r/backpain

Hi all,

I am a 27F. I got the mentioned back injury a month ago at the gym. I immediately went to the doctor and got the MRI done. It showed 3 disc bulging with tears on two discs. Then I got the epidural steroid injection. For two weeks after getting the injection, I was told to restrict movements. After that, my physiotherapist started with basic exercises.

Now I have pain in my left hip, which comes and goes.

I want to know if with such an injury, I would ever be able to have an active life again. I was a regular gym goer and a runner.

Could anyone help answer this and it would really help if anyone has any positive stories to share.

I re hurt my back a few days ago and the internet says immediately go to the ER due to my symptoms I could become paralyzed if not treated immediately, so here they are.

Memory is bad since the incident.

Deep dull aching pain in Lower back, right hip/butt

Shooting pain down all limbs.

Significantly more on the right side.

Hands weak and sore, more on the right side.

Day of the incident, arms and hands had pins and needles and both hands locked up like claws.

Lips and neck also had pins and needles with spasms.

Neck pain developed one or two days later or at least that’s when I noticed, and is getting worse.

I feel weak and unstable when standing or walking.

Shooting pain in the leg has made my leg give out, causing me to collapse twice.

I forgot to mention I did go to a doctor and I get x rays tomorrow but everything I read says it’s more likely spinal cord compression in the neck and herniated disc in lower spine, and x rays tomorrow won’t see that. Apparently if my spinal cord is compressed it’s very serious and I can lose control of my limbs which seems to be starting already

I want to start doing everything I can to treat it asap but I’m afraid of making it worse

Hello! Earlier today I was trying to turn to crack my back and there was kind of a silent pop in the middle left side of my back. After that instantly there was a spasm type feeling and then it was aching for around 2 minutes. The pain kind of went away but now it has been pretty uncomfortable for me to lay on my side and back. My lower back is now sore as well. Does anyone know if I maybe just pulled something or worse?

Hey all, just posting with a question of specific back pain I've been feeling for the better part of 8 or so years now, and have never been able to pinpoint it, so hoping some folks here might have a similar issue. Long story short, way back in 2014, I took a weird fall in a store on a wet floor that kind of hurt my knee and left me walking weird for a bit as I overcompensated for it.

Ever since then, though, I've noticed that while walking for literally any type of distance, I will get a pretty bad, almost searing/fiery pain in my lower back (right above my butt crack, and usually a little above it). However, as SOON as I bend over/sit down/essentially bend over, the pain subsists IMMEDIATELY.

That's not hyperbole either. I mean literally as soon as I go from standing straight up to bent at a 90 degree angle, the pain is instantly gone. I know this sometimes can be a sciatic nerve/coccyx issue, but am curious if any of y'all have dealt with this, what it might have been, and what (if any) fixes exist for it.

43M here. Anyone suffer from mystery lumbar spine pain that doesn’t reflect any problems in imaging?

I’ve had four MRIs since August and have horrible lumbar spine pain that burns and is debilitating. I had some mild back pain and tightness problems that would flare with hunching over too much when sitting that I first noticed in September 2024.

But in August 2025 I had a lumbar puncture (which revealed nothing) and that set my back over the edge and it hasn’t been the same ever since. I can no longer sit in a chair for longer than 45 min without my back flaring up with weakness in burning pain and spasms. And it is tender at the bony spinous process area where it meets my skin.

Also if I lay on my side and lean my head up to try and work on my laptop then it flares it up super quickly. It’s almost like a mild side plank position. I don’t know what it’s doing but my back isn’t happy. Small angle or hunching over slightly flares it up. Like when vacuuming the house or slightly bending over to water things.

I’m able to walk, lift things and in motion I’m mostly fine. If I walk too much it can eventually hurt at the dimples of my lower back and is usually worse on my left side slightly offset from center.

Any ideas or anyone that can relate?

Here’s my most recent lumbar MRI findings:

T12-L1:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
L1-L2:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
L2-L3:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
L3-L4:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
L4-L5:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
L5-S1:  No disc bulge or desiccation. No spinal stenosis. Unremarkable facets. No foraminal stenosis.
 
IMPRESSION:
Normal lumbar spine MRI examination.

As the title states, I've been managing lower back pain for 15 years. At it's worst I was unable to walk 25 yards without sitting, suffered horrible sciatica for months on end, and my lower back was constantly tight and in pain.

