Still rehabbing from injury at the moment and pain is still pretty bad. Obviously want to be able to squat and deadlift again and break new PB’s (for me) in the near future. Never used a belt before and am wondering if I should invest in one when I am able to squat (overhead, back and front) and deadlift again (to minimise risk of injury more than anything)
Heard some arguments for and against it, not sure what route to take. As far as equipment goes haven’t used anything before still fairly new to lifting though.
How big was the hernation? How long ago was the herniation? Surgical intervention or just rehab? How bad are the symptoms still? How have you progressed with core strength/lumbar stability since the injury? How have you progressed with hip, t-spine, and ankle mobility since the injury?
Will try to add x-ray. Just chiropractic car for the past 4 months now. injury occurred around late 2009 (nov 09 not sure exactly). trained hard until mid-feb as had no idea it was my back. have bad sciatic nerve pain in glutes/hams/calves. gets worse when i walk around for long periods, is fine sitting down with a back support, on the sofa or in bed.
stopped all squats/deads and haven’t done anything that compresses the spine (not even running). Been doing core exercises (plank, glute bridge, supermans) and has seemed to have helped. also doing piriformis, knee to chest and hamstring stretches mostly everyday (3 times per day, 30 seconds each time). Foam rolling as well when I’m at my usual home but nothing excessive. Feel better since February, but pain is still bad if i walk for any period of time. chiro told me is because i haven’t been adjusted for a while (2 weeks) on holiday now.
ankle seems fine haven’t done any ankle mobility work. generally quite flexible on the whole as I used to stretch every day for years and still feel a bit limber (except perhaps hamstrings in particular due to this injury). icing 3 days a day as well (min 20 minutes)
here is a brief description of my case, as written by my chiro
"Straight leg raise was 70º on the left and 15º on the right. Static palpation revealed localised tenderness over the L5 vertebral body and the right sacroiliac joint. Blood pressure was 143/63. Neurological examination was unremarkable.
Radiographic examination revealed mild degenerative changes at L5/S1.
recommended a course of gentle, conservative chiropractic care which included spinal adjustments to the L5 vertebral body and right sacroiliac joint. also underwent a deep tissue massage to the associated musculature.
On recent reassessment, 07/05/2010, lumbar range of motion was full and pain free. Straight leg raise was 90º bilaterally.‘’
Without an MRI and only having X-ray results, it is very difficult to determine whether there is truely a disc bulge or not. It may just be a sciatic nerve irritation. How did you injure it initially?
In regards to the belt, I would use it as you see fit. Generally, I recommend athlete’s wear it during loads of 90% or greater. The argument is that if you wear the belt all of the time, you are detraining your “core muscles” and will lose that natural lumbar stability offered by those muscles. IMO, if you only wear it during your max effort lifts at 90% or greater, you will get plenty of core activation from your lead up sets. Also, you are obviously doing outside core exercises as well, which will help with increasing lumbar stability. With your injury, you may need to use the belt more often and gradually adjust and reduce the amount you use it.
I’ve herniated L5-S1, and I’m going to be wearing a belt. I read somewhere recently that wearing a belt did not decrease core activation, but I can’t remember where I read it at the moment. In any case, it stabilizes the weak link in my lifts.
I’m trying to decide whether to use the belt I have had for years, from when I first started lifting in 1993. It’s ironically in brand-new condition because soon after I bought it, I was told that using it would weaken my back, so I didn’t use it. With something like 4 discs injured now, I’m trying a different approach.
thanks for the advice guys, as far as belts go think i may invest in one just to try and minimise injury. won’t try and depend on it and do stupid shit in the process though.
swear i replied b4 but T-Nation has a weird way of working!
haha I simply copied and pasted my chiro’s email to me, forgot to take out the blood pressure wasn’t meaning to put it in! can’t read blood pressure but the chiro said mine was fine.
4 injured discs? yikes! I was at a chiro on holiday (in singapore) and he put me on a interesting lumbar traction device… chiro in Scotland said the devices weren’t that great though.
Need to re-read your other thread (andersons) and follow the advice you gave me before. been a bit of a pain in the ass lately since I’ve been travelling around a lot lately and haven’t been able to follow a basic daily routine
[quote]trentmeister69 wrote:
I was at a chiro on holiday (in singapore) and he put me on a interesting lumbar traction device… chiro in Scotland said the devices weren’t that great though.
[/quote]
Probably because he hasn’t got one. ‘Flexion distraction’ is what it’s called and it can be used very successfully to reduce the size of a disc herniation.
I suggest that whilst it might be OK to use a belt when lifting over 90% of max, you must consider the fact that to increase hoopal support posteriorly, you have to push outwarde with your abdominal muscles. This may create incorrect neuromuscular recruitment patterns when lifing heavy weights without your belt, precisely when you need maximum core support.
I never use a belt and I don’t like my athletes to wear them either. Unless they are doing a manual job that involves repetitive lumbar spinal movement. Then the belt can reduce fatigue failure tolerance quite nicely whilst they do their work, but they take it off after work and don’t use it again in the gym.
thanks BBB. quite a lot of stuff for me to digest still a while back to full recovery (ie playing full contact game of aussie football/rugby) so will need to keep on researching and trying out different stuff and see what works.
[quote]trentmeister69 wrote:
thanks BBB. quite a lot of stuff for me to digest still a while back to full recovery (ie playing full contact game of aussie football/rugby) so will need to keep on researching and trying out different stuff and see what works. [/quote]
If you are looking for stuff to research, look into some of the information Stuart McGill has put out. He now has a DVD out related specifically to low back training for sports performance. I’m waiting on mine to come in the mail still, so I can’t tell you exactly what is in it, but I have one of his books that he wrote and his information is well worth the time and price.
[quote]trentmeister69 wrote:
thanks BBB. quite a lot of stuff for me to digest still a while back to full recovery (ie playing full contact game of aussie football/rugby) so will need to keep on researching and trying out different stuff and see what works. [/quote]
If you are looking for stuff to research, look into some of the information Stuart McGill has put out. He now has a DVD out related specifically to low back training for sports performance. I’m waiting on mine to come in the mail still, so I can’t tell you exactly what is in it, but I have one of his books that he wrote and his information is well worth the time and price.
I see belts being used three different ways, one is bad the others I think are OK. A lot of people (stupid) use the cheap belts with a wide back (I guess to prevent hyperextension?!) and stabilize themselves. This doesn’t really work.
The two appropriate ways are these, 1) leave the belt somewhat loose and use it as a REMINDER to keep your spine neutral; your own core is providing the stability and the belt is just a position guide. 2) Get a proper powerlifting belt and put it on REALLY tightly (like so tightly you might need help putting it on); push your abs out against it and build up intra-abdominal pressure this makes your setup extremely solid and (theoretically) increases the disc space because of the pressure. Use that for maximal lifting.
Or, just go beltless but be careful and know your limits.
