What to Do When You Throw Your Back Out
You reach down to pick something up, and your back gives out. While the pain can feel different for everyone—some experience it as a stabbing throb while others may feel a dull ache or burning pain—throwing out your back hurts. And it can seem unbearable.
Luckily, you don’t have to feel frustrated or stuck. Read our guide on what to do when you throw your back out, which details are telltale signs, as well as what you need to do if you throw out your lower back. If you’re looking for a long-term solution for your back pain, check out NeuroMD’s back pain device.
The 5 Warning Signs You May Throw Out Your Back
Your body will let you know when you’re about to throw out your back. Here are five signs your back is in pain and susceptible to further injury.
1. Aching Muscles
Aching muscles are your body’s sign that it is working hard and being pushed to its limit. Aching back muscles indicate overexertion. By pushing your back past the sore feeling, you’re putting yourself at risk of throwing your back out.
2. Stiffness
If sitting or lying causes stiffness in your upper or lower back, you’re in danger of throwing your back out. A stiff back typically results from putting too much pressure on your back muscles and ligaments. Your body seizes and clenches the muscles in a last-ditch effort to protect your back from further injury.
3. Difficulty Keeping Correct Posture
Your back should feel relaxed when you are sitting or standing with correct posture. If your back is uncomfortable or in pain, that’s a sign your back muscles are not ready to attempt more rigorous movements.
4. Sharp, Shooting Lower Back Pain
Sharp, shooting lower back pain is a sign you have torn a muscle or ligament in your back. Continuing to push through the pain will most likely aggravate your existing injuries and lead to you throwing your back out.
5. Muscle Spasms
Muscle spasms are when a muscle inexplicably tightens. Spasms are most often caused by overuse or an injury. They are a sign your muscles are experiencing extreme fatigue and overextension.
What Actually Happens When You Throw Your Back Out?
Throwing your back out is caused when your muscles are under so much stress they rip and tear. Once the damage is done, your back tries to further protect itself by constricting muscles to shield the injured area, which protects the initial injury but causes more pain and soreness as you move.
You throw your back when you’ve worked your body past your personal strength and fitness level. What may be a perfectly safe activity for one person could be dangerous for someone else.
What to Do After Throwing Out Your Back: The First 24 Hours
You just threw your back out, so what do you do now? Find out what to do when you throw your back out on that critical first day.
1. Stop
Throwing out your back is caused by overextending or overexercising. The best thing you can do once you feel those first stabs of pain is to stop whatever activity you are doing. When you try to push through the pain, you’re putting yourself at risk of causing even more damage to your back.
2. Apply Ice
When you injure your back, your muscles naturally become inflamed and irritated. An ice pack helps reduce inflammation and potential tissue damage by slowing the flow of blood.
3. Rest
Your back needs time to heal. By continuing to move around and do basic daily tasks, you prolong the healing process. Rest in a spot that provides adequate back support and promotes proper posture. The extra support can help remove pressure from your back, helping it heal faster.
4. Drink Water
Between each of the bones in your spine is a spongy protective disc. Drinking water helps ensure each disc has the water it needs to protect and support your spine. Staying hydrated also plays an essential role in how well your body heals, as water helps flush toxins out of the body while transporting nutrients to the cells that need them.
5. Take Over-the-Counter (OTC) Pain Relievers
OTC pain relief can be a powerful part of healing, but remember that the medication does not fix your back injury, it only covers up the pain you feel from it. Because you aren’t getting an accurate understanding of the pain you’re in, it can be easy to overextend and cause more damage to your back if you go back to your normal movements. Pain relievers should not be used as a bandage so you can return to work but rather as a way to get more pain-free rest.
6. Apply Heat
Gently warming your back muscles can help relax them and alleviate the pain caused by clenched, tight, spasming muscles. Apply heat to your back for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and then rest with no heat for at least ten minutes to avoid causing tissue damage to the treated area.
What to Do After Throwing Out Your Back: The First Week
The first week of throwing out your back is the most important to ensure it heals properly. Here are four things you should do to ensure your back heals properly during the first week of your injury.
1. Stretch
Throwing out your back leaves your back muscles and ligaments sore and tight. Once the initial inflammation and soreness are gone, do slow, controlled, and gentle stretches. These gentle stretches will help your muscles remain flexible while also promoting blood flow to the injured area.
When you stretch, stay within a comfortable, pain-free range. Your back muscles are still recovering from an injury and are not as resilient as they were. By stretching too fast or pushing yourself too far, you can reverse the healing you’ve done and even cause additional injuries.
2. Move
You may be tempted to remain in bed during the first week, especially if moving still hurts. However, staying still can cause your back to lose its strength and flexibility.
