I got off the trail yesterday evening in Bennington, VT. My back tightened up within a few hours and is now quite sore. Walking hurts. Any advice on what to do? I am on a schedule, and would like to get on the trail as soon as possible. Should I push through the pain?
Bankrobber
Bankrobber
This may be simplistic but are you sleeping on just a zrest or something minimal, and do you think that’s a factor.
Railroad tie
Pushing through the pain will only exacerbate the problem. I pushed throught the pain of back pain once and was barely able to stand for a week afterwards. Screw the schedule and rest your back.
Alligator
If the pain is in the lower back a common cause for that is tightness in the hamstrings. As your muscles build they tend to cause the tendons and ligiments to tighten unless you are stretching. I had the same problem early on in my hike. Every morning I would do a series of stretches to loosen the back and hamstrings. When I would take breaks during the day I would stretch and again at night before bed. For me it seemed to alleviate the problem. If you actually tore some back muscles from a fall or whatever stretching may aggrevate it more and you may just need some rest.
Big B
It depends on the cause of the pain. Did you slip and twist your back? Did you land wrong? (That could mean injured disks, not just sore muscles.) Is the suspension on your pack going? Is it overloaded? Is the support in your boots going? That can affect the way you walk. We generally hike through pain, but only you know whether or not that is something you can tolerate. Lots of IB - but not so much as to mask real injury. Take a day or two off if it really doesn’t seem to be getting better.
Ginny
My parents slacked me for a few days through Mass. Maybe higher mileage contributed to it. I was hiking a bit faster than usual. Also, my low cut Montrails were falling to pieces.
The doctor referred me to a chiropractor. I am getting ready to go see him. Hopefully he can fix me up and I can get back out.
Bankrobber