I have lower back and ribs pain, what should I do?

Hi Rose, first of all you should go to your GP and see what he or she says.  At the very least start taking ibuprofen and paracetamol regularly for inflammation and pain, respectively.  I’ve had backpain for six months and I bought ‘Treat your own back’ by Robin McKenzie and ‘The back mechanic’ by Stuart McGill.  They are both available on Amazon and are very helpful.  The methods are very similar but Robin McKenzie’s method restores flexion function more progressively.  The exercises are very easy to follow, make sense and more importantly they work.  However if you go to your GP they may be able to recommend a physio that can help you but first of all you need to find out what’s wrong with you as you may have a soft tissue injury.  I started off with tightness around my ribs at right hand side, lower back pain came after that.  I think I had a soft tissue injury somewhere around my right shoulder area at the same time as bulging discs in my lumbar area.  But your GP really is your first stop.....good luck and I hope you get better soon. 

I am a 13 year veteran of lower back pain. You have just passed the acute pain marker and are now in what they call chronic pain. 90 days is the line that differentiates the two. That matters because treatments may be different at this point. I'm hoping that you have tried ice on the affected areas to help reduce swelling. At this point use heat or ice whichever helps your back. And as lis10127 suggested you should go see your GP. He or she will be able to suggest certain specialists (neurologist that specializes in the back, pain management specialist, physical therapist and/or acupuncturist just to name a few) to see if he or she feels that is necessary at this point. Hopefully your GP will also do at least an x-ray of the affected area. An x-ray only shows the vertebrae and it will show gaps between the vertebrae but it does not show soft tissue. For that you will need to have an MRI done. but most doctors prefer to start with the less expensive x-ray. Be patient and religious on exercises and stretches that the physical therapist will recommend for you to do. And whatever you do, do not allow yourself to be sedentary. Moving around will keep muscles from atrophy. That is a very hard thing to come back from.