Lower Back Pain

Help me please!  I'm a 44 year old woman.  Every morning I get up and walk around like a 90 year old because my lower back is killing me!  Takes about an hour or so to calm down.  I have to sit up straight until the pain subsides- walking around makes it worse.  It feels as though I have one leg shorter than the other - like I'm lop sided when I have this pain.  I'm a tennis players but for the past 6 months I've had to cancel all morning tennis.  Last weekend I tried to play tennis in the morning but ended up on the bench in tears with pain and frustration.  

I've tried different mattresses, sleeping with a pillow between my legs, sleeping on my side etc.  I try and exercise my back when I can - stretch etc.  I've even been to a couple of chiropractors.  It only hurts in the morning when I wake up.  I try not to take pain killers but I'm running out of ideas.  

What should I do?  

[Suri123]

Hi Kelly245, how are you? I do understand how difficult it might be to carryon the daily activities with low back ache. Do you remember of any injury to back while playing tennis which you had ignored or just took few pain killers? There can be nerve irritation causing muscle spasms leading to stiff back and restriction in your low back motion. Try to get some physical therapy and massage therapy. Apply pain gel gently and hot foment. Continue using hard bed and stretches. If pain still causes discomfort, consult a orthopedic doctor for evaluation and investigation if necessary like a x- ray or MRI back. Take care and share your thoughts.

[marissposa]

Have you tried acupuncture and/or massage.  I have had great luck recently with doing acupuncture once a week and massage every other week.  If you don't have insurance or they don't cover so-called "alternative therapies"  many practicioners are open to sliding scale or trade depending on your income.

[Best59]

Hi Kelly,
Possible you have ovarian cysts or cancer?
Best59

[Dr Vinod]

Any form of cancer should be diagnosed before coming to conclusion. Kelly should visit a Physician to get it diagnosed i think by this time as more than an  year passed she might have known her problem. Take care!

[Feli2010]

I suffer from lower back pain occassionally and I was trying to find out if it was kidney related. However, I noticed that after drinking plenty of water it goes away. I do not feel pain sitting down but it is mostly when I try to get up that I can not not get my back straight quickly. I came to conclude that some allergy to some foods causes the tendons or ligaments to stiffen up causing disconfort. Tolerance to some foods may be limited and the symptons can come in different forms. In any case, the kidneys would also be involved because taking fluids brings relief and the kidneys have to eliminate more fluids.