For those of you with lower back pain

J

jdoll

Cathlete
i have been recently experiencing severe lower back/neck pain and i am not sure what triggerd it or when exactly it started bothering me, but i would like to know how you deal with this in your exercise routines. I started exercicing seriously in January and i have made great strides in flexability and cardio stamina. i have ALWAYS avoided deadlifts and upright rows because even with correct form, they hurt my lower back. Supermans hurt also and these are not difficult! So to get to the point, now that i have this injury, are there exercised that i can do to strengthen this area without aggravating my injury?

Do any of you wear those back brace-belt looking things when working out? does it help you?

I need advice because i cannot stop working out. i have been "resting" for THREE weeks and i have to do something. i have been to the chiropractor and he says "resume normal activity" I want to know what you who actually exercise think please.

sorry to be so long winded;-)


jes
 
Do you know how strong your "ab" muscles are? I think that a lot of back pain is a result of weak abdominal muscles and the back must overcompensate for this weakness. If I were you, I would focus on getting the abdominal muscles really strong and working on the deep muscles of the abs like the transverse abdominis,rectus abdominis and the obliques as these are used in lifting and straining actions that could put undue force on the lower back. Working on your abs may also allow the back time to heal while strengthening muscles that could help prevent lower back pain in the future. Just a suggestion:) :)
carolyn
 
Hi Jes. My suggestion is to skip the chiropractor and head to the orthopedist. Do you know if there is something out of place like a herniated disc? I had been experiencing low back pain, and could actually feel a "bump" in my lower back. It hurt not only internally, but also when lying down for abs (I felt like I was lying on rock.)

I went to the ortho and discovered I've got a slipped and collapsed disc. I did something as simple as switching my mattress which has helped tremendously. I do however have to go back in a few weeks for a 6-month follow-up and if it's worse may consider surgery. But it feels 100% better - just from a mattress. If you don't know what the problem is, I would have it checked out by an M.D.

Lorrie
 
Hi Carolyn: my abs are pretty strong. They got alot of attention before this pain came up.


Lorrie: thanks for the info. too late to skip the chiro, but i am deffinately done with that because of the two adjustments i had it made the pain much worse. I will look into orthos in my area.

Does anyone know if those belts would help to wear while exercising?


jes
 
Hi Jes,

First thing if you’re thinking about a brace get the doctors approval first. One of the main reasons, is the brace takes some of the stress off that area. If you continue to wear it working out, you can actually weaken that area. Even with me I had a brace when I broke my lower back. During exercise, I had to take it off, as they wanted stronger muscles rather then strengthening all the muscles around the weak one besides the weak muscle.

Personally I do a lot of flexibility exercises whenever I get the chance. I do my upper body workouts, sitting on a chair or a stability ball. This will take the stress off the lower back, as well as the negative force that your body takes when you do this. You won't realize until you’re on the stability ball, and it bounces lightly under you. That's the negative force. And I generally like the stability ball to sit on rather then the chair because of this.

Really do try to strength the core and the lower back, I do a lot of crunches, and even reverse curls (be careful with these as they do pull on the lower back) as for superman’s etc, I usually do a modifier on the ball, upper half of body is on the ball, and I reach down with hands to hold onto the ball and lift upper body up. I sometimes go down to the floor and do the modifier of one leg up and opposite arm.

To really strength my back, I basically used exercise found in PS back, bicep and abs, just didn't follow Cathe, and I put them together in different ways to see which worked for my back the best. And used very light weight or no weight to start out with. But since this is summer you could hop in the pool and really get some good exercise and not much back stress. Since I broke mine in the dead of winter, the pool wasn't an option. But it's one of the best for lower back problems.

