I know it’s a joke " oh haha you’re 30, everything hurts now cuz you’re so old!" But really, is something wrong with me or are backs just this stupid? Not overweight. Decently active although I don’t exersize every single day. No genetic issues, doctor always says im in perfect health. But my lower back will randomly act up, sometimes it gets so bad that I about black out from the pain. Thats pretty rare though, usually it’s just an ache all day when I move or try to put my socks on. Its not sciatica, as I never feel numbness or pain in my legs. Mild weakness maybe if it hurts really bad.
I feel like any doctor is just going to say welp, you’re old it happens, or tell me I need 3.5 million dollar spinal surgery.
Well, I mean I guess after a long day or working really hard it can get a little achey and-
But my lower back will randomly act up, sometimes it gets so bad that I about black out from the pain.
No. Holy shit, no. Not normal at all. Go see a doctor ASAP. If you’re ever in debilitating pain for no obvious reason, that is a colossal flashing “go see a doctor now” sign.
I’ve had slight scoliosis all my life due to being very tall and having multiple growth spurts in my teens. That has bothered me in the mornings pretty much since I was 16. Last year, I started getting increased pain around my pelvis which eventually got diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, associated with another diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. I’m 32 now and doing physiotherapy in order to keep flexible, the exercises seem to be a subset of pilates, also been prescribed dicofenac which is like a stronger version of ibuprofen which works well.
Blacking out from pain doesn’t sound normal. I’ve got a degenerative disease diagnosis and have never blacked out - although I have had days where I’ve struggled to move.
Could be posture, especially if you work an office job or something. I used to have pretty bad back and neck pain, then when they sent us home during the pandemic, all my pain just went away.
You’re confusing “normal” with “common”. Pain is never normal.
What definition of normal are you using, then? I mean, OP’s thing definitely is neither, but lots of things can trigger pain, even chronically.
How tall are you? If the answer is yes, then it’s common
Go to your doctor, take the meds they give you and do the exercises and you’ll feel better. Then focus on building back strength so that it doesn’t happen again.
This is one of the scenarios where oats and squats actually do help
you are not supposed to have any pain at all
Not normal at all. See a doctor. You could have pulled muscles or something like that or you may be like me and have degenerative disc disease.
See a doctor, it could be any number of conditions.
I’ll mention multiple myeloma only because I have myeloma, and although I had long-bone pain and lytic lesions, I was lucky that I didn’t have back pain.
If you need that spine surgery get it. I wish I had mine sooner. Most people don’t need surgery as physical theorpy fixes it. However when a few weeks wasn’t showing any improvement they sent me for a mri and that found something that surgery was needed before it parralized me. (Not cancer but still a growth)
hopefully you have the same pains as everyone else but only a doctor can figure out the rare exceptions.
30 isn’t old, but I had pretty bad back pain in my 30’s that mostly went away as I got older.
If it’s acting up I’ll take ibuprofen right away. 400mg for a few days before I call a dr.
I keep prescribed muscle relaxers to take if it’s bad but those really knock me out so only as a last resort.
Usually after a week it’s all cleared up. It happens maybe 1-2x per year.
It’s never been “I might pass out from the pain” bad though.
Pain is never normal but back pain is pretty common. Sometimes it’s a past injury that’s the cause. For most people though, it’s often caused by weak back muscles or over exertion. Or both.
Might try some light yoga focusing on the back, but you should definitely go see a doc. A chiropractor might be helpful as well.
Some form of exercise are better for your back than others.
Pain isn’t normal, and 30 is quite young so talk with a doctor, get a couple of physiotherapy session, and find a sport helping your back (and a whole strategy)
Let me just say right up front that any pain you have that’s anywhere near the black-out level is extremely not normal. And I say that as someone who has lived with chronic lower back pain for 20 years (of varying severity, from ‘Huh that’s kinda uncomfortable’ to ‘holy shit it’s time to take all of the meds and lay down.’ I’ve never been anywhere near black-out levels of pain, the most I’ve gotten is back pain so bad it makes me sick to my stomach. Go see an orthopedist, they will find the source of the problem, and then probably refer you to a physical therapist and/or pain management specialist.
Sorry. I laughed from your comment. Doctors tell women blacking out from menstrual pain is perfectly normal.
Didn’t mean to distract from your message, you’re absolutely right.
That’s crazy. Though I mean as a guy I have a lot more experience with lower back pain than menstrual pain so I couldn’t speak to what’s normal for the latter. But near-blacking-out from any kind of pain seems extremely no bueno.
I’m not a doctor nor a woman, but I think it’s unacceptable to get blackouts from menstrual pains. To think that a doctor would just dismiss you like that, is even more unacceptable. It’s 2025, not 1925.
I remember as a teenager I had such terrible menstrual pain I’d take pain killers and just curl up on the bed suffering and waiting for them to start working. I remember sitting in class at school not being able to focus because the pain in my stomach was barely tolerable. Everyone around me told me it was normal. My mother just told me to take pain killers. It only got better when I started taking hormonal birth control pills. I’ve always wondered if I have endometriosis but never got diagnosed (never asked about it to be honest because on bc it’s manageable). I’d really like to tell my past self that I wasn’t just being weak and that it really wasn’t normal to feel that level of pain. It’s good that slowly there’s more awareness about this, but apparently there are still people like OP who believe they just need to live with pain like that.
OP, this is not normal and not how it should be, please see a doctor.
Have you been x-rayed? You could have a disc problem or something. My father had diskectomy at a young age.
I’m almost 40, tall, not in great shape, have bad posture, and have two misaligned disks in my lower back and even my back pain isn’t that bad, so I would say that no it’s not normal. You should definitely get that checked out.
