Long term back health

OK...I've got a dodgy back. Nothing really major. Just a few aches and pains that pop up through the year. No real pattern to it. Slipped a disc many years ago but I think the real problem is just a general weakness overall.
I'm fairly weak jointed anyway.

So...I'm thinking for my future health (as I get older) I need to start some sort of "back health" regime. Something that can help keep things in order.
One of my old BJJ coaches hurt her back/sacro iliac in a judo comp and had a fairly set routine she did in order to keep her back healthy.

Anyone got any ideas? I've done Yoga for a few years and I'm sure that's helped but I think what I need is more back strength.
Maybe a 20 minute routine I can do most days that can help strengthen the back? Any suitable exercises.

All ideas considered.

 

Maybe completely irrelevant and possible not sound medical advice, but my mum had severe back and shoulder problems. With a combination of physiotherapy and painkillers she got to the point where she had nearly full movement, bought herself a Wii and Wii Fit and started regularly doing the yoga workout each morning.

She's now running daily and cycles a few times a week. She did miss a few days of the yoga, and her shoulder began to twinge again.

 

Anecdotally, I went from having a weak back that was always suffering from pulled muscles (lots of things could cause it - cycling, bending over awkwardly, sleeping awkwardly) to having a back that never gives me any problems at all. You've probably guessed what I'm going to say next - lifting weights. IMO, it was predominantly deadlifts and good mornings that did the most good. Obviously, you need to be careful to get technique right and not overdo it or it can make things worse. Having a prior slipped disc means you'd need to be more careful than most, too.

Do you have a lifting or fitness routine at the moment?

 

One thing I will say is that if you're going to strengthen with weights make sure your technique is good and you keep flexible. My current back injury was hugely affected by going deep on squats with (naturally) poor hamstring flexibility causing my bum to tuck under and create a weak point at the base of my spine.

 

Sounds like my back! The latest bout of discomfort seems to be the result of going for a run (I can remember feeling sore a day or so later) and lifting my daughter up.

Nothing that I can call "routine". I try do do a body weight circuit a couple of times a week. Go for a run now and then. Try to get to Karate when I can. Very intermittent.
That's why I'm looking for something short sweet and easy to slot in regularly. Just no idea what to include.

 

PASmith, I recently invested in a foam roller and have found that its been great for my whole body, especially my back.

 

So is that one of those things you use for self myofascial release type stuff?
I've had a look at those but got lost in not knowing what a good one was, what density I needed etc etc.

Cheers for the info guys.

 

I've had lower back problems for about twenty seven years now. I have a number of excercises which I do regularly to prevent pain occurring, and other excercises I do when I need to alleviate pain when it does occur.

While I would be happy to share these if you're interested, I must point out that I have never had a slipped disc like you, so for alll I know my remedies might be irrelevant to you - or even harmful, for all that I know. (I know very little about the subject, I just know what works for me.)

 

Please share Johnno. I'm a big boy and won't hold you responsible if it makes my back worse.
In particular the regular stuff you do. I've got various things I do to aleviate the pain (yoga stretches, gym ball stretches etc) but nothing really pro-active or preventative.

 

OK, but remember: you promised!

Actually, it's ridiculously simple, but it does the job for me. Every morning, while the first pot of the day is brewing, I do the following:

1. stand with my feet shoulder-width apart.
2. stretch my arms up above my head as high as they will go and hold it for a few seconds.
3. extend slowly to left and right alternatly, stretching one side then the other.
4. extend backwards as far as I can comfortably go, keeping my arms extended above my head, and holding the maximum extension for a couple of seconds.
5. squat as low as i can go while extending my arms forwards, and holding it there for a couple of seconds.
6. alternate 4 and 5 as many times as you like. (This not only loosens up the back, but does wonders to get my creaky knees functioning, because overnight they stiffen up like a fourteen-year-old's tadger, especially in the winter.)
7. Straighten up and rotate the hips in big circles while keeping the rest of the body as still as possible. Do about six turns in each direction then reverse direction and alternate until you've done at least fifteen each way.

I also do some stuff for my arthritic hands, but I won't trouble you with them unless you also suffer from arthritis. (Let me know if you do, because they are absolutely marvellous.)

 

Good advice with the foam rollers there. I'll second that also. But I'd agree with Simon in that it only really keeps the problem at bay. Also, if you have a high pain tolerance or just feel like being a masochist, you can do something similar by putting a tennis ball in a sock, chucking it over your back and rolling sore points up against the ball as it's trapped between your back and the wall. The sock is simply so you can hang onto it and don't need to keep picking the ball back up over and over.

If you're after a quick and easy routine, I'd suggest putting some deadlifts and/or good mornings into your routine and work up to being able to move a moderate amount of weight. There's no need to go bonkers and train to move heavy weights like some of us do as you're only after solving your current back issue. Maybe twice a week at first while you're learning technique and the weight is light and then back off to once a week or even less frequently than that once you're moving an "intermediate" weight that you feel does the job for you.

Obviously, be aware that if your issue isn't back weakness but a problem resulting from the disc or something else, then my advice may well actually end up making your problem worse. However, from what you said about it being similar to how mine was I'd guess that it is likely to be just simple weakness.

 

Johnno, have you ever done Yoga?
Given your morning routine I'd really suggest looking into the various forms of the sun salutation. They can be very similar to what you describe.
I actually do something very similar to what you do. After step 5 of your sequence I go into some upward and downward dogs (hindu press-ups basically). Not regularly enough for it to help perhaps though.

 

No, I've never done Yoga. The excercises I do are a mixture of stuff that I've come across up in various MA classes as part of the warm-up routines.

 

Again, they are extremely simple excercises, but for me they make the difference between suffering a lot of pain in my knuckles during the winter months... and not suffering in the slightest.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. reach your arms straight up above your head with the hands fully open and rotate your wrists outwards several times. (I used to do five reps, then increased to seven, now I do ten.) Repeat with the same number in the opposite direction.
3. lower your arms to the sides, so that you are in a cruciform stance. Do a set of rotations in each direction.
4. bring the arms horizontally forwards until they are sticking out in front of you and parrallel to each other and to the ground. Do a set of rotations in each direction.
5. lower your arms to your sides, and do a set of rotations in each direction.

By the end the arm muscles should feel excercised but not exhausted. (Depending on the number of reps which you do.)

I hope this is of some use. I learnt this excercise as part of a Qigong routine at a Taiji class many years ago, and it was pretty much by chance that I discovered that doing it every day stopped me getting arthritic pain in my hands. If it works as well for your wife as it has done for me then I'd be delighted to hear it.

 

my mother suffers too.
I've printed her them off, i'll let you know how she gets on.