It's been a while since I strained my lower back and would like some feed back from those who have suffered this type of injury. The short story is I jarred my back stepping off a curb and not realizing there was a step down. Waited about 10 days and my back felt 100 % normal. Went back to my routine of practicing and playing golf and re-injured my lower back almost immediately. Decided to wait two weeks and played again with no problems. I thought everything was normal and I guess I over did it by practicing or playing for the next 5 or 6 days in a row. I played last Saturday and Monday my back was so stiff I could hardly move. I am 67 years old. How long does it take for a lower back strain to heal where I feel no discomfort or tightening when swinging a golf club ? I have a big tournament coming up in 10 days and I realize now I cannot even think about practicing because I do not want to take a chance on re-aggravating this injury.