Author Topic: Low back pain  (Read 22555 times)

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Raptor

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Low back pain
« on: February 01, 2016, 10:51:26 am »
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So I've been having my low back pain since 2 months now. Sometimes if I sit stationary the pain gets so bad that to get out of bed I have to push with my hands on my knees. Sometimes I have to wash my teeth standing vertical, not bending at the bathroom sink.

Any ideas of stretches/other treatments for this? I usually do a stretch for the hamstrings with a bent back... that takes care of both the hams and the spinal erectors, like this:



Any other ideas? The pain is at the SI joint I think, usually on the right side (the side with the least amount of ankle dorsiflexion, by the way).

After the stretch it's usually better, I can bend with less pain/no pain, but let it get stiff and it's really bad.

Not to mention I can't squat with this thing going on.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps

Kingfish

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2016, 11:42:55 am »
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figure out what you are doing wrong that caused it first. the best treatment is to stop doing more harm to it.

i find "form rolling" using the smith machine bar most effective in digging into the lowerback area.

when i strained my lower back using the calf sled raises too much, i can only sleep flat on my back otherwise the pain wakes me up.                     

good luck
5'10" | 202lbs | 44 yrs
reach - 7'8" (92") |paused full squat - 545x1| standing VJ - 40"|

walk more. resting HR to low 40s. 

Daily Squats Day 1 - Aug 30, 2011 and still going.

Raptor

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2016, 12:41:02 pm »
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Well, a bunch of times it was due to using Smith machine calf raises. Two times or so it was because of deadlifts.

Also, because my right ankle dorsiflexion is much more limited than my left ankle dorsiflexion, when I get deep enough in the squat, the right ankle runs out of range of motion and I twist to the right/bend at the lowerback on that side so to speak.

But now it became a chronic thing that makes me feel like a 70 year old guy.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps

gukl

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2016, 06:44:01 pm »
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INBY84sqrR0

the one where he pushes with one leg and pulls with the other - then sticks something between his legs and squeezes helped my SI joint pain. didn't think it would but i was suprised.

« Last Edit: February 01, 2016, 06:46:18 pm by gukl »

AGC

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2016, 09:34:06 pm »
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Do you have or can you buy a TENS/EMS machine? Anytime my lower back feels tight after the gym or from running I just use it at max settings before I go to bed for 30mins. Every time I've tried it I wake up the next morning and it's fine. They're only ~$100 or so on eBay for a good quality one with an AC charger, not a bad investment.

gukl

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2016, 07:25:43 pm »
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Do you have or can you buy a TENS/EMS machine? Anytime my lower back feels tight after the gym or from running I just use it at max settings before I go to bed for 30mins. Every time I've tried it I wake up the next morning and it's fine. They're only ~$100 or so on eBay for a good quality one with an AC charger, not a bad investment.

TENS work great for pain (sometimes) - i'm not sure they do much other than pain control though.

raptor are you in APT? how is your hipflexor tightness? glute activation? core strength?

just came across this: http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/stretching-your-hamstrings-isnt-always-best ... interesting
 


Raptor

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2016, 08:09:37 pm »
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Yes, I am in APT. That usually leads to elongated hamstrings by default... and when you try to stretch them they feel tight but they feel that way because you're already lengthening them by being in APT.

Hip flexor tightness is tight, glute activation is bad and core strength is weak.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps

FP

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2016, 12:53:30 am »
+2
So I've been having my low back pain since 2 months now. Sometimes if I sit stationary the pain gets so bad that to get out of bed I have to push with my hands on my knees. Sometimes I have to wash my teeth standing vertical, not bending at the bathroom sink.

Any ideas of stretches/other treatments for this? I usually do a stretch for the hamstrings with a bent back... that takes care of both the hams and the spinal erectors, like this:



Any other ideas? The pain is at the SI joint I think, usually on the right side (the side with the least amount of ankle dorsiflexion, by the way).

After the stretch it's usually better, I can bend with less pain/no pain, but let it get stiff and it's really bad.

Not to mention I can't squat with this thing going on.

I've injured the low lumbar/SI joint area while ATG squatting 4 times. I haven't had any problems since I switched to parallel. I also did a lot of glute work with hip thrusts/glute bridges, core strengthening (including diaphragm and pelvic floor exercises), deadlifts with good form for low back, and a few things specific to the SI joint. Not sure to what extent these will help you, judging from your log your problem seems worse than mine. But I already had a decent core/back strength base before I focused on these areas.

If your pain is definitely in the SI area, you should try to figure out whether you have hypermobility or hypomobility. I'm pretty sur I have hypermobility because I always sit/lay down in positions that put uneven stresses on the SI joint, which over a lot of time pulls it out of position. It takes conscious effort for me to sit straight and lay on my back when sleeping, which I try to do whenever I can.

