I was hoping to get some advice and feedback on my recent lower back issues.
Over the last 3 years I've had my lower back go into spasm. The first time was pretty rough took about a week and a half to recover. A couple of minor ones in between, 4-5 days of recovery. And most recently it took almost a month to recover. I'm just about to return to work.
My stats:
39 fit, but having been well fed by my wife, my tummy is softening. Generally in good shape and fairly strong for my size.
Work: Cable Guy - so tool bag, lotsa contorted positions, medium to light lifting
Golf: LOTS AND LOTS for about 4-6 years and not so much last few. Last year 20 rounds with 1-2 range sessions per week during season. This year under 12 with 1 to none range.
Problem: Spasming low back muscles, specifically the QL. Left side 50-60% worse then the right. Chiro says this is normal with golfers. I don't think that the injury was totally due to golf but the imbalance in pain shows it's not helping for sure.
I do realize that my ads will need some work. RA+TA+Obliques
I'm just not sure that I'll be able to get back to where I was before, pain free with golf or work for that matter. My health care pro's think no prob with regular stretching and work outs, but I want to make sure I'm (they're) not missing anything. Your thoughts?
You are so right that the golf is not the problem. However an imbalance of strength in your back muscles relative to your chest and oh yeah to your hip and lower extremeties will leave that body part in great peril. Let's start again with your chiropractors description of your posture. Does your head sit forward of your shoulders? Are your shoulders slightly rounded? Do you have an exaggerated lordosis (sway back style) or no curve? When you stand normally infront of a mirror where do your palms face? Is one shoulder higher than the other? Do your shoes wear on the outside of your heel? What other body parts are you aware of?
A picture is worth a thousand words. If you could get a profile and a front and back shot we could go from there.
I love chiropractic but the bones go where the muscles take them so you have as much control over your alignment, or a lack that leaves you in pain, as you are willing to address. It is not fast but it can be permanent.
Hope you want to jump on this band wagon. It moves pretty fast.
Vik
Last edited by Vickie Lake : 06-28-2008 at 05:34 AM.
However an imbalance of strength in your back muscles relative to your chest and oh yeah to your hip and lower extremeties will leave that body part in great peril. Let's start again with your chiropractors description of your posture. Does your head sit forward of your shoulders? Are your shoulders slightly rounded? Do you have an exaggerated lordosis (sway back style) or no curve? When you stand normally infront of a mirror where do your palms face? Is one shoulder higher than the other? Do your shoes wear on the outside of your heel? What other body parts are you aware of?
I
Vickie,
Could you explain exaggerated lordosis (sway back style) or no curve? I have some of the symptoms, to a certain degree, that you dercribe. Also have had a chronic bad back for the last thirty years.
Well an exaggerated lordosis is one that curves inward more extremely than normal. A straightened lordosis has lost the natural curve and the low back looks flat. Often that make the buttocks look flat. The vertebrae, even though curved, have a level amount of space between them. If the relationship is exaggerated or straightened then the disk is inappropriatedly squeezed causing wear and eventual degeneration and often herniation. Displacement of the proper relationship between the vertebrae in any way can often caused pinched nerve syndrome.
There are many causes of this misalignment beginning with poor posture that is either the result of improper balance of muscular tension or secondary postural changes because of repetitive motion.
Chronic low back pain is absolutely correctable. The only reason few people suceed is that the condition developed slowly and with no attention to the process. To reverse the condition requires consistent and thoughtful intentional work and it takes time. But it always works. It starts slower than you expect, often with exercises that seem to be unrelated (because of our lack of anatomical understanding), and improvements are rarely so significant for you to appreciate the fact that you are on the right road to recovery. Add to this that as you improve the exercises change. You can't do the same exercises forever and in the same way with the same intensity and expect the body to keep improving. Like I said, you have to be thoughtful and deliberate but it can be done. I see it all the time, it's what I do.
Chronic low back pain is absolutely correctable...It starts slower than you expect, often with exercises that seem to be unrelated (because of our lack of anatomical understanding)...
Vickie
Vickie...can you give us an example of an unrelated exercise
Ok Nuk99 and hg you are both in the same realm so I will answer you both in one post.
hg, a roman chair is a good piece of equipment but proper form and micromanaging every repetition is imperative. A quality, firm mattress is commonly a good first step in back evaluations. But there are so many styles of support that it leads us to the real truth. Your body is designed to be very malable and able to adapt to it's environment and the subsequent position it must establish to make you comfortable. As we lose the fluidity of our body, becoming more rigid and tight, the body can't adapt to a softer bed, an airplane seat, or the bent over position you have to get in to please a little girl in her play house. I prefer a firm mattress but if I get a soft mattress in a hotel I don't have to suffer; I hear this regularly.
Ok, 70% of your low back strength is provided from your abdominal wall. So everybody assumes that a weak low back automatically means their abs are weak. Oh contraire. Your abs work all day long, keeping you sitting up in a chair, holding your upper body lifted when your stand. You would not be able to stand from a seated position if your abs didn't engage; in fact we see this as a sign of aging - it's a sign of the muscle are not positioned to do their job , no matter your age. Typically, no absolutes, your abdominal muscles are strong if not balanced but you can't access the strength of the muscle because your posture is off and the abs are being held is a slack position as opposed to a taunt position. The abdominals are the primary stabilizer for the front of the hip and the lats are the primary stabilizer for the back of the hip. If the appropriate balance of tension and strength is compromised then so will the health of your spine ergo low back symptoms.
So hg, instead of the roman chair I would recommend a slightly larger footprint and get a a free standing cable lat pulldown apparatus. Please go to a fitness equipment store and not a sport store. It will be more expensive but it will also be more stable. You will be able to do abdominal work back work, shoulder work, arm work and chest work without a doubt and if you are creative you can even get some leg work. (I recommend shopping around the internet to compare price point for various features. Then play hardball with the clerk. I'll be happy to provide any assistance as you try to find the right product for you.)
Huk99, I want to clarify that I said "seemingly' unrelated exercises. Since the abdominal muscle shares connection with the pectoralis on the ribs. I almost always find that improving the pec health, typically that is lengthening the lower pec that can keep your shoulders rolled forward the rest of the 'obvious' exercises progress much more quickly. Remember also that the spine is a series of joints that articulate together. If your neck is forward you might mention that youe upper back hurts. It is inevitable that if left uncorrected your hips will take on a disadvantageous angle and that sets you up for some other pain eventually..
Most people are afraid of the torso twist when they have back pain. If you execute it correctly and remember to start where you are and not try to move to quickly to perfection the results can be almost immediate. In fact, this is one of the best stretch positions to open the shoulders, sternum and free the shoulders and yes those hips will reap benefits as well.
Closing Tip: When you have very definable symptoms you need to pay attention to the pain to insure that your exercises of choice create an opportunity for healing and not dis-ease that perpetuates the problem. You have to pay attention to diagnosed injury but you will never heal the problem until you find the origin of the imbalance that allowed the damage. Balance your spine, balance your training, keep your fluids high to help lubricate the joints, eat well so your body will receive the nutrients to support the new energy expenditure I know it seems like a lot but if you will take it seriously, build the consistency before the intensity you will find it all becomes second nature
It's your life and your game, if you want to be an athelete, and golf requires it, then you have to do what athletes do to be healthy and GOOD.
Hybrid Mode
