DH pulled a muscle in his back. What can I do?

[floridafam]

He can hardly move and is in a lot of pain.

He will only take Tylenol or Aleve and I had to beg him to do that.

He doesn't really have a Dr. yet but they have many walk in clinics in the area. Will they even be able to do anything for him? He says they won't and it just has to work itself out.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[goofy4tink]

Lots of ibu...Tylenol didn't help me at all. If he gets to the doctor they will most likely prescribe a muscle relaxant, which will make your dh sleepy, but will help with the pain. It's one of those things that you can't do much for.
When my back goes into spasm, I take 3-4 ibu every 6 hours, and try to do very gentle stretching. It's nasty getting older!!

 

[In a hurry]

Ice. Wrap it in a towel, do 20 minutes on and 20 off. My husband pulls his about twice a year.

 

[kaylajr]

Yes they should be able to help him

Walk in clinics can prescrib muscle relaxers which could help
also send him to physical therapy if the pull is bad enough

Back injuries are nothing to mess with
tell him to go get it looked at!!

 

[Virgo10]

Ice - 15 minutes on the area, then 30 minutes off.
Rest
Aspirin
Rest
After 24 to 36 hours, switch to heat. Moist heat, like in the shower, is best.
Rest.

He should be seen by a doctor if this is something that hasn't happened before or if it's worse than normal back pain. If it is his low back area, laying down is the best. Sitting is the worst position as it will put pressure on the area that is hurting. Put a pillow or two under his knees if he is laying down.

Did I mention rest?

Just to clarify, when I say rest I mean no strenuous type of exercise. It is still important to move around and change position.

Hope he feels better soon. As someone with ongoing back problems, he has my sympathy.

 

[floridafam]

Thank you so much.

He is icing it right now.

He did this last month, too, and went to work the next day. BIG MISTAKE.

He is on his bike for a few hours every other day and I think he sat wrong when he was out for his ride the other day. Then he went swimming the other day and it started after that.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't take muscle relaxers. He hates taking any medication.

I asked him if he thought it was a kidney stone and he said no.

I'll see if I can get him somewhere later. Just getting him out to the car is going to be a miracle.

Thanks again.

 

[golfgal]

The Tylenol isn't going to help much. Advil/Motrin and Aleve will have an anti-inflammatory agent in them to bring down any swelling from the injury. Often with muscle strains or pulls if there isn't much visible swelling you can use heat instead of ice. I would ice for the first day and then switch to heat. The heat will relax the muscles more then ice. He should also not baby it as much as possible. Regular movement will keep the muscles from tightening up too much and making it worse. That doesn't mean that he should be out chopping wood but taking a shower, walking around the house, etc. is better then lying in bed all day (some rest is good though) just don't over do it.

 

[we3disneygo]

my dh pulled a back muscle at work, but just came home I took him right to the walk in med. place.......at least he listened to me, and they gave him muscle relaxers and that helped alot. good luck!