Hello Dr. Grief, This morning I tried to lift something very heavy. When doing so I did the wrong thing and used my back to try and lift it. When I did this I could feel a tearing down the middle of my back on both sides of my spine. It felt like it was in the middle of my back but it could have been higher or lower. After doing so I started to feel pain in the front part of my legs and in the front of my lower abdomen. I decided to take some Ibuprofen and lay on the floor on my back, feet and legs elevated and an ice pack under my back 20 minutes on and off. I did this for a few hours. The front leg and abdomen pain has subsided for the most part. But now I have pain in both sides of my upper back just below my shoulder blades and moves around to the front of my lower rib cage. And my hands are slightly numb. If I try to bend over to pick something up I have great pain in my lower back. But I can raise myself up and down by using my legs and Knees and keeping by back straight. I can move about normally for the most part but with great restrictions in my movements as not to feel any pain. How bad do you think I hurt myself or is this normal when you first hurt your back? Is there anything else I can do for myself before having to make a doctor appointment?