Reddit has been so helpful in finding camaraderie while dealing with the despair, agony, and occasional hopelessness that I've experienced along this journey.......but today, I'd like to offer some hope.

I recently accomplished something that for many years would have thought impossible. I rode biked and camped 190 miles in 2.5 days carrying 20lbs on my back and 30lbs of gear on my bike. On numerous occasion I had to lug this bike up flights of stairs, hunched over for hours on end, slept on uncomfortable ground, on top of hours of travel in the car.

It was a brutal experience, all of my muscles were sore, everything hurt............except for my back, amazingly.

I have not undergone surgery, nor ablations, injections, nor take pain meds, all of which have been offered. I can only attribute this to consistent time, effort, and tons of trial and error establishing and performing a rehab regimen that seems to be paying off.

Had I given up or accepted the pain as my new normal, the hobbies I've been able to reintroduce into my life and adventures would still be pipe dreams.

Let's be very clear. I am not 100%, nor am I doing everything I one day hope to. My back is still often tight, and I still have flare ups, but I'm lightyears beyond when things were at their worst.

I hope this can motivate you to keep going and not settle for letting lower back pain prevent you from living. While this has not come easy and I've still got work to do, it's been worth it.

Hang in there.

I’m already disabled but the pulled muscles happen with little movement/for no reason.

I never had backpain before my surgery but now if I even hunch a bit I can feel soreness on my lower spine where I presume they injected the epidural?

I only feel comfortable if I keep my back straight. Even if I recline and is supported by pillows, curved back = dull sore pain on lower side.

Anyone else experienced this? (Still hoping this is temporary)

Hi all,

I had successful left total hip replacement 1.5 years ago. However, since that time, I have been dealing with lower back pain, center and especially over right glute when walking. I know my left leg is now longer than the right. The xray say 11mm, the surgeon said he measure 14mm and I have had lifts in my right shoe to make up the difference as all said that would be helpful.

I do have osteoarthritis in lower back and have tried a cortisone shot an an ablatement to no effect. PT has helped, but still painful above right glute when walking.

Recently, I got the idea of asking AI is it possible I need even more lift in right shoe? Surprisingly the answer was yes, and the reasoning was that there could be a lot more conditions that affect length than just straight measurement. I decided to try a full inch (25mm) to see if it would have some effect?

I just finished a long walk with much less pain and am getting hopeful that I may be on to something.

TLTR; Anyone else experience needing to add a lot more lift in short leg than just what the xrays say?

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I’m honestly emotional writing this post. If my experience helps even one person, it will mean a lot to me.

Please forgive the long post, but I don’t want to leave out any details that could matter.

About two months ago, I was trying to stretch and massage my glutes using a cork roller. I made the mistake of sitting directly on the roller with my tailbone. My coccyx already sticks out a little naturally. I had put pressure on it before without issues, but this time something went wrong and it triggered horrible pain and discomfort that stayed with me for weeks.

As background information: I suffer from chronic pelvic pain because of a bladder condition, but it had never affected my tailbone before.

Three years ago, I had mild coccyx pain that was resolved with a manual internal traction performed rectally by a specialized doctor.

But this time was different.

The pain gradually became worse and worse. Sitting became difficult unless I curved my back or leaned onto one glute. Even doing a simple Kegel-type contraction hurt. Bending down, leaning forward, turning in bed… everything hurt. I couldn’t even lie on my back comfortably.

My physiotherapist performed manual traction again, but it didn’t solve the problem. I became obsessed with touching the area, using a TENS machine, constantly checking the pain… and honestly, I think all of that made it worse.

I also tried all the coccyx pain stretches I found on YouTube, but nothing improved.

Then things became even harder because in April I had breast implant removal surgery with a breast lift/reduction. Recovery required me to stay sitting and lying on my back for long periods — exactly the positions that aggravated my tailbone pain.

I remember lying on the operating table before surgery, unable to stay still because of the coccyx pain. The surgery lasted almost 6 hours, and when I woke up, my tailbone hurt badly.

The following days were a nightmare. I was recovering from major surgery while the only part of my body I could lean on was already inflamed and painful. I couldn’t push with my arms properly, and my glutes and pelvic area weren’t helping either. Sleeping was horrible. I had to sleep on my back with pillows behind me, but that increased pressure on the coccyx. I tried turning partially onto my side from the waist down. Honestly, it was awful. I wouldn’t wish that kind of post-op recovery on anyone.

