I lifted my 35lb sister yesterday and pulled a muscle. It wasn't bad @ the time, but now its just extrememly painful. Last night i was laying in my bed and i sat up and i believe i pulled another muscle. i couln't sleep @ all. I had to lay flat on my back which is not comforatble for me, and i tried pain relievers, hot bath, heating pad, ice pack, the whole 9 yards. It hurts to breathe and i can hardly move. Any advice @ all? I'm willing to try anything now.
2006-07-01 13:20:48 · 29 answers · asked by ishshara 1 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Ice - 20 minutes on - 20 minutes off continue for a couple of days and Ibprofen - 2 every 4 - 6 hours. Your muscle is inflamed - Ibprofen is an anti-inflamatory. Pain pills only mask it - not cure it.
2006-07-01 13:29:36 · answer #1 · answered by carrie b 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It definately sounds like you pulled a muscle in your lower back when you lifted your sister. There is a chance that when you sat up last night, you overcompensated for your back and possibly pulled a chest muscle or a muscle in your side that would cause you to have the difficulty with your breathing. If you can feel a swollen area, chances are you have herniated a disc, the disc slipped out of place or its possible that you pulled a muscle near a disc. You will need a steroid (prednisone) to relieve this swelling if ice doesn't help. You could try alternating ice for 30 minutes then heat for 30 minutes. Don't put any creams on your back if you are going to be using ice or heat. If there is an urgent care clinic near you, you could go in and they will likely test to see how far you can bend, etc and probably do xrays. Your family doctor will most likely want xrays as well. He/she will probably give you prednisone, a muscle relaxant and pain medication. The best thing you can do til you get treatment is taking Advil and trying the alternating heat/ice. If you have someone that could possibly massage your back after you have put the ice on, this would help with any spasms that you may be having. To sleep, try a recliner in the semi-reclined position or lying on your side with a pillow between your knees to help relieve any pressure on your back. You could rub your back with witch hazel before having someone try to massage it, this will also numb it for a bit. Good Luck!
2006-07-01 20:41:35 · answer #2 · answered by wildangel_stubborndevil 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pay special attention to the advice from JeannieMalinda on up the board. Her advice is right on target. My husband has DDD (degenerative disc disease) and has had two back surgeries (thank God he has an excellent neurosurgeon). She is right when she says if you have pain or a burning sensation radiating down either or both legs, it's bad news - my husband had that type of pain before his two surgeries. Go see your doctor as soon as possible so that you can be properly diagnosed. He will probably do X-rays, and possibly an MRI. You may only have (if you're lucky) pulled or strained a muscle. In that case ice will help reduce the pain and swelling. Stay away from a chiropractor until you have been properly diagnosed by a medical doctor. In my husband's case, his medical doctor told him that with his type of back problems, if he were to be treated by a chiropractor, he could easily become paralyzed. So be careful. Better safe than sorry. Good luck to you.
2006-07-01 20:42:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to a chiropractor that has a good reputation. He/She will put your back into place and the pain should go away immediately. They charge about $80-$100 for initial xrays and office visits about $25 if uninsured. If insured should cost you maybe $3 a visit. Traditional doctor will give you Vicadin which takes the pain away but cost a heck of a lot more. An ex girlfriend of mine used to be an Army medic and would take her fingers in the small of my back and push until I felt a crack. Then all was good.
I had a chymopapain injection when young and that worked too but off work for 3 months as it was a severly herniated disc. Pain would shoot down my leg. I also used to stoop down and that relieved the pain or curl up in a fetal position to sleep.
2006-07-01 20:26:54 · answer #4 · answered by alfredenuemann98195 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
honestly you should probably see a doctor. in the mean time you should use heat for about 10 minutes the cool for 10 minutes, and try to keep the muscles loose but do not move more than would hurt. Also don't lift anything. I did this once and I understand what you mean, I got some athletic bandage and wrapped my lower back and stomache to immobilize as much as possible. But by all means go to a doctor, the back is a bad thing to hurt.
2006-07-01 20:26:06 · answer #5 · answered by daggermouth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK... here's the test. Do you have a sharp pain going down either leg? If you do, it's bad news. It means you have damaged a disc. You need to see a neurosurgeon right away. Don't freak, it doesn't mean you'll have surgery. There are a lot of treatments other than surgery. But you DO need to get it taken care of - and quick. If you don't have burning going down either leg, then ice on and off at 20 minute intervals, and get in to see your family dr. as soon as possible. You will probably get muscle relaxers and some pain meds to get you throuhg it in that case.
2006-07-01 20:24:47 · answer #6 · answered by jeanniemalinda 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You said it happened only yesterday, putting heat on pulled muscles in the first 72 hours only makes the injury worse, ice only for 20 mins. every 3 hours. Back injuries are always painful as you can't do anything without using your back muscles & all they want to do is relax, so relax them as much as possible. Don't let anyone talk you into any abrasive massages, ( you wouldn't like to be bashed around if you were in pain & neither does your muscles ), gentle massage is therapy, & oh if you are in that much pain please go see your doctor even if only for x-rays to be safe. Good luck I hope you get better soon, by for know.
2006-07-01 20:33:24 · answer #7 · answered by cotts 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
heat soothes the pain, but you need to rotate between heat and cold (ice packs work best). The cold takes away the inflamation in the muscles. you have do hot/cold trtmt: 15min on /15 min off for each.
chiropractics also helps. (i wrecked myback once at work helping a 280lb cp client out of the tub) when i went to the chiropactor i was surprised how much one tight mucle could throw off other things. my spasm was so tight it caused me to lean to oneside which caused pressure on that side and my adrenal gland, this left me achy and fatigued. A few hot/cold trtmts, massages and adjustments helped way more than the physical therapy prescribed by my doctor.
G E T W E L L S O O N !
2006-07-01 20:31:34 · answer #8 · answered by 1derous1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go see your primary care physician and have him/her refer you to a physical therapist. In the mean time, put a cold pack on it for 20 min every three hours. No heat unless a medical professional instructs you to do so. The above answer about the ibuprophen is good, too.
2006-07-01 20:30:48 · answer #9 · answered by nyak 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dude all I can say is that just try noo to move i mean if you pulled probably two muscles last night i mean i pulled a leg muscle in weightlifting and ya i put icyhot oon it and some thermalcare patches that helped me maybe you should try it..and pobably move around a lil bit i mean i told you not to but just try mooving a lil bit but not way too much and if it keeps hurting the next few days then go to the doctor's office and see wat he says it could b more serious than wat u expect it is right now...
take care girl
love ya like a sis
-skittlez
2006-07-01 20:38:58 · answer #10 · answered by Skittlez 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