My Back : Excersises and general advice sought

WyrmFyre · Post by **WyrmFyre** » 20 Aug 2009 09:02

Hullo!

I spend most of my day sat down at a desk, recently this used to be on a really bad desk where i had to lean forward a bit but now ive moved everything and bought a new one so now i can sit up correctly.

Oddly though, i still find myself getting a sort of dull ache that extends full width right across my lower back just above my hip line. It doesnt happen very often, but it has crept back in over the course of today. Can anyone recomend some general excersises to help me improve the strength of my muscles (or whatever might be causing the problem) in that area of my back?

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 21 Aug 2009 10:21

I have great advice for you!

See a doctor.

WyrmFyre · Post by **WyrmFyre** » 21 Aug 2009 10:45

I half expected that

I have tried my local surgery, but they are very lax on advice and would prefer just to send me off with some Ibuprofen. I wondered if there was anyone here who's had a similar experience and might have some advice to share

PegLegHolly · Post by **PegLegHolly** » 21 Aug 2009 12:39

hello, check out the first page in my footblog. i had some back problems for a while, but resistence training seemed to fix it right up!

hrdcorethndr1 · Post by **hrdcorethndr1** » 24 Aug 2009 17:34

perhaps propor posture? that has done it for me. i used to have back probloms, but now it doesnt hurt a bit. hope it helps.

WyrmFyre · Post by **WyrmFyre** » 25 Aug 2009 02:24

Thanks for your help! Ive got a resistance trainer-type thing Holly, going to give it a try tonight.

And i do pay more attention to my posture when im sat at work now too Zach. Ive been paying more attention to it when playing, seems to be rubbing off on the rest of my life

hrdcorethndr1 · Post by **hrdcorethndr1** » 25 Aug 2009 17:28

thats awesome, i found with better posture, i can see the bag better, play longer, and it just feels better, i really hope you have great results

BainbridgeShred · Post by **BainbridgeShred** » 02 Sep 2009 19:46

READ CAREFULLY: RESISTANCE TRAINING IS NOT WHAT YOU NEED FOR BACK PAIN

Now to clarify. If you are not already an experienced body builder (Which would probably explain the back pain to begin with!) any resistance training regiment you begin must be with extremely low weights (5-15 pounds for nearly all sets) and using a regiment designed for begginers. In fact there are even plenty of full body workouts designed specifically for people with back pain. Find one you like and follow their instructions to a T.

Caps again.

A TRADITIONAL PHYSICIAN WILL DO ABSOLUTELY ZERO FOR YOUR BACK PAIN. A DOCTOR WHOSE SOLUTION FOR BACK PAIN IS IBUPROFEN SHOULD BE DEBARRED OR WHATEVER THE EQUIVILENT IS FOR M.D.'S (De-Hypocrated?)

And it's good that you already realize this. It is also very important never to use a pain killer of any kind while your working out. Meat heads at a gym will tell you "no pain no gain" but if you ever feel pain outside of the normal stress put on by the rep you need to stop and either change your form or drop the exercise. That goes for any area of your body. Now, even though a doctor wont do you any good a skilled chiropractor, massage therapist, or acupuncturist would do you a world of good. If you're not sure about the real benefit of getting poked with pins, consider that a lot of insurance companys now include it in their coverage. And we all know how those cunts are about doing anything for you.

Resistance training is only 20% of getting rid of your back pain. The other 80% is stretching, posture, and nutrition. If you want I'd be happy to give you some stretches that I've found help me. And yes I use to have lower back pain that I compounded by going too hard into a resistance training program without being ready.

Last tip for now, get a medicine ball or join a gym that has a lot of them in different sizes.

PegLegHolly · Post by **PegLegHolly** » 02 Sep 2009 20:19

BainbridgeShred wrote:If you are not already an experienced body builder (Which would probably explain the back pain to begin with!) any resistance training regiment you begin must be with extremely low weights (5-15 pounds for nearly all sets) and using a regiment designed for begginers.

The resistance training in my blog was referring to thermo bands... and please don't take my experience as advice to fix your back, because we might have had different issues.

Maraxus · Post by **Maraxus** » 12 Sep 2009 15:45

The most recent research I've seen on lower back pain involves weak and tight hip flexors, ie, quadriceps (rectus femoris). Stretching and keeping adequate strength in the lower body will allow force to be distributed more evenly, and not jarred in the lumbar spine. Nutrition will help with weight maintenance but won't solve the issue if chronic lower back pain is the case.

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 17 Sep 2009 21:56

Maraxus wrote:The most recent research I've seen on lower back pain involves weak and tight hip flexors, ie, quadriceps (rectus femoris).

