I know it’s a joke " oh haha you’re 30, everything hurts now cuz you’re so old!" But really, is something wrong with me or are backs just this stupid? Not overweight. Decently active although I don’t exersize every single day. No genetic issues, doctor always says im in perfect health. But my lower back will randomly act up, sometimes it gets so bad that I about black out from the pain. Thats pretty rare though, usually it’s just an ache all day when I move or try to put my socks on. Its not sciatica, as I never feel numbness or pain in my legs. Mild weakness maybe if it hurts really bad.
I feel like any doctor is just going to say welp, you’re old it happens, or tell me I need 3.5 million dollar spinal surgery.
Have you been x-rayed? You could have a disc problem or something. My father had diskectomy at a young age.
Nope. 30 is young and that kind of back pain is abnormal for a 60 year old.
No. With moderate exercise and checking for correct sitting postures, you shouldn’t ever have back pain. I’m in my 40s and only feel a bit tight when I overdid my exercise routine.
The human body is kind of a hot mess, and the back is one of the trouble areas. That said, you might want to see a doctor. If you have insurance. Otherwise just do what I do and pop that ibuprofen.
no its not normal, suddenly developing pain that occurs in frequency. you should see a doctor, it could be a spinal issue, like disk disease. weakness implies, pinched muscle maybe? or spinal issue. see a doc.
for example, i did developed back, spine pain, but that was from lying on my stomach and propping myself up with my elbows. it goes away after i stopped doing it. also if it doesnt go away from nsaids meds, its a sign.
sounds like a spinal issue: could spinal cord compression which can be come serious. you most likely need a MRI to see the spine.
another one would be type 1 diabetes: but that is usually very serious and life threatening it comes on suddenly. (due to ketoacidosis), this is unlikely if you dint have other signs already. there was only 1 time where back pain(lower and neck pain) was caused by an infection, shingles. it was so bad it got stiff, luckily in only lasted a week at the most.
if it is spinal issue, you might have to see an orthopedic specialist, sometimes a neurologist if they suspect nerve damage.
also cervical issues(neck), can lead to issues in the extremeties as well.
if i lie on my left side, i do get PN sensations, plus RLS, im fine if lying on my right side instead. definitely get it checked out.
This is good advice. I put up with back issues and sciatica for years, before some time ago I had an MRI - confirmed disc issues in my lower spine.
It’s not the best and I am waiting for another MRI to see how it is now, yet without the diagnosis, follow up physiotherapy, etc. it would be considerably worse right now.Mid-30s here.
How tall are you? If the answer is yes, then it’s common
Go to your doctor, take the meds they give you and do the exercises and you’ll feel better. Then focus on building back strength so that it doesn’t happen again.
This is one of the scenarios where oats and squats actually do help
Not normal at all. See a doctor. You could have pulled muscles or something like that or you may be like me and have degenerative disc disease.
If you need that spine surgery get it. I wish I had mine sooner. Most people don’t need surgery as physical theorpy fixes it. However when a few weeks wasn’t showing any improvement they sent me for a mri and that found something that surgery was needed before it parralized me. (Not cancer but still a growth)
hopefully you have the same pains as everyone else but only a doctor can figure out the rare exceptions.
Pain is never normal but back pain is pretty common. Sometimes it’s a past injury that’s the cause. For most people though, it’s often caused by weak back muscles or over exertion. Or both.
Might try some light yoga focusing on the back, but you should definitely go see a doc. A chiropractor might be helpful as well.
30 isn’t old, but I had pretty bad back pain in my 30’s that mostly went away as I got older.
If it’s acting up I’ll take ibuprofen right away. 400mg for a few days before I call a dr.
I keep prescribed muscle relaxers to take if it’s bad but those really knock me out so only as a last resort.
Usually after a week it’s all cleared up. It happens maybe 1-2x per year.
It’s never been “I might pass out from the pain” bad though.
