What to do if You've Just Hurt Your Back
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
If you're here it's likely because you've recently hurt your back. What are the first steps for recovery?
Visit a doctor if you’ve had a traumatic event like a fall and to rule out serious forms of pain like cancer, tumors, or disease. Doctors don't help with chronic conditions, but it's important to make sure your pain is chronic and not a sign of a more serious cause of pain. Visit BackFitPro.com to find a qualified clinician that can help you diagnose your back pain.
85% of people who visit a doctor for back pain are diagnosed with nonspecific back pain, which means the doctor doesn’t know what’s causing your pain, and these are the people I help. Here is a 4-step strategy to recover.
What to Do RIGHT NOW?
Let's assume you visited a doctor or made an appointment, but you're in pain NOW! What should you do?
Find Pain Relief Postures
If you’ve just injured yourself, this video provides postures for pain relief. Lie on your back with your feet elevated on a chair, couch, or up a wall. This supports your back with the ground and provides relief for most people. If you use a wall, just make sure your butt is far enough away that your hamstring mobility isn't an issue.
If your pain is related to flexion, lying on your stomach might provide relief.
If your pain is related to extension, a child's pose might provide relief.
If your pain is related to lateral flexion, lying on your side might provide relief.
If your pain is related to piriformis syndrome or tight glutes, the pigeon stretch might provide relief.
If your pain is related to tight inner thighs, the frog stretch might provide relief.
Sitting on the couch or on your bed isn't going to help! These positions should be on the floor or a hard surface. Once you identify a posture that provides pain relief, spend time in that position breathing deeply and relaxing your body.
Identify the Cause & Stop Triggering Pain
Let’s pretend you hit your thumb with a hammer 1,000 times. It’s going to be damaged, inflamed, and even the slightest touch will cause you to flinch and feel pain. This is similar to what happens when your body hurts. Even the slightest thing can cause you to feel pain because your body has become sensitive. The first step to healing your body and becoming pain-free is to stop hitting yourself with the hammer. Think of your pain as a scab that has been damaged and is trying to heal. Avoid picking the scab by identifying and avoiding the cause.
After working with hundreds of clients, I’ve found that over 90% of clients already know what causes their pain. Complete a chronic pain review and write down as many details as you can. In order to overcome your pain you need to be a curious problem solver. Start a list in the notes app on your phone to create a record of your experience and lessons learned. You might notice simple patterns in postures and movements that trigger your pain. Creating a list is important because we're not as smart as we think we are, and it's easy for us to miss patterns. This list will help you begin studying your body and also help if you work with someone else like a physical therapist or personal trainer. If you feel frustrated like you don't know why you have chronic pain, this list empowers you to progress over time and begin taking ACTION! Once you've been careful not to trigger your pain, your body will heal itself, and after a few days your body should feel much better.
Health is the natural condition of man. If you’re experiencing chronic pain it means your habits are broken. When we live how humans have evolved for millions of years, chronic pain disappears. Eating junk food and sitting on the couch is going to increase your chronic pain, while eating healthy food and exercising regularly is going to make you feel better. If you've been unable to avoid triggering your pain, work with a professional for help or schedule a consultation to work with me directly.
Increase Circulation
Two days of rest is as effective as 7 days rest for low back pain [Source], and pain-free movement as soon as possible following injury accelerates healing of muscle and bone [Source], so we want to get you moving ASAP. To speed up recovery, increase the blood flow to your back and throughout your body with deep breathing, walking, light stretching, and a sauna or hot tub.
Improve Habits
Health is the natural condition of man. If you’re experiencing chronic pain it means your habits are broken. When we live how humans have evolved for millions of years, chronic pain disappears. Eating junk food and sitting on the couch is going to increase your chronic pain, while eating healthy food and exercising regularly is going to make you feel better.
Conclusion & Next Steps
This article is about taking the first steps to get out of back pain and recover. Once your back pain subsides it's time to move to Step 2: Mobilize & Strengthen.
The only person who can fix your pain long term is YOU! I've helped hundreds of people overcome chronic pain, and the people who see results are those stubborn enough to NEVER GIVE UP!
With all things in life, it's difficult to enjoy the journey when it's happening, especially with back pain. However, your attitude will determine your success. Realize that IT'S POSSIBLE to get out of pain! Once you've overcome your chronic pain it teaches you so much that you can then use to be a stronger person who helps others. Even something as horrible as chronic back pain has its blessing if you'll look for them.
I had severe chronic back pain and I healed myself with the methods I describe above. Now I help the 85% of people with chronic nonspecific back pain to overcome their pain and live fulfilling lives. If you want to work with me directly, schedule a consultation.
Hope this helps! -Tom
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