Gikkuri Goshi (ぎっくり腰 – Acute Low Back Pain)

Both

English

Japanese

Two days ago, I hurt my low back suddenly and could not stand for a while.

私は先日腰を痛めて、暫くまともに立てませんでした。

When you strain your low back suddenly, the symptom is commonly called ‘gikkuri goshi‘ (ぎっくり腰) in Japanese.

突然腰部に激しい痛みが走ることを、日本語で俗に「ぎっくり腰」と言います。

‘Gikkuri‘ (ぎっくり) is a term that describes that someone is surprised and upset, and ‘goshi/koshi‘ (腰) means “low back.”

「ぎっくり」は驚き動揺するさまを表す言葉で、「腰」は “low back” を意味します。

Interestingly, it seems that this symptom is called “Hexenschuss” in Germany and “Colpo della strega” in Italy, both of which mean “witch’s shot.”

興味深いことに、ドイツやイタリアではぎっくり腰が魔女の仕業だと考えられており、「魔女の一撃」(独: Hexenschuss, 伊: Colpo della strega) と呼んでいるそうです。

Incidentally, the official name is ‘kyūsei youtsū shō’ (急性腰痛症 – “acute low back”), but most Japanese people say ‘gikkuri goshi’.

ちなみに、正式名称は「急性腰痛症」ですが、「ぎっくり腰」のほうが圧倒的によく使われます。