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Discussion

Back strain, need advice

I managed to strain my upper back muscles at home on Monday night working on a project. It did not hurt that bad Monday night but when I was trying to sleep during the day on Tuesday (I work nights) I woke up after 2 hrs of sleep with tears rolling down my face in pain. I called out that night and just let my back rest. I have been taking ibuprofen around the clock and applying heat every so often. I woke up this morning and my back is feeling much better when I'm not moving whereas before it was hurting moving or not. If I get up and walk it hurts a bit and if I move certain ways or bend over it really hurts. I have an appointment with my doctor in the morning.

My dilemma is I'm supposed to work tonight and I don't know if I should take another night off to rest my back since that seemed to help last night. Or should I just go into work and tough it out? I'm worried about making if hurt worse and having to leave early and leave my co-workers with my slack. I have the next two nights off after tonight. I'm really not sure what to do, I've never dealt with a back injury before.

Featured Replies

I dealt with a lot of people like this and this is the nurse-level first aid. See your physician for definitive info.

Ice is your friend to settle the inflammation, along c the NSAIDs. A really cool way to do this is freeze a paper cup full of water, then peel off a half an inch or so and use it for a massage over the sore spots. Have a friend do this for you. Peel the paper down as the ice melts.

Rest is good, but so is range of motion to prevent things from getting too stiff.

If you are not having actual spasms, think about avoiding muscle relaxants-- all my patients took them once or twice and said, "Do I have to take this stuff? It makes me feel stupid and sleepy." Research shows that they aren't useful and don't accelerate recovery in muscular back injuries.

If the project you were doing involved a long time sitting and bending over a table or something, ask a good PT to give you some ideas for better ergonomics and some good stretching exercises, Then set your cell phone or an egg timer to alarm to make you stop every 15 minutes, stretch, and relax.

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  • Experts

Pain is never a good sign: if it were me, I'd call off and not take the chance of making things worse. And definitely follow-up with your doctor tomorrow. Feel better.

Call out

  • Columnist

We are very sorry for the back pain you are experiencing. Per the Terms of Service of the site, we cannot give you medical advice. Your health care provider is the best person to answer your questions after an exam. I am glad you already have an appointment scheduled in the morning. Until then, rest and do not do anything to further aggravate the pain.

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