my back, oh god my back part 3 chapter 6

Ooooooow! I can't train, I think I've pulled a muscle. I can walk, but when I rest it for a period of time it becomes agony when I try to move again. Sitting down and standing up hurts.

Just complaining, really, I know there's nothing I can really do apart from rest it and walk. I don't even know how I did it, I just woke up one morning and my back hurt like hell. I should learn more about this stuff so that I can heal myself better when it happens... anyone got any resources? or hints on how to prevent it?

My sister's boyfriend is a builder and tells me that when he hurts his back, he hangs on a tree branch or something to stretch it.

The caretakers at my college told me last time I had a severe back pain problem just to walk and walk and the pain would vanish.

any truth in the above?

 

i stretch mine like the builder, i also like to bend back over a chair until all my vertabrae pop in succession, really takes the strain out of it, you may want to build it up more than stretch it, maybe a few good mornings etc?

 

yeah maybe, as soon as it stops hurting...

Sucks 'cos I can't train, and it's a beautiful day out there and I want to go running

 

You bend backwards?

 

If it's any consolation ..... it does go away.

Ricked the crap out of mine once, just touching toes in class & heard something go rip. Had spasmodic back pain, just muscular, on & off for a few years after, seemed chronic, but then it just vanished, hasn't recurred in donkeys' years.

I used to try doing that thing where you arch over backwards with palms & feet on the floor when it was bad, can't say it did any good though. Ibuprofen was far better. No idea about walking it off, exercising the back itself seems like a good idea, to be done cautiously though - daresay the weightlifters here abouts could give advice on back strengthening.

Good luck.

Iam.

 

Why not go and see a doctor/osteopath?

 

Dr. Superfoot's 5 point plan to recovery:

1. Take paracetamol tablets for the pain, and apply an ibuprofen gel to the site of pain to reduce inflammation.

2. Book and appointment to see your doctor.

3. Follow your doctor's advice to the letter.

4. When you're given the all clear to resume training, for the first three months focus just on building strength in your back (deadlifts, good mornings, etc).

5. Eat a Big Mac.

 

Do be prepared that GPs are really not great at diagnosing back pain. I have had trouble with mine since I was 12, got misdiagnosed with arthritis at that age and ever since have got nowhere with GP's. Better to try and get a referral and see either a sports type physio or an osteopath who, in my experience are far better at understanding the mechanics of back pain and are more equipped in helping you learn to live with a bad back.

 

+1

 

Yep.. yep... go see a sports physio. GP will be next to useless for that kind of an issue... you could get lucky and see one that has some experience... but they usually just reach for the scrip pad and that's about it.

Until you start getting your head around back pain you're in for a hard way to go. You need to figure out what the problem is... how to rest it and how recover it and then how to rehab it and pre-hab it so it doesn't happen again.

Barring any pinched nerves or blown out disks... methinks you're in for some hellish core workouts and getting your mids in order in a bit way. It's going to have to be a lifestyle change for you I'm afraid.

 

Definitely is Slip. I got so fed up of mine flaring up I decided it was time to work around it and just realise that it wouldn't "go away" for ever. At that point I bought a foam roller and started doing far more core work.
My back issues are twofold, partly mechanical issues with my joints and partly due to a hip issue that radiates, therefore it's not always obvious for gps who inevitably prescribe you painkillers.

Not sure if it has taken effect yet but I heard that for people with back issues for less than 18 months UK gps can now refer to osteopaths for consultation and treatment. Great news, not for me though as mine goes back ages so I have to pay for my sessions.

Learning to adapt what you do is paramount so you can learn to live with it.

Diet and fish oil also play a massive part in living with back pain.

 

Yes... back pain dogs a lot of people I know. I know some big, physically strong cats that really can't train because they refuse to deal with their back issues in a coherent manner. They're a walking weak link in their own chain.

I've had one or two pulled muscles in the lower back before and it was enough to make me realize that core is king.

Today at the gym I did a mad session of DB's squat swings... and I realized... any time you start doing anything where you have a chance of the lower back rounding out as you come down into the squat position.... you had better be 100% focused. You've got to have excellent form...as if you life depended on it. If you slip up for just a minute or get careless you can be a in world of hurt.

I think a vast majority of people don't realize how interconnected everything is... the posterior chain and how it impacts the back. Any weak point and it's usually the back that takes the hit.

At any rate... back has to be managed. Simple as that. No management means chaos and that means back pain and debilitation.

 

I do, and it feels great, releases my spine, obviously not something for the masses to do but i love it.

 

I've done similar to this in my early days when i didnt know better, every exercise i do now i ensure i use neutral spine or correct spine positioning.

 

That was one of the exercises shown by a NHS Physio that used to put my Wife's back out even more than it was. The guy that eventually sorted her out told her never to do that sort of bend as it greatly increases the chances of trapping something. Instead to flop forwards to release pressure. May just have been her condition.

 

He was spot on. Bending backwards compresses the spine, squeezes intervertebral discs and increases lordosis. Forward bends and pelvic tilts relieve spasms of the back and increase the amount of space between veterbrae.

 

When i had mine last year the doc sent me to a chiropractor for scapula/rhomboid issues, it turns out i has dislocated my shoulder, i'm going in for an op now on the 11th August for a supraspinatus tear and the end of the clivicle bone shaved off, gp's are great!:bang:

 

lets take a look at this then, i do it because my back feels more free after.

It appears in yoga a fair anmount as well..

http://www.ehow.com/video_2359626_double-backbend-pose-for-partner.html

http://www.yogacards.com/yoga-postures-2/Urdhva-dhanurasana.html

Back bends – Back bends are among the most challenging poses in yoga. Bending backward helps strength your back and keep your spine strong and supple. Back bends also open the front of your body, especially your chest.

worth the conversation for difference of opinions?

 

so.... I was planning to start doing this after my back pain goes away;
http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/BeginnersMay03.pdf

Is this realistic? what sort of core workouts am I going to need to do? will just, say, situps and dorsal raises do the job?

 

Perhaps it's once you have a pre-existing condition it's not so good.