But I really haven't found an exercise to strengthen without aggravating a little but it all depends on how well you keep your form and how much you push. When you feel your back start to get a little fussy, this is actually your backs way of saying enough. Don't push past that, and sometimes you'll be a bit sore from it, and that's okay. Just don't progress fast and your back will get use to it. Start with really low amount of reps, 5 at the very most, and build up when your back says it isn't bother by the five reps any more. Even when I was in the hospital for 30 days and they were sending me through 20 minutes of physical therapy a day. The stuff they did would really make my back have a fit, I'd lay back in bed in pain for the rest of the day, and wasn't all that happy about it. When I got home I modified that routine they gave me to where I could tolerate it, and get results, grabed my video tapes and started to modify until I got a workout that worked for me. Also try to do non-impact aerobics for a while, as just jogging, can make your back fuss. Though for me, normal stepping, not power steps, actually helped my back, I could do step but I couldn't stand still for more then 90 seconds. There’s also good aggravation and bad aggravation, just like good pain and bad pain. It’s up to you to know the difference. And at first it can be confusing as you can easily make good turn to bad by doing too much. So that’s one of the reasons to stay with a low amount of reps, and just see how that feels. If your back feels nothing the first time, that’s a good thing in a way, that means you can increase by a rep the next time you do it. Even if that means you can only only one rep, this way. It’s a starting place and then slowly add when your back isn’t bother by it any more, increase the reps. This is only for good pain/aggravation. If you find one expercise that just totally tears up your back, toss it out of the rotation and you may come back to it after you build up your back some. But that’s also leads to another point some days I could do certain exercise others I couldn’t. So don’t be hard set in what exercises your going to do. Just take it how ever your back decided to behave.

Also another thing, keep those abs tight when standing, walking or doing anything in an up-right position, this will help support the lower back, strength the abs, and even strength the lower back muscles. As well as take some of the stress off of it. And it’s easy to do, and you can do it anywhere.

Good luck,

Kit
 
I think the ladies are right - go see a doctor doctor.There may be something going on that a chiropractor can't fix.

But your doctor may say the same thing mine did when I went about my back pain. "Back problems just suck. They're really hard to diagnose and harder to fix". Fortunately for both of us, the cause of mine was obvious and he prescribed a heel lift for my shoe. I have scoliosis.

Sometimes my back gets very sore doing deadlifts and squats. But usually only after I'm starting to get fatigued. I'd think that if the back problems are getting worse now that you're in shape, you may want to see the doc.

How are your knees doing, by the way?
 
Hi Jes,

I'd be leery of the belts because they're artifically propping you up - using a band of leather to do what your body should try to do itself (keeping abs engaged and pulled in, tucking tailbone under slightly to avoid arching the lower back). I cringe every time I see a guy at the gym with a belt on - more often than not he's arching his back and letting his gut protrude (or it would be protruding if not for the belt), heaving around extreme amounts of weight with poor form, as if the belt is supposed to correct his form. I'd also worry that a tightly-cinched belt might mask your back pain - and if your back is hurting, you want to know about it, not dull it down so you can make it through a workout and risk further damage.

I'll second the recommendation to see an orthopedist - I had a good experience with my chiropractor but if yours isn't good, ditch 'em.

As far as exercise goes, after an ortho's OK, maybe Pilates? I've raved on other threads about how Pilates has helped me conquer my lower-back pain casued by a degenerated disk. Pilates helps to strengthen the back and core muscles that aid in your posture and may help your pain. I'd try classes or one-on-one instruction first rather than videos/DVDs, just so someone can ground you in the basics of Pilates techniques.

Good luck - back pain is a bear.

Allison
 
Hey Jes, Kit said everything I wanted to say – and more. I learned a lot from her post as well. Thanks, Kit.:)

I went to my doctor last February for lower back pain after pulling something down there while doing bicep curls on the ball in SS. She let me take Advil (up to 1500 gms., yeah, that’s a lot, every 4-6 hours for a week) and that was that. She couldn’t find anything else wrong with my back. She did say the musculature around it was very tight, and that resting for a week or more AND moist heat, massages, Therma-Wraps, and stretching would help. So it was basically up to me to figure out ways to work around the problem.

This is how I got so determined to master all those yoga poses because they helped my back a lot. I modified those bicep curls in SS. Instead of doing it Cathe’s way, I now do those preacher curls sitting on the high step topper and one riser under it, with the stability ball between my legs. This way I feel the exercise in my biceps, not my lower back. For a while I stopped doing deadlifts and subbed supermans and the floor work for hamstrings instead. I’m slowly back to doing deadlifts, but only occasionally, and the most I’m letting myself do is 35, and even then, I don’t do too many. I’ve had back problems long enough now to know that this won’t go away if I fight it. I have to rest and/or work around it slowly and carefully.