This guy (Marc Heller) specializes in low back problems:

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=50535
I did a circuit of the SI resets every day for a while. Not sure to what extent they helped my back pain, but the doorway exercise makes my groin pain disappear (which is connected to SI joint problems).
 
http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=50277
Summary: massage the ligaments of the SI joint, it promotes healing

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/search.php?q=marc+heller&site=DynamicChiropractic&btnG=Search&entqr=0&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&client=all_sites&ud=1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&proxystylesheet=all_sites&proxyreload=1
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Raptor

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2016, 12:07:14 pm »
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My back is really messed up... it wakes me up during the night when I turn on the other side, for example. Thanks for the links, but they're hard to follow/understand.

I think the only thing I can do is step away from training (from gym work) and revert back to my regular, normal, untrained athleticism, 12-inch vert level. I can't imagine my back ever recovering while continuing to train, as bad as it is right now. Wonderful news.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps

Kingfish

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2016, 01:00:10 pm »
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My back is really messed up... it wakes me up during the night when I turn on the other side, for example. Thanks for the links, but they're hard to follow/understand.

I think the only thing I can do is step away from training (from gym work) and revert back to my regular, normal, untrained athleticism, 12-inch vert level. I can't imagine my back ever recovering while continuing to train, as bad as it is right now. Wonderful news.

you RVJ peeps eventually retire first. be thankful you don't need to fuse something there for the pain. you won't be able to tie your shoelace anymore  if you did .

you have dunk vids. you made it already. move on.  :strong:
5'10" | 202lbs | 44 yrs
reach - 7'8" (92") |paused full squat - 545x1| standing VJ - 40"|

walk more. resting HR to low 40s. 

Daily Squats Day 1 - Aug 30, 2011 and still going.

Raptor

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2016, 01:38:16 pm »
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It's weird but I repaired my bed, and it's now firm and tight (did this 3 months or so ago). Coincidentally or not, my back pain started pretty much at the same time.

When I sleep in my bed now, my butt is so big that my lowerback is in the air all night long (I sleep on my back) and it hurts like hell. It's like my butt is so big and I'm in such anterior pelvic tilt that my lowerback can't help but be in terrible shape.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps

gukl

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2016, 01:47:43 pm »
+1
It's weird but I repaired my bed, and it's now firm and tight (did this 3 months or so ago). Coincidentally or not, my back pain started pretty much at the same time.

When I sleep in my bed now, my butt is so big that my lowerback is in the air all night long (I sleep on my back) and it hurts like hell. It's like my butt is so big and I'm in such anterior pelvic tilt that my lowerback can't help but be in terrible shape.

Have you tried placing something under your knees while sleeping?

Coges

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2016, 12:04:46 am »
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It's weird but I repaired my bed, and it's now firm and tight (did this 3 months or so ago). Coincidentally or not, my back pain started pretty much at the same time.

When I sleep in my bed now, my butt is so big that my lowerback is in the air all night long (I sleep on my back) and it hurts like hell. It's like my butt is so big and I'm in such anterior pelvic tilt that my lowerback can't help but be in terrible shape.

Have you tried placing something under your knees while sleeping?

This x1000. Unless you have a stellar bed and especially if you are in APT this should help. Under knees if laying on back. Between knees if laying on side.
"Train as hard as possible, as often as possible, while staying as fresh as possible"
- Zatsiorsky

gukl

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2016, 05:19:42 am »
+1
also there is a big correlation between mood/depresion + pain. obviously there is something mechanically going wrong in your case, but it may be exacerbated by your mental state, just something to consider. you don't want to find yourself in a vicious cycle of like..low mood - training raises it - back injury - can't train - lower mood - worse pain - less funcitonality - lower mood - worse pain!




Raptor

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Re: Low back pain
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2016, 06:47:59 am »
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Yeah I'll try to put a pillow under my knees... my APT is so bad that if I sleep on my belly my face is being pressed down into the bed, because of the APT. And I have to sleep with one leg bent and the other one straight, I can't sleep on my belly with both legs straight, lel.

If I do leg raises while lying on my back (where you need to keep the lowerback pressed into the ground), I can't even do them because there wouldn't be any space for my butt "to be". And so on.

So it's imperative to lose weight, in other words. I think gaining weight has been in itself terrible for my back.
Current PR status:

All time squat: 165 kg/Old age squat: 130 kg
All time deadlift: 184 kg/Old age deadlift: 140 kg
All time bench: 85 kg/Old age bench: 70kgx5reps
All time hip thrust (same as old age hip thrust): 160kgx5reps