Let me just say right up front that any pain you have that’s anywhere near the black-out level is extremely not normal. And I say that as someone who has lived with chronic lower back pain for 20 years (of varying severity, from ‘Huh that’s kinda uncomfortable’ to ‘holy shit it’s time to take all of the meds and lay down.’ I’ve never been anywhere near black-out levels of pain, the most I’ve gotten is back pain so bad it makes me sick to my stomach. Go see an orthopedist, they will find the source of the problem, and then probably refer you to a physical therapist and/or pain management specialist.
Sorry. I laughed from your comment. Doctors tell women blacking out from menstrual pain is perfectly normal.
Didn’t mean to distract from your message, you’re absolutely right.
I remember as a teenager I had such terrible menstrual pain I’d take pain killers and just curl up on the bed suffering and waiting for them to start working. I remember sitting in class at school not being able to focus because the pain in my stomach was barely tolerable. Everyone around me told me it was normal. My mother just told me to take pain killers. It only got better when I started taking hormonal birth control pills. I’ve always wondered if I have endometriosis but never got diagnosed (never asked about it to be honest because on bc it’s manageable). I’d really like to tell my past self that I wasn’t just being weak and that it really wasn’t normal to feel that level of pain. It’s good that slowly there’s more awareness about this, but apparently there are still people like OP who believe they just need to live with pain like that.
OP, this is not normal and not how it should be, please see a doctor.
That’s crazy. Though I mean as a guy I have a lot more experience with lower back pain than menstrual pain so I couldn’t speak to what’s normal for the latter. But near-blacking-out from any kind of pain seems extremely no bueno.
I’m not a doctor nor a woman, but I think it’s unacceptable to get blackouts from menstrual pains. To think that a doctor would just dismiss you like that, is even more unacceptable. It’s 2025, not 1925.
Could be posture, especially if you work an office job or something. I used to have pretty bad back and neck pain, then when they sent us home during the pandemic, all my pain just went away.
I started experiencing this after 30. In my case it’s back muscles tightening up, because of bad posture that lead to the weakening of the core muscles which put too much strain on the back.
Got shown some excercises and got better after a while. Got back every once in a while, but usually I managed to get it under control.
Just got back again and wouldn’t get away for weeks now. Sounds a lot like what you have. I’m going ti schedule the doctor again, I recommend you do the same. This shouldn’t be normal.
Can you name the exercises you were shown, or link to a video or article explaining them?
I don’t know if this could be a case of “what’s good for me might be bad for you” but bad posture must be pretty common in today’s world.
Did your back pain get as bad as OP’s?
I would if I could. A plank and a side plank were one of them. Other than that, no idea as I was shown the excercises, but was never really given names. And even then, I don’t live in English speaking country so might not be useful anyway.
It was mostly about strenghtening the core and stomach muscles, without straining the back much.
Not sure about pain levels. First time around, it was quite bad. I just suddenly couldn’t move, everything hurt so bad. Not quite blacking out pain but it was bad. I first did like one or two weeks of intensive back muscle stretching to be even able to do the other excercises. Currently the pain is not bad, but it is making my life dificult a bit as it blocks some movements.
I’m younger and don’t have a serious injury, so I wouldn’t say this would fix back pain for someone with an actual injury.
But for me, back pain was fixed with better posture and muscle strengthening too.
I think the biggest thing was focusing on engaging the muscles supporting the lower back. Glutes and core specifically.
And for posture, just be conscious about keeping the body in alignment in a way that feels comfortable, not “sitting up straight”
In addition to spine and muscle issues, there can be other things going on like an enlarged prostate or other swelling that pinches nerves which hurt in the lower back area instead of where the cause is located. Less common than sitting too much, but is another possibility beyond spine or back muscle issues.
I was surprised to find out that could feel like a kidney stone!
I’m almost 40, tall, not in great shape, have bad posture, and have two misaligned disks in my lower back and even my back pain isn’t that bad, so I would say that no it’s not normal. You should definitely get that checked out.
