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Strange throbbing/twitching in mid/lower back

I am a 21 year old female with generally good health. Three days ago, I began getting these twitches and tremors in my mid/lower back on my left side. They aren't really painful, just more of an annoyance and discomforting. It feels as if an organ or a deep muscle is twitching pretty violently and irregularly, and in the same spot - the number and frequency vary with the position in which I am sitting and laying down. It has been nearly constant for the last three days after suddenly appearing. They are rare when I am up and moving.

I'm concerned it might be something serious, maybe something is wrong with my circulation - a blod clot possibly, as I am on birth control pills anf I know this is a possible side effect, or maybe it is an organ, perhaps a kidney, that is pulsating. I feel okay overall despite this, except for a little nausea caused by the twitchng being sort of close to my digestive system and a little very slight back pain. I haven't recently strained it (I don't do a whole lot of physical activity) and I have never had this happen before. The only thing that could be a cause is that I drank the night before about four drinks, which I do about once a week at the very most. I understand it might be some type of nerve problem and I don't know how relevant this is, but my father has MS.

Please let me know if I need to go see a physician or if it something that will most likely pass.
19 Responses
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33F, I have it in my mid/lower back right side. The first time it happened, it felt like something alive was inside me... still freaked out. Has ANYONE come up w any answers?
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I'm 46 years old, had this random throbbing sensation since 4 years ago. I realized that it always gets triggered when I'm stressed or nervous. What trigger yours?
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Female, 71, pulsating on the lower left side toward back. At first I thought it was my pulse but rest of body has steady heartbeat and not twitching or exhibiting any irregularity. Comes and goes, often while just seated. Am very fit, no "vices".
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No answer here.  Just jumping on the list. I am having the same issue as everyone else on this thread. Just looking for answers. 39 yo female.
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Does anyone know what it is? I am having the same problem. Im a 36 year old female. Im having constant muscle spasms/twitching on my left side mid to lower back. I feel it closer to my spine in the lower back but travels up to my midback and kinda starts to wrap around my side. I prefer to call it twitching because Ive had back spasms before and they are painful. This is not. Just wicked annoying and practically non-stop. I do have spine issues (degenerative disc desease, hurniated discs) so I thought maybe it could be my spine. But sense its not painful I thought maybe an organ? I have no idea but its driving me nuts. If anyone knows what the cause is please share. Clearly Im not the only one to experience this.
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Add me in. Same here. 48-y/o male. I've had this for almost 1-year now. Since Christmas 2016, 9-months ago, I have inquired and been tested, checked, and rechecked, and retested over again about this problem. I have had 25 doctor visits with 6 different doctors, and hospitalized over it once. NO ONE can find any problems causing this!! I am flustered!! I've had multiple CT's, blood tests, x-rays, angiogram, sonogram, EKG, and more. If anyone figures out what this is, Please let me know. Thanks  
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2 Comments
Wow, I have been going through the same  non stop throbbing, pulsating, etc
with multitudes of tests. Some painful but willing to do what is necessary to get a proper diagnoses, Consulted 4 Spine doctors -not helpful. Loads of physical therapy to no avail.
Currently working with a neurologist but she’s even scratching her head, My next plan  is to some type of abdominal testing. I will happily share the outcome.  
Oh and the throbbing goes from left back side and moves to the right side traveling down my right leg down to my feet.  I use a massager at night to help me sleep through it. There has to be a solution and I will keep trying. I wish us all the best.
Hi! I commented here 5 years ago. So I've been "suffering" from this for 9 years now. I have scoliosis and spondylosis. I don't know if they have something to do with this. 11, years ago I broke my hip in an accident, that left my left side 2cm shorter than my right. I wasn't prescribed insoles until only 3 months after of walking without. This badly affected my spine and neck. So Im thinking, maybe it's a pinched nerve or something in my case. I see my chiro from 2x a week now to once a week. The pain in my back and neck is just too much that the throbbing seems nothing now. I just hope that there will come a time that i won't feel any pain anymore.
Avatar universal
I also am experiencing this same thing. I'm a 68 year old woman who had a pacemaker replaced on Friday. The following Sunday, this pounding began. Left side, mid back. Happening once or twice daily for a week now. At first, I thought perhaps my pacemaker was seating. It's always 3 thumps..no pain, just strange feeling.
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Avatar universal
I just recently started having these what I call contractions in my lower left side of my back, it feels like a organ in that area is twitching with no real regularity but persistent... is there a organ in that area that I need to be concerned about? very annoying but not painful.
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Avatar universal
Its quite a while late in relation to the dates above but I am having a similar problem and am a 34 year old male. I have these spasms/twitching on my lower back left side. Haven't seen anyone for this irritation yet. It appears to happen when I have slept really late or had too many hours without sleep such that when I do get some sleep it seems to go away. It appeared to be more severe when I travelled to Canada from the UK so as a result of the time differences I was awake for quite a while trying to adjust to the differences in time. I was a bit worried that it might be a kidney problem so I looked for related postst and found this one. I will keep an eye on it and if I see any further anomalies ill be sure to update everyone here. There is no pain with these spasms though just a serious irritation.
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Avatar universal
Itquite a while late in relation to the dates above but I am having a similar problem and am a 34 year old male. I have these spasms/twitching on my lower back left side. Haven't seen anyone for this irritation yet. It appears to happen when I have slept really late or had too many hours without sleep such that when I do get some sleep it seems to go away. It appeared to be more severe when I travelled to Canada from the UK so as a result of the time differences I was awake for quite a while trying to adjust to the differences in time. I was a bit worried that it might be a kidney problem so I looked for related postst and found this one. I will keep an eye on it and if I see any further anomalies ill be sure to update everyone here. There is no pain with these spasms though just a serious irritation.
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Avatar universal
Im 18 and female and i'm experiencing the same thing .
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Avatar universal
This is so weird. I'm 15 years old and recently been getting these weird throbbing sensations in my lower mid back. You described EXACTLY what I am feeling but I'm 6 years younger than you and am still a teenager. I want to know what's happening!!!!
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I have a lot of twitching in my right side and I am recovering from a kidney infection.
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old threat, found it today. I have the same problem, though im a year or two older. I was worrid it was my heart! (I have a panic disorder. a twitching toe i can ascribe to my heart if im scared enough.)