I don’t do the third segment of CM that much. For some reason, it triggers that “kink” in my lower back. If I do it at all, I use a 5-lb. db. I don’t go on a flat back for tricep and back exercises. I always do it at a 45-degree angle, ala Cedie. Again, like Cedie in PUB, when I do bicep curls, I bend both knees and brace my core. That keeps the tension off the lower back. I’ve even stopped carrying Andrew around. The child still loves being carried until now, and obviously, as his mom, I can’t resist sometimes. I had a wake-up call when I played with him one afternoon, tossing him up in the air to catch him. He’s about 40 lbs. now. Oh, I had fun. But my lower back hated me for it.:( So that’s out of the question now. Also, I stretch my back everyday. The seated spinal twist is the best one for my back. Here’s a link so you can see it: http://www.yogachicago.com/jul02/pose.shtml

Last and hardest, I’ve stopped doing the Imaxes. My joints simply can’t bear so much impact. I still do some of the impact in other Cathe step workouts, just enough to get my heart rate up. But something has to give, you know, and in my case it’s the Imaxes.:(

Just a suggestion... I’d get a second opinion from an M.D. or a physical therapist. I always go to my doctor when my back hurts and she always has good suggestions for it. My only drawback is my own unwillingness to take a prolonged rest, and that’s something I have to be aware of all the time. I'd like to be strong but not to the point where I sacrifice my back because then, what's the point?

I hope you feel better soon.

Hugs,
Pinky:)
 
Pinky,
I know all to well about the unwillingness to go to the doctor. I even manage to convince the doctors in the hospital for over 20 days, that the only thing wrong with my back was there was a bone out of place. Just the fact that I wasn't willing to let go of the pain meds, and my pulse would hit 200 + when I stood up, kind of told a different story.

Jes,
Do go see your doctor, as they are the best one to help you, there is a ton of back pain that is a I don't know, and no test will tell about it. But you still need to rule out the big stuff.

Also be careful with both Pilates and Yoga, they are great at strengthen and can help the lower back, but it's so easy to over do them. And there are just some exercises in both, not very nice to the lower back. I now can do about any Pilates move, but I didn't start with Pilates, too much back pain, and I seriously need to strength my core in a more crunch like fashion first.

The one thing I've noticed about my Pilates students who have did advance workouts but have various problems, lower back pain, shoulder problems, etc. Is they don't generally get tired muscles with the beginning moves, so want to go to advance before their body is ready. As there are a lot of Pilates moves that do pull on the lower back, if you don't modify them, which is why it’s better to have a one on one session, then a DVD. And do not get a reformer right now or go to a reformer class, you’re back will be screaming at you. As most of the reformer moves use the spine in some way, and it takes a lot of lower back strength to do them as well as core, there are a few easier moves on the reformer, but the ones I know of, would be the ones you wouldn’t want to do with lower back pain. I still come home from my internship, walking oddly after being on the reformer and end up taking some pain meds.

If you do decide to try Yoga or Pilates, do get one and one with someone who understands lower back pain, not someone who just heard of it. There is a big difference, and you may not find it much of a workout at first, if your abs are really strong. But it will start to strength the lower back, so it might just be a trade off, Pilates for lower back, Cathe for abs or something.

Good luck, and I wish you the best in getting rid of that lower back pain. But if you hurt more after your chrio visit, you got a bad chrio. So do get another opinion, and maybe even another. I've had bad doctors in every field, I even had one walk into my hospital room drunk, and tell me there was nothing wrong with me. If you don't like the doctor don't like what they say get a second opinion. They can be just as wrong as you or I can.

Kit
 
Hi Jes,

There is some excellent advise here....I hope you find relief soon.

Another thing to think about....I don't know if you wear heels, but if you do - ditch them. They throw the body alignment out of wack and wreak havoc especially on the lower back.

Good luck!

Tammy
 
Jes, I experience low back pain periodically. I also avoid deadlifts and side-kicks. I bought a book by Robin McKenzie called "7 Steps to a Pain Free Life" and it has helped me tremendously. Check out Amazon.com or any book store, they should have it.

Yoga helps, although I have good intentions on doing Yoga three times a week but never do. However, I do make it a point to stretch my hamstrings and hips almost every day. This also helps tremendously. If those muscles are tight, it constricts your low back muscles and thats where pain begins.

I use to wear a back belt, but I found that I got lazy and depended on the belt to help me lift. My muscles got week in my abs and low back area. You need to keep those muscles strong. I'm surprised Superman's hurt you, those feel good to me and are the only low back exercise I can get away with doing.
Debbie in OH
 
For those of you who feel that doctors helped you like Pinky, what kind of doctor did you see? I've had lower back pain now for about 25 years and neither my internist, a battery of chiropractors, nor the neurologists were able to help.

