What can you do when your lower back goes out on you? This can be a very painful and scary situation. Sometimes the person is in so much pain they can barely move or not move at all. In these instances a trip to the emergency room might be in order. They can usually give you medication that will at least make the pain bearable. However most of the time lower back pain like that is due to a mechanical problem in the spine, not a chemical one. Ice can sometimes be helpful in alleviating the pain and help with the inflammatory process. If the ice makes the pain worse, use moist heat and see if that doesn’t help. I have literally had people come into my office being dragged or carried by friends or family they were in so much pain. Once we find the mechanical difficulty and correct it the patient will get relief. Sometime it can be immediate, other times it may take a few days. Chiropractic care is by far the best thing you can do for a back that has “gone out” . It will help to correct the underlying cause of the problem and help the patient get back to normal. An Austin chiropractor can help.