Last Updated on April 4, 2024

Throwing out your back can be painful and terrifying. When you throw out your back, it’s important to know what step to take so you don’t make the back injury worse than it already is.

What should you do when you throw your back out? Read on to learn the steps you need to take after throwing out your back.

Table of Contents

What Does It Mean to Throw Your Back Out?

When someone says they threw out their back, it typically means they strained one or more muscles in their back. Bending forward in an awkward position or lifting a heavy object can cause this to happen.

The pain from throwing out your back usually concentrates in the lower area. Here are some common activities that cause people to throw out their backs:

Hitting a golf ball or other motions that involve twisting the back
Lifting an object that’s too heavy
Practicing poor posture when lifting a heavy object
Stretching the back too far

Many people are under the assumption that throwing out your back only happens when you’re engaging in rigorous activity. However, this is not the case. Even just standing up wrong can cause you to throw out your back.

Symptoms That You Threw Out Your Back

When someone throws out their back, the pain is usually immediate, making it fairly easy to tell what happened. Throwing out your back can cause you to suffer from the following symptoms

Back stiffness that prevents you from moving well
Muscle spasms or intense bouts of muscle relaxing and tightening
Issues maintaining good posture
Intense pain in the lower back area

If your back injury is acute, the pain shouldn’t last anymore than 10 to 14 days. If your symptoms last over two weeks, you may be suffering from a chronic injury.

Diagnosis

Most of the time, you don’t need to undergo a formal test to tell if you’ve thrown out your back. Rather, your doctor will ask you about the symptoms you’re experiencing to determine the extent of your back injury.

For example, if your pain is mild, they may just recommend some at-home treatments. However, if the pain is severe and you’re experiencing numbness, they may recommend some additional testing and medical imaging.

Depending on your pain severity, your doctor may also recommend that you get an x-ray, CAT scan, or MRI. If your pain doesn’t subside after two weeks, additional testing may be required.

Throwing Out Your Back: What to Do After the Injury

Lower back pain

As mentioned in the introduction, it’s important that you take the right steps after throwing out your back so as not to make the pain worse. Here are the steps you should take:

1. Rest

One of the biggest errors people make when throwing out their back is trying to push through the pain. As soon as you throw your back out, stop what you’re doing and slowly walk to the couch or another safe area to sit down.

When you sit down, keep your back upright. You can also set pillows behind your back to reduce the strain on your muscles. If you want to lie down, do so on a hard surface.

2. Apply Ice

Applying ice or a cold pack to your back injury can help ease soreness and reduce inflammation.

You should apply ice in 10 to 15-minute increments. Never apply ice directly to your skin. Instead, make sure to always cover it with a cloth. Ice not only makes you feel better, but it also helps minimize potential tissue damage by slowing down blood flow in the affected area.

3. Relieve the Pain

In addition to applying ice, there are some other things you can do to relieve the pain associated with throwing out your back.

OTC medications such as Advil and ibuprofen can help with pain relief. However, remember that these medications only offer temporary relief.

Sleeping on your back and minimizing your activities will also help you manage pain in the coming days. You can also sleep with your knees bent and a pillow behind your legs or sleep with a lumbar roll behind your back to reduce stress.

Avoid sleeping on your stomach, as this can make the pain worse. If you work a desk job, you may also want to place a lumbar roll between your back and chair for extra support.

Check out this post to discover some other strategies for lower back pain relief!

4. Seek Treatment

Often, this type of back injury heals on its own. However, if you’re experiencing more severe symptoms, you should seek medical attention.

You should schedule an appointment with your doctor if you’re experiencing:

Numbness
Difficulty standing
Abnormal bowel movements
A fever

As mentioned earlier, your doctor may order more tests or prescribe specific treatment methods.

5. Consider Ongoing Treatment

Acupuncture needles — Alternative medicine. Close-up of female back with steel needles during procedure of acupuncture therapy.

Some people throw out their back once and never experience back pain again. Others aren’t so lucky. If throwing out your back has led to chronic pain issues, then you should consider seeking ongoing treatment.

You can speak to your doctor about what type of treatment is right for you, but most of the time, individuals with back pain use a combination of chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, or physical therapy.

