In this week’s episode of Back Talking! we continue with the series “What is causing your lower back pain?” Lumbar strains represent probably the largest single cause of someone struggling with a lower back pain issue. We decide to clean out the basement,  help a friend move that old couch down into the basement, or spread a truckload of mulch in a weekend, and the next thing you know is that you can’t get up off of the floor!

Lumbar Strain There is always confusion regarding the words sprain and strain. People use them interchangeably, but there is a difference in the medical world. A sprain is the tearing or stretching of a ligament, a strain is the tearing or stretching of a muscle. When someone rolls their ankle and sprains it, they have suffered an injury to the ligaments surrounding the ankle joint. When someone overdoes it working in the yard, it’s typically a muscle injury. The good news is that muscle strains recovery fairly quickly.

In this case study we follow Jason. He is one of those guys that had a truckload of mulch dumped into his driveway. He then spent the next 2 days spreading that around his yard with a rake and a shovel. If that wasn’t enough, the following weekend he decides to tear a rotting deck off of the back of his house. The days that followed for him were a real struggle, so much that his wife had to help him dress and put on his shoes for him! He’s having a hard time sitting at work as well.

We also clarify the age old heat or ice debate that people so frequently ask about. We also discuss the use of topical creams such as Icy-Hot and Ben-Gay. So take a listen and see how Jason recovers from his weekends of work!