Lower back pain

[rpfranks]

Old man post incoming...

I have started getting really bad lower back pain in the last 12 months or so every few nights. 

Concerned this will slow things down a little at Glastonbury - I'm sure others are in my boat too, so does anyone have any tips for the pain other than ibuprofen?

(I'm not actually old.)

[funkyuk]

As soon as you're unpacked and pitched, head up to the healing fields for a proper massage.  (Give the reiki a miss)

[HalfAnIdiot]

Paracetamol beats ibuprofen for me.

Dont carry heavy stuff.

Massage in healing field.

Pilates.

If all that fails go to the cider bus!

 

[upshitcreek]

2 minutes ago, rpfranks said:

Old man post incoming...

I have started getting really bad lower back pain in the last 12 months or so every few nights. 

Concerned this will slow things down a little at Glastonbury - I'm sure others are in my boat too, so does anyone have any tips for the pain other than ibuprofen?

(I'm not actually old.)

I too suffer from severe back pain, I've had sciatica for about 3 years. The only thing that helps is a sports massage every two weeks. If I miss one I'm fucked. See if you can get an appointment somewhere I can stress how much it helps. A load of booze obviously helps

[Leggins]

Not really, other than the ibuprofen. I've found keeping topped up helps so taking it every 4 hours regardless of if it's flared up or not. Also throw in some paracetamol too, as is safe to take both together. 

[kaytee...]

Same and I'm not even a quarter of a century old for another week.

Mine once got so bad at a festival in Holland that I couldn't even crouch down enough to sit on the toilet. 

I take ibruprofen and use heat patches now. If it's bad this year I'm also going for a massage. Taking a trolley too to take off some of the weight but it's the mud that takes it's toll on you.

 

Also, take an airbed. Your bad back will thank you for it.

Edited June 21, 2016 by kaytee...

[funkyuk]

Brownies 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Maybe do some stretches first thing and last thing.

 

[ourkid1984]

18 minutes ago, rpfranks said:

Old man post incoming...

I have started getting really bad lower back pain in the last 12 months or so every few nights. 

Concerned this will slow things down a little at Glastonbury - I'm sure others are in my boat too, so does anyone have any tips for the pain other than ibuprofen?

(I'm not actually old.)

I'm 32 and have suffered with lower back pain since I was the ripe old age of 17...

I find taking tablets a bit pointless as they never seem to take much pain away and if they do it gives you a bit of a false security.

There's loads of good physio exercises that you can easy do pretty much anywhere. I do about 4 different exercises twice a day. 

There's loads of physio information on lower back pain on YouTube.

[Girlwiththemostcake]

28 minutes ago, Leggins said:

Not really, other than the ibuprofen. I've found keeping topped up helps so taking it every 4 hours regardless of if it's flared up or not. Also throw in some paracetamol too, as is safe to take both together. 

You should only take ibuprofen 3 times in 24 hours so best to take it every 6 and be careful you don't take too many if you're up all night! You can take it with paracetamol but paracetamol and alcohol together aren't great for your liver so maybe only take that if it gets bad. 

[kingmonkey1980]

I get it after long periods of standing, only thing for me is to regularly sit down or keep moving.  Once it starts though thats it, only need to be stood up for a short time and it kicks in again.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

You can get Ibuprofen gel to rub on the part of your back where it normally hurts. Poundland normally has the stuff. I'd put a liberal amount on your back before you start to lug all your stuff on to and off site.Might be worth buying two or three tubes of the stuff so that you can use it during the festival as well.

As has been said, you can take ibuprofen tablets and paracetemol at the same time (keeping within the prescribed amount for a 24 hour period).

[Davet84]

its usually due to thinking you are standing up straight but with tight hamstrings pulling you into a bad position your lower back takes more weight than it should.

Stretching your hammys like the picture above twice a day starting now will help loads

[redrog]

Same.

My tip: take Paracetamol as well as the Ibuprofen.

[dexydexy]

Would gel insoles help? Could lessen the impact from lots of walking every day.

[cb4747]

Take along some Tiger Balm? Always helps when I have leg or back pain! Just make sure you wash your hands before putting them in, er, other places. 

[rpfranks]

Some great suggestions, thanks!

Defo going to get to the healing fields Tomorrow after we're set up.

will also try those stretches!

[Bradders]

11 months ago I broke my back in 12 places so I'm not expecting an easy ride carrying stuff in. Painkillers and an air bed for me and then just putting up with it.

[Mark E. Spliff]

It's always a very bad idea to take crowd-sourced advice on something like back pain.  You need advice that is very specific to your problem.  Example: over a year ago, I ended up with sciatica after stupidly trying to carry a pool table up some stairs.  As my sciatica presented itself as a kind of inability to bend at the trunk without pain, I decided, like many other idiots do, to try and stretch my way through it.  Bad idea - stretching your hamstrings when you've got sciatica is just trying to force a trapped nerve to move when it can't - i.e. you risk doing serious damage to that nerve.  Thankfully, I found this video before I'd had a chance to do too much damage.

Conversely, to prepare for a recent major kayaking trip, I did hamstring stretches to cure my back pain.  This was different - my sciatica had already gone and I was just preventing the tight hamstrings pulling my lower back out of position as described by Davet84 above.  It was incredibly effective.

Get a diagnosis and expert advice.

[funkyuk]

10 minutes ago, cb4747 said:

Take along some Tiger Balm? Always helps when I have leg or back pain! Just make sure you wash your hands before putting them in, er, other places. 

I used tiger balm one year at Glasto,. While excellent The stuff stays on your fingers for Glasto days, and my eyes hated me by the Sunday 

[Nobody Interesting]

2 hours ago, rpfranks said:

Old man post incoming...

I have started getting really bad lower back pain in the last 12 months or so every few nights. 

Concerned this will slow things down a little at Glastonbury - I'm sure others are in my boat too, so does anyone have any tips for the pain other than ibuprofen?

(I'm not actually old.)

Get yourself to the healing fields as soon as you can and let them work their wonders. They sorted mine for me before.

I also use the wrap around heat wraps designed for lower back to sleep in so the muscles stay warm at night. They help lots.

[alibear]

I suffer too - try and stretch for a few minutes every morning, the above moves are good, or even just hug your knees for a few minutes before you get up - that's what my osteopath told me to do. I find mine gets worse if I stand still for too long, so gentle exercise, like walking, can help. Luckily we'll be doing a lot of that throughout the festival! 

...but as others have said above, get some expert advice. It could be nothing serious, but if it is the start of something permanent (bulging disc, scoliosis etc), it's definitely worth knowing sooner rather than later.

[GlastoEls]

Go to the doctors, and watch this:

 

 

[lyndseyo]

my plan is voltarol gel and rum  hope it doesn't give you too much jip during the festival, remember to take it easy and my motto is 'anything can be used as a chair'  x

[sloseph]

my best shout would be get a proper camping bed, some actual support while you sleep can do wonders

I've got one like this and my back is so much better at festivals now http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/freedom-trail-camp-bed-4-leg-p321943

the only issue is they do weight a touch more and your average air bed but it's worth it