaneously resolved. Well, almost. I still occasionally felt a bit of stiffness in the area, but I didn't have to bend over or crouch down for relief. It continued to get better over time.

On a side note, I had tried a number of things, including physiotherapy exercises (half-heartedly) and one of those firm rollers. I actually tweaked the other side of my lower back being a bit too aggressive with the roller. I returned the roller for a refund.

If I had to guess, I'd say that a combination of time and walking put things back into place for me. (The dead hang thing on the doorway pull-up bar came later.)

 

Wait until you get a kidney stone. (I've had three over the years.) Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Folks, keep drinking those fluids! Do not let minerals collect in yer kidneys!

(There's a reason you cannot get a commercial pilot license if you've had a kidney stone and report it to the medical examiner. Insidious shit, worse than Mad Cow disease...Mostly)

 

Between the nerve pitch and the kidney stone I have to call it a tie. Although with the nerve pain usually one can find a position when it hurts less, on the other hand kidney stones have a quicker solution.

I also have a secret medication for kidney attacks. You can buy it on Ebay. It is Drotaverine (No-Spa is the brand name) and it is an antispasmodic pill. It relaxes the flat muscles and your pipes and helps you to pass the stones. Order it now and thank me later.

 

"It can also happen by sneezing."

I haven't had back problems in decades. Three weeks ago I sneezed and afterward had spasms so bad that I couldn't walk for two days.

Upper back pain no biggie. Lower back, I suggest you don't even stretch. Just rest it. DEFINITELY avoid the gym, which for some people, like me, is difficult.

 

Hope your feeling better @Baron. Have you heard of MAP? It can help.
MAP: The Co-Creative White Brotherhood Medical Assistance Program


https://www.perelandra-ltd.com/MAP-...herhood-Medical-Assistance-Program-P1293.aspx
Amazon has 121 customer reviews.

 

My brother swears by it. Does like 5 or 10 minutes a day, put one in his office. I can see it stretching everything out nicely.