lower back pain and IBS

blavoie44 · Post by **blavoie44** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:10 am

For years, since my mid-teens I would say, Im 23 now, my lower back has bothered me when I do strenuous activity and it effects my stomach big time! When I make my lower back tense it literally goes around to my stomach and practically my whole abdomen and pelvic area and makes everything achey and tight! I have yet to figure out why this effect occurs, and would love to know if anyone feels this as well? It is such a bother to my life that this happens, everything in my pelvic area suddenly gets weak and my balance is off because of it and slowly it will dissipate after days.

Shifrah · Post by **Shifrah** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:22 am

blave do you get anxiety with it?

If not, you may need to look into diet - if you aren't getting enough fiber/fluids you may be activiting your colon/bowels when you exercise and need to have a B.M. Sometimes this happens to me when I do certain exercises, OR if I start working out in the AM before my morning B.M.

Sorry if this is TMI: A healthy bowel should move at least twice a day, if not more, with a well-formed soft, not hard or watery movement. Input should equal input, so however many full meals you are eating should equal your bowel function. If you are going less than that, you may be eating too much animal protein (meats/dairy) or just not enough fiber/water.

If you are getting anxiety with it, then it's something you have to work through and the program should help with that. I have similar issues, but I know for the most part my anxiety brings it on, but I do believe part of it is due to my diet, when I am not eating enough fresh plant food or if I eat dairy or too much fat or spicy/salty food, then I will have an ibs attack. Then of course if I'm not at home or in a comfortable location like somewhere where I can't get to a toilet, or if I feel confined (like at the movies, in a dentist's chair, sitting at church during a sermon, etc.) the anxiety will come with it.

Verb · Post by **Verb** » Mon May 04, 2009 5:58 am

I know this response is late but I just joined recently and experience the same thing.....lower back pains and when I bend forward it releases the tension in my back and belly, kind of that hurt/feel good thing. I am still trying to figure my diet, the do's and don'ts of my system. Since starting to exercise and watching what I eat, sometimes because of my anxieties it's hard for me to eat, I have lost 22 lbs. That kind of scares me because like Lucinda said she does it for her mind health first, body is 2nd and that is how it is for me. Sometimes I think I'm too skinny even though my ideal weight is 147, I weigh 145 to 147....I guess it's because the reason I lost my weight, my anxieties and depression. But at the same time, I am being healthy, working out and eating right. I know it's my obsessive thinking and what if's....need to stay on that positive dialogue. My apologies for rambling on about my weight but it's been on my mind lately. I am trying to figure out what works for my digestive system. I drink a boost protein drink in the morning (vitamins make me shaky). Then I eat a banana after I drink my shake, for lunch, a chicken salad with fruit and for dinner, some sort of meat, with fresh spinach and I finish it off with a bowl of cereal, life cereal. No bread, sugar, salt or sweets, no sodas or caffeine. I drink water and gatorade.

blavoie44 · Post by **blavoie44** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:12 am

My mother has diabetes and lately I have been thinking that this may be coinciding with my anxiety. When I have a soda or coffee I get shakey a bit, recently its been getting bad, down in my lower back and hips get weak and tender, as well as my legs and arms going somewhat numb as well as being tingly. I know those are obvious signs of high blood sugar which is a big indicator of diabetes, but without the coffee I CANNOT function during the day for the life of me. I think that through the course of the night my blood sugar gets really low and along with the anxiety and depression that I have, it makes me very tired and very very stressful in the mornings as well as the rest of the day while I am at work. I get triggered very easily by stress especially when I am at work! My balance is terrible because my legs and hips are weak alot, it feels like my body is on a sugar rush! My lower back tightens up like you read about, very easily which ends up being the number one thing that triggers my high stress levels. Its making me mad just thinking about what I go through everyday of my life. I want to do my job at the best of my ability, I am in the trade, so there is alot of physical labor during the day and it is beyond frustrating to have to think of my stress, anxiety, and depression and how it is going to get in my way TODAY, then actually thinking about the job that is in front of me on any given day.

