Walking with back pain

[SusanLucci]

Can I hurt myself if I walk too much with back pain 

[Baltoscott]

Welcome @SusanLucci 

I wonder if a better question is whether you can hurt yourself by sitting too much with back pain?  😉 Yeah, I'm one of those who thinks that activity can fix anything. Of course, too much too fast very well could cause injury, or make an existing injury worse, so increase your walking just a bit from day to day and see if your back is better or worse. If it is worse, dial it back. 

It would also be a good idea to see a physical therapist to help you figure out why you have back pain and what kind of movement will help eliminate it. 

[SusanLucci]

Thanks I clean houses for a living and pretty sure it was there but today it hurt to walk so I just held off on my usual miles

Sent from my iPhone

[Baltoscott]

That makes sense @SusanLucci .  If the pain hasn’t gone away in a week or so, you should see your doctor and maybe a physical therapist.

About 15 years ago I screwed up my lower back trying to pick up something that was a lot heavier than I thought it was.  The pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep through the night for a couple weeks. After the first week I went to the doctor and got some pills for pain and muscle relaxers, and got a list of exercises to focus on stretching out the area where the pain was (for example, laying on back and pulling one knee to chest and holding, and then the same with the other knee — a physical therapist really helps in identifying exercises the would help your particular injury) Eventually the pain when away.  Since then, I’ve reaggravated the injury as number of times, usually while doing some sort of normal movement like bending over to pick something the fell to the floor, or putting on my socks or shoes.  The reoccurrence only lasts a few days before passing though, so I just take it easy until it passes and try to stretch out the painful area.  When it is not hurting (most of the time) I make sure I’m doing exercises that focus on the back and core.  This past year I taught myself how to ride a unicycle, in part because was crazy thing to try for the first time at 59, and in part to develop my core and keep my back healthy for years to come. Doing the regular back exercise seems to make reoccurrence happen less often, but I am also pretty quick to dial things back if I have even a minor twinge.   

[JuanJoFitbit]

Hi @SusanLucci, I support the recommendations that shared my friend @Baltoscott. It's better if you visit the doctor so he/she can determine what is the best to do since back pains need to be taken seriously.

I hope you get well soon and please take care.