Some also look to their diet to explore the root causes of their pain.

Throwing Out Your Back: Time to Act

While throwing out your back can be scary, if you take the right steps, you can heal your injury in a timely manner.

A few days after throwing out your back, you can usually begin to engage in light movement and stretching. Over time, you should be able to get back to your normal daily activities and even engage in heavy lifting again.

Are you thinking about trying acupuncture for your back pain? Contact us today!

Katherine V.

March 9, 2023.

While recovering from injuries sustained from a car accident, I have seen a few different acupuncturists as well as a chiropractor and masseuse at Inner Gate, and I have appreciated them all. The care I've received has been stellar - compassionate, personable, considerate, and soothing. Truly, Inner Gate practitioners have greatly helped me in my healing process. Thank you!

Abbie W.

July 26, 2022.

I have been seeing Nick Maxwell for Craniosacral massage for the last several months after a car accident left me with whiplash, nagging low back pain, a mild concussion, and stress and anxiety. He is an incredibly gifted healer that has helped me immensely! I have had a plethora of bodywork over the years, and I can undoubtedly say that his massages are the best. He has also helped with digestive issues/SIBO/nervous system recovery. I would never see anyone else again after finding him. I am much calmer, happier, and healing well thanks in big part to his care.

Elizabeth M.

February 10, 2022.

Well, I will start by saying that Nicholas Maxwell is my favorite massage therapist. I went to him after 1 year of shoulder pain. Before going to him, I was waiting for the pain to just go away; it didn't. He was the first person I sought any help from. I'm sorry to say, I didn't expect that much relief from a massage but after about 3 sessions I felt close to cured of 1 whole year of pain! He recommended a great physical therapist to solve my shoulder stiffness and pain. My pt said that Nick did a great job of loosening up the muscles for a quicker recovery. Nick seemed to wipe out all the surface pain and extraneous tenderness so that my pt could pinpoint my injury which turned out to be shoulder tendonitis. Now I see both of them concurrently. They both gave the same estimate for recovery, which was shorter than I thought it would be. I've had more that 50 massages in my lifetime (CA, NY, NV), Nick is the only massage therapist I have been to that leaves me feeling better for days and days after the actual massage. If I could describe what Nick's massages feel like, it would be like this: If the ocean waves had massaging hands, they would be Nick's. Before going to Nick, I am a chuck steak. After my massage, I am filet mignon. What can I say, Nick Is Awesome!!

Julian J.

November 4, 2021.

My physical therapist suggested acupuncture for my chronic knee injury in July 2021. I'm going to explain my story, but I want to say at the beginning that Emma Ellsworth at Inner Gate Health & Wellness saved me from a life of chronic pain. It's really difficult and frustrating to find good care anywhere these days, so trust me when I tell you that you can end your search now. Just call Inner Gate and ask for Emma. I always find it helpful to read health care reviews from folks who suffer from the same issues as me, so here's a bit about my medical history: My orthopedic physician diagnosed me with IT band syndrome in my right knee in January 2021. I began a course of physical therapy, but not only did the IT band syndrome not get better, I actually developed IT band syndrome in my left leg due to overcompensation. I pushed myself a little too hard and started noticing that even very light exercise would cause my symptoms to flare up (inflammation, pain, swelling, etc.). By May 2021, I could not walk more than 3 blocks at a time without my knees flaring up. Keep in mind that I'm an otherwise healthy person in my mid-30s. I then developed hamstring tendinopathy in both legs, I assume to disuse. Along with preexisting patellofemoral pain syndrome issues, suffice to say that my knees were totally busted, okay. After all that, my physical therapist and orthopedic physician basically threw their hands up and suggested either cortisone shots for the rest of my life, acupuncture, or prescription pain medication that I really shouldn't be taking due to family history of hypertension. In comes Emma. I'm a huge believer in modern Western medicine and everything, but Emma succeeded where two physical therapists, a physiatrist, my orthopedic physician, and my primary care doctor all failed. Emma succeeded not only because she did something they did not - acupuncture - but she succeeded because she was more effective and patient at taking time to find the actual root cause of my issues. She is super methodical about interviewing me at the beginning of every session, evaluating what worked / didn't work from last time, trying out new areas for acupuncture, and over the course of 4 weeks eventually found an acupuncture solution that reduced my pain. I remember when it happened - I had an acupuncture session one Friday in October, and two days later I was going for a walk and ended up walking like 3 times further than I had walked in the past 6 months. I stopped and was like, "Wow my legs don't hurt at all." The pain literally vanished, went from a 5-6/10 on the pain scale all day every day down to 0-1. The massive pain reduction has allowed me to resume my physical therapy exercises with less pain and start rebuilding my knee strength. I still go to acupuncture to deal with some knee meniscus issues and overall wellness / mental health issues. Honestly, I feel such a tremendous sense of wellness after every acupuncture session that I kind of don't ever want to stop going. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading and hopefully my story is helpful. Seriously, go see the folks at Inner Gate. You won't regret it!!

