Question
Hello,I am 36 yrs old and my occupation for the past 19 yrs has been H.H.A.C and Construction with heavy lifting at times.Now for about the past 9yrs and bad now,i have a bad lower back pain with burning just at the base of my spine and a burning with numb and stinging feeling on the top of my left thigh.this has caused problems sleeping a just sitting in a chair doing work and while standing in a area for a period of time.it is now starting to affect my working on the job but not that bad yet.but after i get home from work now every day,it takes a while to relax and hard to deal with at times.

Answer
Hi, Jim.

You say it's not bad, but in my estimation, it's bad enough to have warranted a medical exam long ago.  Numbness is a warning sign that something has already progressed outside the normal range.  You should take better care of yourself, than that.  

Frequent heavy lifting often leads to muscles being conditioned into a high state of contraction, which sets the stage for back injuries.

You may have a bulging disc, with nerve impingement. Get a medical exam.  If your discs are OK, see a clinical somatic educator to retrain your muscles so you can work without danger of injury.

You may read my articles on back pain at somatics.com/page4b.htm.

good wishes,
Lawrence Gold