Two weeks after surgery, I started taking 50 mg diclofenac once every night for about 5–6 days. It reduced the coccyx pain by about 90%, but I knew it wasn’t a good long-term solution. As soon as I stopped taking it, the pain returned.

Mentally, I was becoming desperate. I searched forums constantly and only found stories from people who had suffered for months or even years. Some never improved.

At one point, I read a comment from someone saying they improved by lying face down and making a movement “like wagging a tail.” Obviously humans don’t have tails, but they meant activating those muscles as if you did.

During all this time, I was also constantly talking to ChatGPT looking for reassurance and trying to understand what was happening.

At some point, the pain stopped feeling like it was only in the bone itself. It felt more like the muscles and tissues around it. Even turning in bed hurt.

I’m attaching images showing exactly where I felt the pain most intensely. And every time I touched the area too much or sat directly on it for too long, the pain flared up again.

Now comes the important part.

I got tired of feeling hopeless. I thought: “I do NOT want this becoming chronic and disabling.” So I decided to experiment with something.

And surprisingly… it worked.

Day by day, it started pulling me out of that pain and disability.

I’ll try to explain it as clearly as possible.

While sitting in the car, with my feet firmly touching the floor, I leaned slightly forward and started doing a strong pelvic floor contraction — not just like stopping urine, but more like tightening your anus as if trying not to pass gas.

At first, the contraction triggered pain in the coccyx area. But if I kept contracting harder and harder, the pain actually started decreasing.

The goal was to hold that strong contraction for about 20 seconds.

After that, I did the opposite movement: pushing downward gently, like the motion of trying to have a bowel movement.

When I discussed my symptoms with ChatGPT, it suggested that the issue sounded muscular and related to inflammation or irritation around the pelvic floor muscle insertions near the coccyx.

And honestly, that explanation makes sense to me.

I believe these contractions and release movements were gradually stretching and relaxing those irritated muscles and attachments.

The key for me was:

Doing this 3–4 times in the morning and again in the afternoon/evening

Stopping myself from constantly touching the area

Avoiding direct pressure on the coccyx even when I started improving

Whenever I sat down and felt that familiar pulling pain while leaning forward or backward, I would do the strong 20-second contraction again, then relax and gently push downward afterward.

It sounds crazy, I know.

But this random discovery got me out of what I truly believed would become a chronic nightmare.

I really hope this helps someone else heal and get back to feeling 100% again.

Also: Walk as much as you can, and pay attention to posture even when you start feeling better.

Thank you for reading, and I sincerely hope this helps someone.

So, I (24F) first had a herniated disc back in 2019 which had me on a bed rest for 3 days and i appeared tilted when i attempted to walk in those three days. I had meds prescribed by family doctor. The pain subsided and I was able to do normal activities like usual.

2nd time- In 2023, I lifted a bucket full of water w/o bracing my back and i had couple of herniated disc (I don’t remember exact name(?) of the discs but i’ll try to find an MRI scan from then and attach it below. Basically, this time it was extremely bad and painful to the point i couldn’t even lie down without the discs jabbing my nerves thus causing me extreme pain. Was on bed rest for approximately 2 months and eventually recovered from it.

Today- i love working out and i’ve been going to the gym on and off since lock down and very consistently since a little over a year. Today, at the gym, when i was doing barbell squat, I instantly felt (for the lack of better words) my disc shift and i could not stand up straight and had to slowly walk while having my back bent at a 90 degree angle till i somehow reached my home. Even right now, I am unable to stand or walk.

Now, I’ve been doing rehab exercises like back extension etc but i still get these flare ups every now and then. I am sick of this and want a permanent solution to this. Whenever i have a flare up, i feel helpless as i have to depend on someone or something and I don’t want it to be the case anymore. If you have any advice for me pls let me know because i’m sick of it.

Hi! This is my first post🙈
So it’s kind of random but in early April I had a tingling sensation in my right arm and leg for a couple of days that dissipated. But now the back of my right leg is incredibly sensitive, it feels like it’s sunburnt almost and everything irritates it. And then I hav random burning along my spine and neck.
My chiropractor took X-rays showing my spine and neck are misaligned, thus he says it’s because of subluxation, and dysautonomia. Has anyone had this experience?
If so how long did it take to recover? I’ve been getting regular chiropractic adjustments three times a week. Per the chiro, it’s a problem that took time to develop so it’ll take time to fix. But I’m in pain😭 and it’s definitely not helping my depression