Is this normal?

[1BadF350]

Whenever I'm in a situation that is dangerous or I have diffused a possible threatening situation (a fight etc.)...you know the type that get's your adrenalin pumping.
Anyway, when I start to calm down afterwards, I get this throbbing, aching pain in my lower back. It goes away after a little while. I was wondering if this is normal and if anyone else gets that way too?

 

[SpectreBlofeld]

All sorts of funny things happen when one is in a stressed or fight/flight situation.

You may have been tensing muscles without realising it. It happens when adrenaline is released into the bloodstream.

I get a sharp, metallic taste in my mouth every time I'm 'coming down' from an adrenaline high.

 

[chris in va]

Yeah, it's just your muscles recovering from being tensed up. I found out the hard way once that certain muscle groups don't get really used on a daily basis, and when they do suddenly things get...painful.

 

[kardinal]

Coming down

When I come down from an adrenaline high, my hands shake, I sweat terribly, and feel like vomiting. Granted this is all explained by the biology, and the flight or fight response.

When an organism is caught in a situation that is frightening or stressful the body automatically responds by doing a number of things. Heart rate increases, blood vessels in the skin dialate (gives you that red flushed look - but it is so that you can sweat and release heat better), pupils dialate, your muscles tense and your liver starts breaking down fatty deposits for quick energy. Mentally you tend to narrow your focus down to just the situation at hand, and the immeadiate threat that you could expereince.

Then you resolve the situation. Now your body has no need to be tense and doing all of those biochemical and psychological things. Your body then starts to return to normal. In that process of returning to normal, your hands might shake, you might sweat, your back muscles may hurt from being tense, or you might start laughing from all the endorphins in your brain.

So to answer, your back hurting from calming down after a stressful situation. Yeah that is normal.

*Mr.Wizard hat back into the closet*

-J

 

[VirgilCaine]

I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I've vomited after being in combat... a few times. My knees would shake for a while afterwards too. Of course i'd play macho and try to hide it all. It got better after a while, and i could always do my job under fire, but afterwards... :barf:

I dunno...just how my body responded.

 

[tokarevman]

I do some SCCA road racing and when i get done with a race and the adrenaline high goes away after a race i feel like someone beat me with a 2x4.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I would hazard to guess that the pain in the lower back relates not only to the tension, but also to some sort of lower back injury, even if it was not major. The adrenaline ramps up the tension in the muscles, either directly or because you carry stress in your lower back (as opposed to other areas such as shoulders, jaws, etc.), potentially combined with the injury and you get your post adrenaline pain.

Unlike many other areas of the body, the lower back rarely recovers fully after being injured. It may recover well, but suffer being weakened in the injured area. So when next heavily stressed, there will be pain.

 

[auberg]

pains in the back

Several years ago, I got in a heated discussion with my boss. Being young and stupid, it seemed like the right thing to do. A lot of issues had been building up and then one more got thrown in my lap, it was the straw that broke the camels back. (also I had an "angel" that had issues and control of my boss. So my job was pretty safe.) During this discussion, I completely tensed up from the waist up. When I left the his office, my coworkers said I was a ghost white. The next day I was walking around with my head down. Most people thought it was because I was ashamed at what I had done. Actually it was because I couldn't lift my head any higher. It took about a week for all of the soreness to go away.