I got discouraged after too many x-rays, MRIs, braces, missed hours of work and finally paying off all of the huge chiropractor bills that I amassed when I couldn't afford it and insurance didn't pay.

What are the titles of the professionals, doctors or otherwise, that have helped people? I think I'm going to try again soon, and I'd like to know where to start. I think someone once told me that they were helped by a physiotherapist or something like that. I get confused by all the titles.

Thanks!

Editing to say I am so sorry about what you are going through Jes, but, obviously, I really don't have any great ideas for you.

-Nancy
 
Debbie-

I'm going to order the book on your recommendation. My Dad swore by that book and claimed that it performed miracles for him, but he also sent me to his chiropractors who did nothing for me, so I was rather dubious of his recommendations. But for $11 and a few minutes per day, it would be silly not to give it a go.

I'll let you know how I make out!

-Nancy

Oops, sorry to keep posting here, but I just discovered that my Dad gave me "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin McKenzie which was first published in 1980. I have the 7th edition, which was published in 1997. The 7 Steps book is later in date (2001). Do you think I need it? I wonder what the differences are.
 
The type of doctors who have helped me with my back pain:

Chiropractor
Neurosurgeon
Pain specialist

The other doctors like:

Neurologist
Orthopedic specialist

Have done very little and send me right back to one of the three above.
 
Hi Jes-si-ca!!!

I'm so sorry to hear about your back pain. I'm sure people have given you some good advice here -- and I'm sorry if I'm re-iterating anything they've said -- but I'm too hot and irritated to do much of anything right now (the AC at my office is OUT AGAIN...this makes 3 weeks of non-functional AC!!! Hello...it's freakin' TEXAS people. How am I supposed to think under these conditions?!?)

Sorry...back to YOU. For a LONG time, I had boughts of lower back pain that was almost debilitating. Here are the things that worked for me:

1. I stopped doing squats with a barbell on my back. Regardless of how good my form was -- squats with a barbell irritated my low back all the time. I do Cathe leg workouts without weights most of the time. I do my heavy legs at the gym on the leg press machine, hamstring curl machine, and leg extension machine.

2. I started stretching my HIP FLEXORS a lot. Everybody kept saying...oh, stretch your hamstrings. Your hamstrings are tight. It's your hamstrings. Nope. It wasn't my hamstrings -- they are flexible as a rubber band. My hip flexors, however, are TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT! I started feeling a LOT better after I started stretching those every day.

3. Massage. Nuff said.

4. Okay...don't laugh and say "shonie thinks protein will solve everything that ails ya" -- but, honestly, when I started eating more protein...my back pain diminished. I can even tell a big difference now if I have a low protein day.

5. Soda. I used to drink a LOT of soda -- and for whatever reason -- my back hurts when I drink a lot of it (maybe a kidney thing?)

The whole "your abs are weak" thing didn't help me. My abs weren't weak and my back only hurt more when I started doing MORE ab work in an effort to make them stronger.

The whole "your back is weak" thing didn't help me either. Working my back made it worse.

Stretching was the most helpful. Don't do the back-brace thing. It just teaches your muscles not to work to support you -- which is not what you want!

Good luck girl! I know it sucks.

Shonie
 
Well thank you dear! i think i will be coming to kidnap you soon from all of the horrendous conditions you have been under as of late. between the post office screwing up your mail, the fence falling down, ac problems at your NEW house and working in a sweat shop, you have it way too rough!!!x( besides, with you around to shove protein bars down my throat every five minutes, maybe i will be distracted from my back pain:p I already came to most of your conclusions. I have rested since the rt and have not done any ab work or cardio either. i have never been able to do legs standing due to knee issues(do i sound ancient or what?) but i am considering doing legs at the gym now. i did not end up getting a brace because of the reasons you mentioned. i do alot of stretching, but i will be doing more. i have most dramatically increased protein intake and i don't drink soda unless it's an occasion. i am a water girl. thank god i have learned to eat clean b/c that is the only reason i haven't gained any weight during my "lay around or your ass and do nothing" period. }( my new ride has lumbar support and i am thinking of driving up to see ya'll soon. hasta:D


jes
 
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