Aaron, your are correct that tight hip flexors can be a problem for lower back pain, however weakness is less of an issue and rectus femoris is not the issue. Always consider the origin and insertion of your anatomy when doing assessments. rectus femoris originates from the anterior supirior iliac spine, inserting on the superior aspect of the patella, so having a tight rectus femoris won't have a great influence on back pain. however, with psoas major and psoas minor originating from the transverse processes and bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, and inserting on the lesser trochanter of the femur, a tight iliopsoas complex (caused by lots of sitting without stretching the hip flexors) will pull the lumbar vertebrae anteriorly, causing back pain.

now, connective tissue will assume it's own resting length. so if the majority of your day is spent sitting, over time the connective tissue (tendons, epimysium, and fascia) around you iliopsoas muscleswill shrink and retract into the position they are left in, which is a shortened one. now, when you stand and walk around, you have increased the tension on the muscles and now have increased the pull on your lumbar vertebrae. So stretching of the hip flexors will be important over time to helping alleviate your back pain.

Second, sitting for a long period of time is not health for your back. Most seats don't have the appropriate ergonomics to keep your spine in a neutral position. and even those that do often aren't set up properly (user error, improper size), or aren;t used properly (has appropriate curvature, but individuals slouch in the chair, making it a moot point that it has the appropriate lordotic curve). You might want to look at the chair you have more than the desk you have.

Also, you erector spinae muscles still need to support your torso to maintain your upright position while sitting (along with other postural muscles like quadratus lumborum, internal and external abdominal obliques, transverse abdominus, etc.), even more so if you are leaning forward. they then need to fire constantly to keep you from slouching over. muscles don't like to fire constantly, and over time are going to fatigue. this will cause you to slouch. Now we are dealing with a reverse effect of the tight iliopsoas complex mentioned above, causing disk injury.

between each of your spinal vertebrae are fibro cartilage disks. inside the fiberous shell of these discs is a liquidy center. now these disks are sandwiched between your lumbar vertebrae. Imagine if you will a waterballon, only half filled with water. now imagine stomping down on one side of the water ballon. what happens? the water is forced to the opposit side of the ballon, away from where you stepped on it, yes? This is pretty much what happens to your intra articular disks. you sloutch forward, apply pressure anteriorly on the disks, which then forces the liquidy center backwards. this then stretches theposterior aspect of the fiberous disk. over time tears can form, and eventually leading to a hernia of the disk, more commonly known as a "slipped disc" or "herniated disc". That obviously is immensely painful and debilitating.

treating back pain is often a multi pronged approach, Stretching of the hip flexors (slowly, and over time, as initiating too quickly will put immense strain on the lumbar vertebrae) and increasing the strength of the erector spinae. in addition, checking your chair's settings and taking frequent breaks to do back arches and to stand and stretch will be benificial.

To stretch the hip flexors you'll want to do active stretching to start, progressing to active and PNF stretches over time. Strengthening the erector spinae is also two pronged, dynamic exercises such as back extensions to develop strength through out the entire range of motion, but also isometric exercises like supermans, held for 5 seconds, to help increase the isometric strength of the muscles. Isometric contractions are going to mimic your postural contractions (you aren't constantly flexing and extending the spine when you sit, you contract and hold) you'll want to develop endurance, so that your erector spinae muscles can avoid postural fatigue (less resistance, more reps).

over developped abdominal muscles (in relation to your back musculature) will cause a muscular imbalance. so ensure you are doing trunk extension exercises and not just abs, abs, abs. And stretch your abdominal muscles and back muscles as well. keep the tension on either side of your spine even.

BainbridgeShred wrote:READ CAREFULLY: RESISTANCE TRAINING IS NOT WHAT YOU NEED FOR BACK PAIN.

I'd say that's inacurate, at best. it will depend on what the cause of your back pain is. if weakness of the postural musculature is causing the problem, getting poked with pins will not cure your lack of strength. while you have to be careful when starting an exercise program, the weight loads Dan has mentioned aren't correct either. The weight loads will depend on the individual. for many people (depending on the muscle) 5-15 will be a waste of time when considering it's physiological effect. Aaron and i can both attest to that (I believe we are both CSCS's and CPT's) I suggest you consult the American college of sports medicine (ACSM) for their exercise guidelines. They are at present the most upto date, and have lots of scientific research dictating their parameters. (i believe they were just updated in june). You may need to be a member to access them, so if you can;t find them i can pull them up later.

Obviously since i haven't done a history or assessment, i can't tell you what is wrong. Who knows, your back pain could be related to a compression fracture you got from footbag and an underlying bone density issue. i can't tell you what is wrong on line without seeing first hand. My suggestion is to see a musculoskeletal specialist if this is a growing concern. A physician is great for illness, flu, and similar issues, but they spend little time on musculoskeletal assessment (they are busy learning about every thing else in the medical field, and thus probably why he said take an aspirin). I suggest you see an athletic therapist or a physiotherapist (or some one else well versed in musculoskeltal assessment and kinesiology). My writings are not a diagnosis or treatment path i am suggesting to you, simply common back pain causes and typical solutions. your situation may be completely different. again, i recomend you see a specialist.

crazylegs32 · Post by **crazylegs32** » 19 Oct 2009 21:11

LMAO- You sound like you are smart.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 09 Nov 2009 16:08

You don't