Back issues. Recommendations.

[4matic]

This guy rules. Fixed my post surgery pain:



He has a back pain flow chart that is very helpful.

[Danno]

This guy rules. Fixed my post surgery pain:



He has a back pain flow chart that is very helpful.

My computer is acting weird and won't play anything, but I read the description on YT, and can say that the fix for almost all of my back problems is exercising/firing the muscles that are hurting/knotted/etc, NOT stretching them. So I agree with the YT description (will watch when I get my tech issues sorted).

I have also found that when you have a flare up of a back issue, many people apply heat, which is also the wrong thing to do. Icing a flare up is way better, heat only is useful after its been a few days and things have quieted down.

[Danno]

Also, I have found good exercises and stretches from this guy's (laughably bad) website: https://www.diyjointpainrelief.com/

[yeahman]

the fix for almost all of my back problems is exercising/firing the muscles that are hurting/knotted/etc, NOT stretching them.

I think this is true. Using and strengthening the back and ab muscles is the key. It takes a daily commitment. Not intense workouts, just firing, like you say.

I also see a chiro but much less often now.

[highangle]

One good way to work core and back and lungs heart and legs besides is hiking with a day pack. It's not going to give you washboard abs [well maybe if you run out of food] but it pays so many dividends it's one of the best ways for a nominally healthy human to exercise post trauma and have fun outside.

[old goat]

One thing to keep in mind too is how the two main portions of your back are supposed to work. Your lower back is supposed to be stable, not hyper mobile, your upper back is supposed to be very flexible. Your body alternates from mobility to stability joints:

Ankles - mobility
Knee - stability
Hip -m
Lower back - s
Upper back m
Neck - S

A ton of people with lower back pain think they need to stretch their lower back, what they actually need is to strengthen it and specifically strengthen its ability to resist rotation.


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I like that stability/mobility thing. Never seen it put that way. As far as stretching vs strengthening, it really depends on the cause of the back pain. In my case--severe spinal stenosis the recommendation is exercises that strengthen the abs and stretch the back muscles to encourage a posterior pelvic tilt (basically the position your pelvis is in at the end of a thrust, with your butt tucked in). This position reduces pressure on the nerve roots. And in my case my back muscles were probably the strongest in my body. I have found that when I have been doing physical work and my sciatica flares up I can get relief by sitting down and bending forward to stretch the back muscles which are in spasm.

BTW, I started having severe sciatica, requiring 2 OTC pain meds around the clock. After 5 epidural injections, each of which worked a little better than the last, and then breaking my back 3 1/2 years ago followed by heart surgery, both of which laid me up for a couple of months, the sciatica and back pain is zero to mild. I no longer take any pain meds. My toes are still numb. I've lost some strength in my butt and thighs--hard to know if it's from the spinal stenosis or from relative inactivity. I don't miss the back pain--I have plenty of other pains to occupy me.

[gravitylover]

My recent issues are centered around one or two swelling discs that make my spine want to bend sideways down low. I find that mild stretching to release the pressure brings the swelling down slightly and I can stand straight again (for a while anyway). I only use heat if the muscles have tightened up so much that I can't initiate stretching. If I have to resort to heat I'll usually use an ice pack on the swollen area pretty soon after releasing that tension to help reduce the swelling.

I've had to keep my core muscles strong to reduce twisting for years after a string of injuries so when my back is really troublesome I can still function at a base level. I guess there's something to be said for 45+ years of hard riding and skiing has helped that, unfortunately it's also where the injuries came from

[SumJongGuy]

I'm debating whether to keep sucking up the bi annual crippling pain or finally get my new PCP involved. I shouldn't do any opiates, not even Tylenol 3 except possibly post surgery. Below is a photo a good friend of mine posted yesterday after his 14th back surgery... FOURTEEN! We messed our backs up worse working for a furniture company back in the mid 80s. Mine was first wrecked at age 16 training for USSA Freestyle Divisionals, Wrecked it again in college wrestling with friends drunk. Occasional heavy lifting aggravations through the ret of the 90s,, and now just stepping off a curb or bending over to pick something up and POP! Like getting shot in the hip or lower back..

I don't want to go through this to avoid 2 weeks of nasty pain and some immobility every 6 months..Maybe reconsider when I'm retired but I'm honestly scared to go in with this (but lumbar region for me) being the recommended solution.

[riser4]

A PT I went to had me stretching my legs and flexing my hips. That fits with the mobility vs stability chart. The stretches from the PT for the back overlap with the stretches recommended for my ankle tendonitis. The PT was also working on getting me to relearn how to engage my core before working on strengthening it.

[bodywhomper]

Anybody have a link with some science studies regarding the mobility/stability pattern? Trying to share the concept has resulted in the question.

[bourbonisgood]

Anybody have a link with some science studies regarding the mobility/stability pattern? Trying to share the concept has resulted in the question.

None at hand - all my journals are at work buried in a pile on my desk. A quick search of SFMA, FMS and a dude named Gray Cook should get you the types of answers you might be looking for

[bodywhomper]

None at hand - all my journals are at work buried in a pile on my desk. A quick search of SFMA, FMS and a dude named Gray Cook should get you the types of answers you might be looking for

Thanks!

[fool]

Not sure if it's been posted but I know people that swear by the "Foundation" back routine:

I do it occasionally and it always seems to be a solid lower back/hammie workout, though I don't have back issues.

[riser4]

Not sure if it's been posted but I know people that swear by the "Foundation" back routine:

I do it occasionally and it always seems to be a solid lower back/hammie workout, though I don't have back issues.

I gotta try this.