jenmelberg · Post by **jenmelberg** » Sat May 23, 2009 12:41 pm

I have this same thing! I don't know what it's from. My lower back and pelvic area ache so bad. if I lay a certain way than I release pressure. I think it has to do with stress ibs because I notice this happens when I am stressed out and too when I lift something i shouldn't! It really sucks when in your in pain like thta. In fact I am on my 5th dau of this pain! Does it almost feel ike it's in your ovaries some times too??

blavoie44 · Post by **blavoie44** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:07 am

Hey Jenmelberg,

I think that there is some gender confusion haha! I am a guy, so the pain is definitely not coming from my ovaries! That would be disturbing lol! Anyways, alot of the pain feels like it is in my lower back muscles on both the left and right sides and when its really bad it shoots down into the buttox muscles and tail bone which eventually effect the bowels as well, as they too feel tight and weak. It is a terrible feeling to have and I get it frequently, it effects my mood towards my boss and more importantly my girlfriend! It makes my entire body engulfed with stress and makes me a terrible person to be around as I get very agitated from it. My brain tells me that my body is very uncomfortable and then here comes the stress, I get alot of confusion, I cant move as quick because my mobility decreases in my lower back, so my reaction time goes down the tubes!

Shifrah · Post by **Shifrah** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:35 am

blavoie44 it sounds like you may have to look into lowering your fat intake and food combining.

If you are having blood sugar problems, then it could very well be that you eat too much fat and when that happens, it causes blood sugars in the blood to rise.

Also look into eating more fruit to get your carbs than refined foods like grains and refined sugars

ROFL about the ovaries.

h.beth · Post by **h.beth** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 6:20 am

hi blavoie my lower back tightens even with walking...so i have to bend over let my arms hang abit to streth it out. squat down puls out the lower back muscles too. yoga and pilates pull out lower back muscles too. i have ibs-d and gots to say that dual action cleanse tablets easy to swollow and very helpful to keep bowels in good shape empty your system. you can google them. sometimes smoothies and yogurt help my digestion too, and those pains. the anxiety over the health stuff could start being helped with good doctor appointment full review of whats going on, and also this program so you do learn to not stress and how to deal with anxiety over health stuff. i do 'bridges' to build up lower belly area --maybe a good doc appointment can put you into physical therapy where they are trained to give you some specifice exercises to help with tight muscles and the pain they can cause then continue doing them at home. i wish you well.

aliengal24 · Post by **aliengal24** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:49 am

Hi there,

I used to drink coffee and when I did I got all kinds of bad side-effects. I would shake and feel dizzy and my stomache would ache. I quit drinking it and I feel a lot better. Don't get me wrong, it was horrible trying to stop in the beginning. My friends used to joke around with me and tease me and call me the dunk n donut queen. I was there so many times a day that it was ridiculous. I made a point to stop and I did it cold turkey and that worked for me, but it's a horrible feeling. You might want to just start out by having a little less a day. Have some in the morning, just cut it in half for a while...and go from there. Try replacing the coffee with an apple after a while. You'll really feel much better without it! But it takes a while and you have to power through it. I quit coffee and cigarettes after years of it and though I still get a craving every so often I do feel much better. I hope maybe you'll try to stop drinking so much coffee because it might help your back.

blavoie44 · Post by **blavoie44** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:22 am

hey guys,

Thanks for all of your responses! I totally agree on stopping coffee, because I too believe that it would help my lower back. coffee heightens the stress hormones in your body, of course I am educated on that part but coffee is what gets me going in the morning and its great at first when im having it! I do heating and air conditioning and I am lifting heavy things when I am at work all day long, so literally as soon as I start lifting things, the stress levels rise immediately and I become increasingly irritable and stressed out and confused sometimes as we as jittery at what I am doing! I was crashing in the afternoons so I decided to drink soda to keep myself going! It is great sometimes and other times it just maximizes the stress levels, depending on how bad my back feels that day. I need to go about about my life without coffee in it because it is just making my anxiety and depression worse!
I am trying to start a life with my girlfriend of 3 years and I really want to feel better not just for me but for her and her son, so I can be the best father I can be and not have to try to take care of my health and have it constantly be on my mind. I want kids some day with her and I would like to put them first, not me and the pain I am suffering with.

P.S. the ovaries reference was really funny! haha!