I Tweaked My Lower Back Now What Do I Do?
I remember when I first started writing about back pain. I was struggling with way more than just tweaking my lower back.
I was in some serious pain but I had just started to get a grasp on what was going on and started seeing some real results.
Since then, I’ve completely overcome chronic low back pain but I have some news I wanted to share.
I tweaked my lower back in the gym the other day.
It sucked at the time (it actually really didn’t get bad until the next day) but it soon turned into what I see as a great opportunity to teach.
That’s right!
I want to turn my own injury into a case study and share with you exactly what I am going to do to recover as fast as possible.
So in today’s video, I wanted to share with you the Facebook Live I did in my private coaching community about my injury and the 2 most important elements to getting on the right track to overcoming pain as fast as possible.
Acute Back Pain Vs Chronic Back Pain
I wanted to first address this question because I know what some of you are thinking…
Well, my back pain is chronic and you’re dealing with more of an acute issue…that’s why you will be able to beat it so fast.
Here’s the thing.
Yes, my injury is acute…should last less than 4-6 weeks (the official definition for acute pain would have a time frame of fewer than 6 months recovery time) but the strategies I am using are the exact strategies that I used to overcome 6+ years of chronic pain after rupturing my L5-S1 Disc.
So yes, Chronic (lasting longer than 6 months) is a beast in and of itself but if you follow the right plan, have good coaching and trust the process you can be living a totally different life before you know it.
What Are The First 2 Things You Should Do After Tweaking Your Lower Back?
I break these down in more detail in the video but here is the spark notes version of the first two things I think anyone with a low back injury should be focusing on.
I Tweaked My Lower Back Step #1
Start walking as soon as possible. Trust me I know, the only thing you are going to want to do after hurting your lower back is protect yourself from further pain and injury.
Laying around, ice packs, heating pads, or maybe a choice whiskey, and ibuprofen cocktail are NOT long-term solutions and in fact, if you only stick to these it will only prolong your recovery.
Walking is one of the best ways to get the muscles moving without a major threat to the injured site. Sure you’re walking may look like you have a stick up your butt and be painful but it’s something you can work into overtime.
I Tweaked My Lower Back Step #2
Affirm yourself that this is going to get better and movement is the only medicine.
This is not something you do AFTER your choice movement but rather something you’re doing every single day throughout the day.
You have to control the way you allow your thoughts to wander. The more fearful, negative thoughts you have about your injury the more your body will respond by protecting itself.
You have to make a conscious effort to choose a positive outlook as often as possible. This will help you relax when moving whether that’s just walking or choice rehab exercises.
You are strong and capable of recovering from far worse injury.
You will bounce back!
What Else Should I Do After Tweaking My Lower Back?
Great questions and I have a full series on exactly what you should be doing.
In fact, in this section, you will find all of the videos I made for this mini-series.
As of today, there has only been one video release but stay tuned and check back because this section will contain to be updated as this series kicks off!