Mitchell P.

October 19, 2021.

Inner Gate Health & Wellness provides exceptional care! Their staff, specifically Emma Ellsworth, is skillful, compassionate, and effective at providing holistic healing services, including acupuncture. I highly recommend treatment with Inner Gate and Emma Ellsworth for symptoms including depression, anxiety, pelvic floor pain, back pain, and digestion issues.

Ruben S.

April 15, 2021.

This is a long overdue, rave review for Terry. I've been to many acupuncturists over the last decade and she is hands down the most helpful and accommodating. I came in with a very unsolvable problem (tinnitus) and had tried everything before coming to Terry. Terry has helped improve my symptoms with Tinnitus and a number of other issues. She's also extremely patient and takes time out of every session at the beginning to go over progress and how I'm feeling. She has a good understanding of my problems and is always ready with solutions to help. Acupuncture with Terry is one of the highlights of my week -- thank you for being so great!!

Dr. Kaley B.

November 28, 2020.

Very impressed! Great acupuncture, well organized front desk. Liz is fantastic, and I'm not a fan of needles. Finally got some relief from back and neck pain. Looking forward to a few more sessions!

Abbie W.

September 15, 2020.

I highly recommend Oliver Leonetti at Innergate Acupuncture! I have seen him for the last 12 years for various ailments - ranging from nagging sports injuries to digestive issues to insomnia/anxiety, and he always provides the highest level of care that truly lasts. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable and skilled, but he is super kind and caring and always take the time to truly listen. I always feel better after leaving my appointment. I honestly do not know what I would do without Oliver or Innergate Acupuncture! Also, I've seen several of the acupuncturists there, and they are all fantastic as well.

M W.

July 9, 2020.

I can't recommend these guys enough! I have a 10 yr old competitive skier who was having some knee pain & had never had acupuncture done before...not only did these guys gently ease him into the entire process - they also helped him get back on the ski hill after the first couple of treatments I was super impressed with their professionalism & how both Liz and Casey approached his injury - now my little guy looks forward to going to his acupuncture appointments! Yay! Thank you a zillion times over for taking such good care of my little guy.

Abby J.

January 9, 2020.

I used to think acupuncture was sort of hokey. Not total witchcraft, but definitely not the magic, cure-all that people said. Well, folks, a few months in and I can report that I'm a changed woman! Well, really, it only took one session. Terry took my whole health history into consideration and helped with everything. Anxiety, sleeplessness, colds, ankle injuries, back pain--you name it. I've come in with problems and always left improved. I'm sure all the acupuncturists are lovely, but I want to stress how awesome Terry is. She takes my concerns seriously without making me feel like I'm at a stuffy doctors office. She approaches her work with humor and friendliness and is spot on with her treatment. Terry has made me feel comfortable from the get-go and has made my weekly appointments something for me to look forward to. My friends all have heard me rave about her, so I'd say everyone I know should go see her, but then I may never be able to squeeze in my appointments again! Just kidding, of course. Also, big props to the front desk staff too. They have been super kind and helpful when guiding me through insurance issues or unexpected after work traffic. I'd highly recommend Inner Gate SE to anyone with any ailment!

What to Do When You Throw Your Back Out