Take it slow with minimal exercises at first. Walking is ideal, as it keeps your back moving while being gentle enough to not aggravate your injury.
3. Get a Massage
A massage therapist can help alleviate tension from pulled or strained muscles, reducing your pain levels and aiding in the healing process. Stick with a gentle massage and avoid a deep tissue massage.
4. Eat Healthily
Empty calories and junk food slow the healing process by not giving your body the tools it needs to heal. A balanced diet with nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables will provide you with the nutrition your back needs to heal.
What to Do After Throwing Out Your Back: The First Month
Your pain should fade after the first two weeks. But just because the pain may be gone doesn’t mean your body is done healing. Here are two things you should do in the months following your injury.
1. Exercise
After healing, your back won’t have the same strength it had before, which can put it at an elevated risk of injury.
The best thing to help prevent future injuries is to regain your strength. As you start to exercise again, take it slow and remember that you won’t start where you left off. It will take time for your muscles to regain their strength.
2. Stretch
Your back muscles may have lost some flexibility and mobility. Continuing a gentle daily stretching routine can help regain and even improve your flexibility.
Consider taking a yoga class. Yoga is an effective and gentle way to stretch and strengthen your back and entire body.
6 Ways to Prevent Throwing Your Back Out
Now that you’ve recovered, take steps to ensure your back injury doesn’t happen again. Here are six ways to protect your back and improve its strength and flexibility.
1. Keep Good Posture
Good posture improves your spine health and blood flow while maintaining proper alignment.
To improve your posture, start by focusing on how you stand. Good posture starts at the feet and works its way up to the head. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart. Balance your weight on the balls of your feet.
Relax with your knees slightly bent. Keep your hips level to ensure your weight is evenly distributed.
Pull your stomach in while pulling your shoulders down and backward. This keeps your spine supported while preserving its natural curve. Finally, hold your head level with your ears and in line with your shoulders. Your neck should not tilt.
If you are used to having poor posture, be patient with yourself. It took years for you to become accustomed to bad posture, and it’s going to take time to learn a healthy body position.
Once you gain good standing posture, focus on your posture as you sit and rest. By maintaining good posture throughout your day, your postural muscles along your back will function properly without becoming overextended.
2. Strengthen Your Back and Core
Strong back and core muscles will make it harder to throw out your back. Consider activities that can help you maintain and increase your strength while promoting flexibility and movement, like pilates or tai chi.
Another activity that is good for your back and core while being gentle on your joints and muscles is exercising in water. Even if you’re not swimming laps, doing water aerobics or even walking in water can help improve your strength without putting stress on your joints.
3. Bend at Your Knees
Lift with your legs, not your back. We’ve all heard this advice so much that it’s nearly cliche, but it’s still true. Engaging your leg muscles is always the safest way to lift anything.
However, lifting with your legs doesn’t mean you can only use your legs. You can still use your back and core muscles, but use them for stabilization and balance, not for lifting.
The best way to keep your core activated when you lift with your knees is to keep your abs pulled in. This helps strengthen and tighten your lumbar region, which provides the necessary support to lift without damaging your back.
4. Twist or Lift, Not Both
To prevent your back from injury, pay attention to how you move. You can twist. You can lift. But you should never do both at the same time.
Think of your back like a spring. A spring can bend forward and back with no issue. The spring can even twist slightly without being damaged. However, when you apply both forces, the spring can fold or unravel. In the same way, your back is great at bending forward and back, and it can even rotate, but applying those forces at the same time puts you on the fast path to injury.
5. Wear Protection
If you’re lifting weights in the gym or just doing work around the house, support and protection for your back can go a long way. Choose to use a weightlifting belt or back brace to give your back the extra support it needs to lift without injury.
6. Listen To Your Body and Take a Break
Your body knows if you’re going too far or putting yourself in a dangerous position. If something feels too heavy to lift, don’t lift it. If you feel pain, stop whatever you’re doing immediately. It may seem obvious, but these natural warning signs help you stay healthy. By ignoring them or pushing through the pain, you risk re-injuring your back.
When Should You See a Doctor?
If your back pain lasts more than two weeks or the strength and intensity of your pain increases, see a doctor. These are signs your back pain may be more than just a pulled muscle.
If your back pain was caused by direct trauma (like a fall or a hit to the spine from a blunt object), see a doctor immediately. Traumatic back injuries are not the same as throwing your back out and should be treated right away to ensure there is no lasting damage to your back and spine.
How Long Does Recovery Take When You Throw Your Back Out?
If you throw your back out, your body should naturally heal within two weeks. You may need a longer or shorter recovery time depending on your age, health, and fitness level.
Relieve Your Back Pain with NeuroMD
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