Question
About a few weeks ago I started noticing a mild to moderate sharp pain in the middle of my back right next to the left side of my spine and I have no idea as to what suddenly caused the middle back pain to occur because I don't exercise a whole lot and I don't do alot of heavy lifting either, in fact, the only real exercise I regularly do is I tend to walk faster than everyone else when I'm in a public place like the grocery store or the mall. The only somewhat strenuous activity I do, and have done this in this way all my life, is when I masturbate I don't use the traditional method of wrapping a loose fist around my penis and stroke in an up and down method, instead, I masturbate facedown on my stomach with the left side of my erect penis against my upper left thigh while the lower half of my left leg is up in the air moving from side to side & left to right until I orgasm, so obviously this means my entire back is facing upwards during my masturbation sessions, but it has also involved alot of bending of my middle and lower back. I guess my question is; Could all that bending of my back be causing damage to my spine? And does back pain eventually lead to paralysis? Based on how I described the pain in the middle of my back as a sharp pain, does it sound like I possibly damaged any spinal discs, vertebraes, or perhaps even the spinal cord itself?

Answer
Hello David,

I do think it is quite possible that your middle back pain is being caused by the repetitive motion in the face down position that you described.  But like all repetitive motion syndromes the pain is caused by the overused muscles becoming inflamed and tight.

In the long term tight tissue compressing two vertebrae together can cause disc problems, which can cause pain, but I do believe I can safely assure you that there is virtually zero chance of you becoming paralyzed.

The good news is that you can probably fix yourself somewhat easily.  You may have to occasionally do some maintenance on yourself if you continue to use your body the way you describe,  but you can most likely fix yourself when the need arises.

On my totally free website, Do It Yourself Joint Pain Relief,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/
I show people how to fix their own bodies, including a page for middle back pain,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/middle-back-pain-relief.html
and you may want to spend $30 (at Amazon) on a Backnobber II massage tool that I show you how to use on this page,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/middle-back-pain-relief-massage-

Basically, once you understand that your muscles tighten with excessive use, and bones only go where muscles pull or hold them (bones are chunks of calcium that do not move on their own), then you can understand that releasing the overly tight muscles in the key to fixing most chronic structural pain.  

All your muscles are just like the rigging on big old-fashioned sailboat. Just follow along with my videos and I'll show you how to adjust the rigging (muscles), so you no longer need to be in pain.

I do hope this helps.

All the best,

Gary Crowley