i'm looking this up as well, but i thought i'd ask in case anyone knew any tried and true methods of easing a bad back quickly. i pulled one of my lower back muscules right around my spine area earlier today and i start SCBA training tommarow and it goes through the weekend. SCBA involves lifting some heavy gear so i need to know the quickest way to glue this shit back together. anyone ever come across any good remedies…besides drinking anyways? im afraid i have to stay sober for this stuff.

Well, it won't actually heal anything, but when I pull my back, I find a strong pain killer can allow me to continue doing physical work if I need to. (That's probably pretty bad advice since it doesn't fix anything and allows you to hurt yourself further, but that's what I do.)

Some of the strong PMS medicine contain ingredients that act as a muscle relaxant (acetaminophen/pamabrom combination I think) and might be more effective than a pain killer alone.

yer right, i suppose i wont fix it in a day. i think i'll definatly take something for tommarow, but if there's anything to speed up the process, i'd love to hear it.

Hmm…if it were me I'd put some rubbing alcohol on the spot and grab my trusty heating pad or maybe an ice pack. Not a cure but it might soothe it a bit…

There's also that Icy-Hot stuff…and baths.

good idea! those things don't have after effects.thank you!

While cold packs do help to dull the pain, putting a towel that's been soaked in hot water on the area will increase bloodflow and help to heal it faster.

Yes, hot water towel is the better of cold/hot.

Also, keep moving or stretching it if you can. Gently! Not too much, but letting it stiffen up would be a bad idea. Try lying down and bending your knees up toward your chest. That way you're lying down to relieve the weight on your back.

With lying down, try to have a pillow under your knees (eases muscles in the back) or a SMALL pillow under the small of your back. Don't sleep on your stomach because it's less natural.

thanks alot guys! i will try all this. also got some of those thermacare heating pads that you can wear and some icy hot.

If at all possible, i'd suggest delaying this training. I know the feeling of wanting to get something done as soon as possible, and have suffered the consequences of “working past” an injury. Normally it'll injure you more, and set you back even further. If there is training later, i highly recommend you wait.

but if you chose to work anyways, best of luck!

seventy2
If at all possible, i'd suggest delaying this training. I know the feeling of wanting to get something done as soon as possible, and have suffered the consequences of “working past” an injury. Normally it'll injure you more, and set you back even further. If there is training later, i highly recommend you wait.

but if you chose to work anyways, best of luck!

thanks 72. you sound like a pretty active person, so i'll take yer advice if i'm able. the only thing is this fire school only takes a few days to teach a subject so it might be the only shot i have at learning SCBA unless i can get someone from the dept to help me on the side. i think what i'll do is show up and stay and do what i can, but i'll let my instructors know i kinked my back. i'm hoping that it clears up alot by tommarow cuz i'm not in agony, it's just kinda there. so it's probably either minor enough to sleep off i hope, or it'll hit harder on the second day like back injuries like to do.

A bad back is not something you can fix in a day. I am still having back pain from a slipped disk that happened THIRTEEN YEARS ago. I had to go through a year of physical therapy, and it still hurts when I sleep on my side.

The best thing you can do is visit the doctor and see what he suggests in terms of physical therapy and the like. A bad back is not something you want to play around with–if you're not careful, you could cause some serious damage. Like not being able to walk. (Seriously.)

In the meantime, anti-inflammatory meds like ibuprofin, Excedrin, Tylenol. etc. help with the pain. I had to follow a strict regiment of lower back exercises for several years and they helped immensely. There's a lot of exercise references on the Internet, but you'd be better off doing certain exercises your doctor/physical therapist recommends. My physical therapist was also kind enough to make me a special device that stretched my back–it worked wonders.

Also, if you have to sit for a long time, consider buying a roll of bubble wrap or roll a towel and put it behind your back. Cheap and effective.

went well today! thank you everyone.