“My Back Went Out”: What Actually Happened in That Moment
Almost everyone who has experienced it describes it the same way.
You bent down to pick something up. Something trivial. A sock, a bag of groceries, the bottom drawer of the dishwasher. And something in your back seized so violently that you could not straighten up.
For the next few minutes you were stuck in a half bent position, breathing carefully, wondering whether you had done something catastrophic.
It is one of the most frightening physical experiences people have, largely because the severity feels like it must mean serious damage.