Back pain question

Cole

My last gym session was on the 30th December (weights). I'm a regular and felt fine post workout. The following night, picked up the flu.

After about 5 days of flu began to recover well, but then started to have pain in my lower back...ok in the moning, gradually deteriorate during the day even with little or no activity. A couple of Panadol would relieve the pain and after back pain all this week, it seems to have almost gone today, along with my flu.

I know that I cannot get a diagnosis here, but was wondering if anyone has had back pain with flu?
Or, is it possible to injure your back, but have no symptons or pain until almost a week later?

Thanks

WolfForager

Whenever i get the slightest twinge in my back i pack my bag straight away and go home, test it with a few lighter than normal weights over the next few days and hope it goes away. If not i go to the physio.

I had a mid back pain before xmas, couldn't lift any weights at all, i rested it for a week and it was gone.

So in a nutshell, rest it, test it and if that fails, to the pyhsio with you my friend.

brettmirl

Was it a heavy cold you had or a proper full blown flu?

If you want to put your mind at rest, you should probably go see your GP. Kidney infections can also cause back pain.

If you do go to a physio about it, be sure to tell them about your flu.

Cole

mick_irl wrote: »

Was it a heavy cold you had or a proper full blown flu?

Bad throat infection with less severe flu symptons..chesty cough, slight temperature and sore head, but no hint of back pain until I began to recover.
Like I said, no twinge or strain during a workout almost a week before. Just curious as to how it might have occurred?

DublinWriter

Cole wrote: »

I know that I cannot get a diagnosis here, but was wondering if anyone has had back pain with flu?

Always

Cole wrote: »

Or, is it possible to injure your back, but have no symptons or pain until almost a week later?

That would be typical of a whiplash type injury.

I'd lay off the exercise until you feel A1. If the symptoms persist then go to your GP.

brettmirl

Cole wrote: »

Bad throat infection with less severe flu symptons..chesty cough, slight temperature and sore head, but no hint of back pain until I began to recover.
Like I said, no twinge or strain during a workout almost a week before. Just curious as to how it might have occurred?

Very strange indeed.

I suffer from a bad back, disc problems for me. Going through a bad phase at the moment

Anyways, do you remember doing anything to strain your back? Lifted anything heavy, etc?

If you think the pain is related to your infection/flu, I'd get to a GP and have it checked out, just to be on the safe side.

If you are in pain, I find Nurofen Plus or Solpadine a lot better than paracetemol. Also, if you have a hot water bottle, stick that over the sore area for a while. I find that helps a lot too. Loosens up the muscles that are in spasm.

RacoonQueen

It's possible that you felt pain in your back due to the cold. A bad cough can send ripples through your abs, lower back etc...happened to me about a year and a half ago when I got a bad one I was crying in agony every time I coughed. Ask your doctor though, obviously.

Jonny303

Cole wrote: »

My last gym session was on the 30th December (weights). I'm a regular and felt fine post workout. The following night, picked up the flu.

After about 5 days of flu began to recover well, but then started to have pain in my lower back...ok in the moning, gradually deteriorate during the day even with little or no activity. A couple of Panadol would relieve the pain and after back pain all this week, it seems to have almost gone today, along with my flu.

I know that I cannot get a diagnosis here, but was wondering if anyone has had back pain with flu?
Or, is it possible to injure your back, but have no symptons or pain until almost a week later?

Thanks

EXACTLY same as myself, down to the dates!

Cole

Jonny303 wrote: »

EXACTLY same as myself, down to the dates!

What conclusion have you come to? I cannot think of anything I did over the last week or so that would have strained my back.

For me, I think it has to be connected to the flu, but it's puzzling because I had never heard of people getting very specific pain in the lower back due to flu.

BJohnson

One possible explanation for this has to do with the water content of the discs in your back. You can think of them as little sponges that hold a certain amount of water. When you're standing and upright during the day, the weight of your body is compressing your spine and squeezes as much water out of your discs as possbile. When you lie down at night to sleep, you no longer have that compression on your discs, allowing the discs to absorb more water over night. When you wake up in the morning, you're actually slightly taller than when you went to sleep, because of the slight swelling of each of the discs. Once you're upright and moving around, the compression on your spine from your body weight squeezes the water back out, returning it to its normal daily levels after about 30 - 60 minutes.

People with colds or the flu tend to spend more time in bed or lying on the couch, leading to increased pressure in the disc, which can lead to low back pain. This is why bed rest is no longer encouraged for people with acute low back pain - it tends to make the situation worse. Gentle activity is recommended to keep the discs from "swelling up".

On a similar note, this is also the reason why some astronauts get severe low back pain while in space. Without the normal compression on the spine due to the lack of gravity, the discs absorb more water and can lead to pain. As we age, the discs start to dehydrate, losing more and more liquid over time. As this happens, the discs get smaller, and explains why older people tend to "shrink" a little bit as they age - if each disc decreases slightly in height, it leads to an overall loss of height by a centimetre or two. This is also why disc herniations are more of a young person's problem. By the time you reach your 50's or 60's, the discs have dehydrated to the point where it can longer herniate.

Cole

Thanks, very informative.

BJohnson wrote: »

One possible explanation for this has to do with the water content of the discs in your back.

For 3 days, I barely ate or drank anything because of the pain involved in swallowing.
I definitely think that I was somewhat dehydrated after this time. Could that be a factor in the onset of lower backpain?

BJohnson

Not eating or drinking much for a few days wouldn't have much of an impact on the water content of the discs. Overall disc hydration levels are more a factor of age than diet, at least in the short term.

rondog

A less scientific explanation might be that its from lying down too much.Obvioulsy you are bed ridden with the flu and spend alot of time on your back.I sometimes get a slight back pain if ive been lying around for a long period in a bad position with bad spine alignment.

g'em

See a doctor, please.