But yeah its weird, doesnt hurt just feels..weird and not pleasant. oh and in my case it triggered awareness of my mitral valve prolapse,
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Avatar universal
I'm a 21 year old male, experiencing similar issues to yours. In the past I have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), as well as G6PD (a liver cell mutation that is non-life threatening) and have been experiencing odd spasmodic feelings in my lower left back, just below my rib cage.

I was afraid that this was my spleen acting up, or possibly a digestive issue from the IBS. I'm not sure what it really is, and my health insurance won't cover me right now, so I can't go see a doctor.

Thinking back to about a week ago, I remember reaching out of my car door and it sort of felt like I overextended a bit. Something tells me this could be a pulled muscle.

I'm also a vegetarian, only for the past 6 months, and thought that it could also be some sort of iron or potassium deficiency.

Glad to hear I'm not alone!
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Avatar universal
I have the same thing, the lower left part of my back twitches or perhaps spasms is a better word in my case. Its rather uncomfortable, and comes and goes seemly at random. When I do active things like play football I tend to get a lower back pain / soreness that I can't seem to remember getting before these started. Um, I don't really have anything to add to help ;S just thought it was odd you described what I'm experiencing precisely, I'm a 20 male so I guess its not gender specific, hopefully someone finds a reason. I'm fairly healthy otherwise, with good blood pressure and a low pulse. Anyway, my unhelpful 2¢. =)
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Avatar universal
The persistent symptoms should be evaluated further.  It is best to find any underlying cause before the situation progresses to a chronic condition.
While the chiropractic treatment may have provided temporary relief, your symptoms could be related to a deep muscle strain/sprain initiated by the increase of activity associated with your new job.  
Even though you are not doing any heavy lifting, sprain/strain injuries can easily occur when the muscles are utilized after a period of inactivity.  
Make an appt with your primary care physician (if possible) for an examination and appropriate diagnostic tests.  These could include x-rays to determine if there is any abnormality of the lumbar spine,  Chiro treatment can be effective and worthwhile, but when no resolution is achieved after several visits, it is time for further evaluation.
Post with an update and keep us informed of your progress.
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Avatar universal
I just ran into this post and interestingly enought, this is the closest description i've found to my problem as well. I am a 24 y old male. I used to have general lower back pains in highschool from bad posture and sitting long periods of time but i've not had any since. I recently started a new job after about a year of sitting at home with no pain. The job prior included a fair amount of standing throughout the day when I started working that previous job my feet hurt but I eventually got used to it and the pain went away. Now after 3 weeks of starting this new job, which does not include heavy lifting at all I now have a twitching, sharp pain in my lower left side of my back. It feels like a muscle pulling or spasmn. I've never felt this type of pain before. It is fairly random, and I usually can't find or force it, it just randomly happens. Sometimes when im at a certain angle and its happening in a tandemn to a breath or a laugh, i try to continue the breath/laugh pattern and sustain/repeat the pain for a bit longer to try and isolate it and the cause, and usually get a few extra spasms but then it goes away.  I went to a chiro on the 4th week and he shocked it for a while on a massage chair and it seemed to get a bit better. now, on the 5-6th week, its still there, i've had it for almost a month now, the pain isn't as bad but it still happens. I have no idea what is causing it, or if it will eventually go away, or become chronic.  the above poster says shes been treating it for 3 years ? That sounds like either treatment isn't affective or the cause has not been found or the condition diagnosed properly? I sure hope this random pain doesn't last that long, or get any worse. If you still post please give an update on the situation. Again it is a random sharp throbbing pain on the lower left of my back.
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Avatar universal
Is your twitching more of a spasm or just twitching? I'm 22 and have had lower back spasms for a little over 3 years now. I was pretty active and in good health and I've been to a Chiropracter, Physical Therapist, Neurologist, and Orthopaedic but all to no avail.

I have been told that spasms and twitching in the back are more likely to occur due to a muscle problem (possibly bad posture) or to a disc being out of place. I'd recommend going to see a physical therapist first if the problem doesn't resolve itself in the next few days. They will typically look for symptoms of bad posture and for discs out of place, etc as well as teach you some stretching exercises to help correct bad posture and muscle strain.

If you have any luck finding what's causing your twitching please let me know. Good luck!
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