I'm not very old (on the brink of 20 :blush:), but I'm having back problems. My parents laughed at me for about a week and formally "welcomed" me to the "adult world". Well it has definitely reminded me that I'm no longer 18.
I don't know what I did to it... but about three months ago it started hurting, a lot. I could barely get out of bed for a week, and even the slightest shift in posture had me screaming inside my head. The pain is on the lower left side (although pretty close to spine) of my back, just above my hip although the location isn't exactly pinpoint... its a flame that spreads. I can't really describe it. It's kind of like the pain you get when you turn your neck too fast while you're about to claw the chalkboard. At first I thought it was just because I had slept in an awkward position (since it first started after I got off a very cramped flight home), but three months later I'm still in pain.
The pain slowly receded and I thought that it was all better (I still feel a twinge of pain getting out of bed, or stretching), until I got back into the water. Swimming is perfectly fine, but flip turns are a major problem. My doctor is completely booked until at least April, and since I'm not in any life threatening situation, I've decided to wait until then. I have stopped doing flip turns for the most part; I still attempt them on those bright optimistic days, but even those seem to be lagging these days along with the lack of satisfactory swimming. I've been doing what I normally do for small injuries: icing and stretching.
I'm wondering if anyone here has any helpful advice.
Did you happen to fall/trip at all before you back started hurting? As much as 2-3 weeks prior? I tripped up a set of steps in college and hurt my back pretty badly, but it took almost 2 weeks until I had any noticeable pain. The way you're describing your pain sounds a lot like mine, both in location and how it hurts (especially flip turns).
Until you can see a doctor, I don't have any advice beyond what you're already doing. I was lucky that I was a varsity swimmer, so I had immediate access to a doctor and trainers, but most of what they did for me was assisted stretching and electrostim. If you can get to an orthopedist or physical therapist without seeing your general practitioner, I would try and do that.
Did you happen to fall/trip at all before you back started hurting? As much as 2-3 weeks prior? I tripped up a set of steps in college and hurt my back pretty badly, but it took almost 2 weeks until I had any noticeable pain. The way you're describing your pain sounds a lot like mine, both in location and how it hurts (especially flip turns).
Until you can see a doctor, I don't have any advice beyond what you're already doing. I was lucky that I was a varsity swimmer, so I had immediate access to a doctor and trainers, but most of what they did for me was assisted stretching and electrostim. If you can get to an orthopedist or physical therapist without seeing your general practitioner, I would try and do that.
