Back pain?

[Lindsey]

Does anyone here ever get back pain or know how to deal with it? Since March my lower back has hurt pretty bad, on and off. I know how it started and it's a silly story, but it caused a lot of pain. Right after it hurt to move my back at all for about a week, and then it slowly subsided. I thought it was done but every once in awhile I get a cold, like right now, and I cough or sneeze while I'm standing straight up and as my body moves, pain just shoots through that part of my back.
Most times it's just really uncomfortable, like it feels like it needs to be cracked. I do yoga but nothing makes it feel better because it's so far down. Basically, it's right between my hips bones.
I think I need a chiropractor, but I'm still a student and so I'll have to wait until next year when I have a job and health benefits. Does anyone know what I could do now to ease the pain at all?

i get accupuncture. it works pretty well.

[Janet]

Definitely go to your Dr. and have it checked. An awful lot of arthritis, especially oseoarthristis (sp) can start in your lower back. You don't have to be old to get arthristis anymore. Don't wait too long.

[Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Janet

Definitely go to your Dr. and have it checked. An awful lot of arthritis, especially oseoarthristis (sp) can start in your lower back. You don't have to be old to get arthristis anymore. Don't wait too long.

I actually had arthritis in one of my hips when I was 6 years old and was told it would probably come back in the other hip before I was 18. It didn't, but now I'm worried! I guess I'll try to get to a doctor in the next couple of weeks.

[Janet]

My husband has rhuematoid arthritis and he caught it early enough that it is now in remisson. He still has to take meds to keep it there, but it's working. Don't mask it with pain killers or anything else until you have a firm diagnosis as to what it is. I would go to your Dr. as soon as he can get you in and find out if indeed that is what it is or something else.

[Lindsey]

I thought before that I may have just put something out of place or stretched a muscle or something... I was on a pubcrawl in March and there was some alcohol involved and some guy decided he was strong enough to benchpress me between leaving the bar and getting back on the bus. I agreed but I guess his balance wasn't great because after lifting me up, he dropped me on the pavement, back-first. That's where the whole situation started, but I'm too embarassed to relay that to a doctor!