What to Do Tonight If You Threw Out Your Back

Something in your low back grabbed, and now standing up straight feels impossible. This happens to a lot of people, and most of the time it is not dangerous. Here is what to check first, what actually helps in the next few hours, and when tonight is not a night to wait for morning.

Check for these signs before anything else

A small number of thrown-out backs need care faster than any chiropractic office can open. Call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room now, not in the morning, if any of these apply:

• Loss of bowel or bladder control, or new trouble starting to urinate
• Numbness in the saddle area (groin, inner thighs, or around the rectum)
• Weakness in a leg that keeps getting worse, or a foot that drags when you walk
• Fever along with the back pain
• The pain followed a hard fall, a car crash, or a hard impact, not just an awkward twist or lift

If none of these describe you, keep reading. The full explanation of why each of these matters, and what a doctor is checking for, is on our page on when back pain is an emergency.

What actually helps tonight

Keep moving, gently. Lying flat for more than a day tends to slow recovery, not speed it. Short, easy movement, walking to the kitchen, changing position every 20 to 30 minutes, usually beats staying still all evening.

Find a position that takes weight off the joint. Many people do best lying on their back with a pillow under the knees, or on their side with a pillow between the knees. Sitting upright in one position for a long stretch tends to make it worse.

Ice or heat, whichever you reach for. Both are commonly used for a sudden back strain, and neither has been shown to clearly outperform the other. Some people prefer a cold pack for the first day, others go straight for a heating pad. Either is a reasonable choice. Use a cloth barrier and keep it to short stretches rather than direct or prolonged contact against the skin.

An over-the-counter pain reliever, used exactly as the label directs, can take the edge off enough to move more comfortably. If you take other medications or have a health condition that limits which over-the-counter drugs are safe for you, check with a pharmacist or your physician before adding anything new, not this page.

Skip the heavy lifting, the deep twisting stretch, and anything that sharply reproduces the pain. Gentle range of motion is fine. Forcing a stretch that hurts is not treatment, it is a second injury waiting to happen.

What we would not tell you to do tonight

We would not tell you to stay in bed for the weekend, wait it out alone for weeks, or let someone with no training try to crack your back. We would not hand you a specific stretching routine or an exercise program without having looked at you first. Backs and their causes differ enough that a generic stretch list can help one person and aggravate the next, which is exactly why an exam matters before a real plan does.

If it is not getting better

Most acute low back pain, including a sudden thrown-out back, improves within a few weeks on its own with the kind of care above. That is the honest, unglamorous truth, and no page and no clinic can promise you a faster timeline than your own case allows. Waiting a day or two to see if it settles is a reasonable choice, not a mistake.

If you are still in serious pain after a few days, if it is not improving at all, or if it is limiting how you move, sleep, or work, that is when a chiropractic exam is worth booking. Dr. Keys is the Chair of the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners, a member of the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Society, and the International Chiropractors Association representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands. His exam looks for what is actually going on before any treatment is recommended, rather than starting from a guess. Read lower back pain for what that exam and the care that follows involve, or sciatica if the pain runs down one leg past the knee. If this happened while you are visiting the island, hurt your back on vacation covers what a visitor visit looks like.

Getting seen

Call (340) 690-4994 or email info@tradewindschiropractic.com if the steps above are not enough. We are at the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, USVI 00802, just east of Charlotte Amalie and a short drive from the Havensight cruise port and Yacht Haven Grande. Hours are Mon, Wed, Thu: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Tue, Fri: 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. Closed Sat and Sun. We take walk-ins and same-day appointments. New patient forms are at forms. Tradewinds Chiropractic has more than 180 five-star Google reviews.

Questions patients ask

What can I do tonight if I threw my back out?

Keep moving gently rather than lying flat all evening, find a position that takes weight off the joint, and use ice or heat, whichever feels better to you. An over-the-counter pain reliever taken exactly as the label directs can help you move more comfortably. Skip heavy lifting and any stretch that sharply reproduces the pain.

Should I use ice or heat for a thrown-out back?

Either is a reasonable choice. Both are commonly used for a sudden back strain, and neither consistently outperforms the other. Many people use a cold pack for the first day and switch to heat after that, but there is no rule that says you have to.

Is bed rest good for a thrown-out back?

No, not for more than a day. Staying in bed longer than that tends to slow recovery rather than speed it. Short, gentle movement, changing position often, usually works better than lying still.

When should I go to the emergency room instead of waiting until morning?

Go now, do not wait, if you have loss of bowel or bladder control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, leg weakness that is getting worse, fever with the back pain, or the pain followed a hard fall or a crash. See our page on when back pain is an emergency for the full explanation.

Should I see a chiropractor right away after I throw my back out?

Not necessarily tonight. Most thrown-out backs improve within a few weeks with rest from aggravating activity, gentle movement, and time. If it is not improving after a few days, or it is limiting how you move or sleep, that is a reasonable point to book an exam.