Back problem, anyone know what this could be?

My fiance has been having back problems lately. It kind of comes up out of nowhere and then goes away after a few days. We weren't doing anything strenuous, but his back started hurting a lot today and he hasn't been able to walk or stand without pain. Advil doesn't do much.

It's in the small of his back on the right side. Does anyone have an idea what this could be? I want an idea to go on so we can look up how to help him feel better. We don't have insurance.

 

Could be many things from kidney disorder to minor muscle strain. It's hard to know without more.

 

if you don't have insurance, you might be eligible for medicaid.

I think many hospitals will offer free care if you meet income guidelines

this article from the interwebz

http://www.squidoo.com/lowerbackpainrightside

ask him if it feels like a muscle strain

that's the most likely thing, but it could be a kidney infection, or other stuff

 

my first guess was kidney

 

We have both applied for medicaid before and didn't get it. Also, I asked him and he said it feels more like muscle pain than anything else.

I do yoga so whenever the pain gets too bad we do a couple of stretches together and it alleviates it a little bit temporarily, but I don't know what else to do other than just tell him we need to go get it checked out as soon as we can pay.

 

if the stretching helps, then it sounds more like a muscle strain. you could give him a massage.

also, maybe there's some kind of otc ointment you can put on it

 

I do but it doesn't seem to help for long. I'll look into the ointment.

I was hoping someone else had experience with this type of back pain to give us an idea on how he can make it better. Like sleeping or sitting a certain way.

 

Try ice for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. Repeat as much as he wants. Use a towel between the ice bag and skin.

 

He should sleep on his side with a pillow between his knees. (Seriously, I know it sounds weird, but...) Also try moist heat and see if that helps relax it any. There's also some stretching exercises that can be found on various websites... I just grabbed one out of google, Link


If none of that stuff helps then I'm gonna go with kidneys too.

 

Would kidneys cause fever?

 

kidney infection would

but just a stone no

 

I'll have him try those ideas.

He's had gallstones before, I haven't had kidney or gallstones so I don't know if the feeling is similar. I think he'd know if it were stones or just muscle strain though.

 

I would think so too... They feel very different. Good luck.

 

Tell him to work on his posture, it can make a big difference.

 

If the yoga helps keep doing that. Get into the routine of 30 minutes of yoga a day. After a couple of weeks it should really improve his posture. I also recommend pilates. I've been doing yoga for years and it didn't touch a couple of trouble spots on my back but I recently started Pilates and it has helped immensely.

Since you don't have insurance I also recommend asking around to see if you have any friends prescribed muscle relaxers who could give him a couple. I have a slight twist in my spine that makes me prone to pulling a muscle in my lower back and whenever I do I just take a muscle relaxer a couple of nights in a row and it feels better. Also ibuprofen and a hot bath in Epsom salt should help too.

 

some general recommendations from chinese medicine that might help

avoid foods that are raw. avoid anything served cold

cut down on sugar and excess salt. avoid processed foods

soak some black beans overnight. discard the soaking water and cook them in a pressure cooker. eat black beans on a regular basis. this is better than resorting to canned beans

try to stay warm throughout the winter

having sex less often or not at all during the winter might help him

 

Thanks a lot for the suggestions everyone! I'm going to do the yoga with him on a regular basis and try to cool it on the sex for now lol.

 

Don't stop having sex because someone on the internet gave you their opinion on a medical condition...

 

^

don't do or not do anything just because someone on the internet gave you their opinion on a medical condition

the suggestions I made are worth trying.

if they help, then they're worth it

if they don't help, then they're not! :daisy:

 

Lol I didn't say I'm going to stop having sex because someone told me to. I can make my own decisions based on information I gathered...that's kind of how the mind works.

I said cool it, not stop altogether lol. Meaning not doing crazy positions that could make it worse. It's common sense.