Hi,
(New to the forum so forgive me if this has been asked before)
I am trying to find out the ideal approach to training/exercise for someone who experiences lower back pain? I get a very tight compressed pain feeling in my lower back (particularly as the day goes on) and have actually measured myself and am 2-3cm shorter at night compared to the morning. I don’t know if this is from bad posture or lack of strength in supporting muscles or anything else. It also constantly “creeks” and “cracks” especially when twisting at the hips.
I am a 24 year old male. Very active in the past and still train in the gym 2-3 times a week involving 10-15 mins on stationary bike or elliptical/cross trainer and 45 mins weight training. I do not do heavy compound moves anymore such as squat, deadlift as I had knee surgery due to arthrofibrosis, and in fact still may have some scar tissue as a result of that surgery but thats another story. Apart from that I am in perfect health and in shape - 5’10 177pounds.
So I guess the question is what training strategies can I adopt (e.g. focus on core work more, avoiding certain exercises, certain moves I should be doing etc.) to improve my back health? And also what are the best forms of exercise for someone prone to lower back pain (e.g. swimming, cycling, pilates etc.)? And what I should be avoiding? I am by no means crippled by pain I can still train I just want to do some sort of “pre-hab” so it doesn’t get out of hand…(and I am open to anything!)
Thanks
any core work thats stabailizes and works on anti rotation/flexation, split squats, reverse lunges, cable tows as opposed to barbell rows ect… no spine loading is good, walking, biking, stretch the fucking hips and glutes start foam rolling everything use a baseball on ur erectors glutes and hips, be consistant. Good posture and spine neutrality all day is important. Get a specific diagnoses for more specific response.
Thanks a lot I will get a professional to check it out…thinking it could be sciatic as I’ve been getting some tightness/numbness in the glute/hip region and upper hamstring…took your advice and foam rolled it and sat my glute on a lacrosse ball - definitely relieved the tightness was heaven…
Cheers
I hope your back health is improving since your last post.
The ideal training program for you is one specifically tailored to your body’s current alignment/posture. I endured low back pain for years and years (which started shortly after beginning weight training, strangely enough). I found out how/where I went wrong and, more importantly, how to put my pain-progression into reverse gear-FAST. It was a slow, trial-and-error process at first, but once I understood how the musculo-skeletal system works it went fast. Aside from your knee injury, it may have been a good thing (for your spine) that you’ve had to lay off the compound movements. *It also is possible that a problem originating in your hip/pelvis transfered to your knee, hence the injury.
The lumbar spine needs to have proper support from the pelvis/sacrum for it to function well. The ‘prime-mover’ muscles that attach to your pelvis can easily get all imbalanced if your training/form is off; bad postural habits can then re-inforce & amplify these imbalances. Muscles designed for stabilizing in a given exercise/movement are then forced to substitute for the ‘malfunctioning’ prime-movers. All of this can add up to a progressive cycle of pain that punishes your spinal discs and facet joints.
Even if you do have a disc injury–bulge, herniation, it most likely will heal up with the RIGHT exercise treatment. The healing timeframe, and whether it will be permanent or not is greatly dependent on the rehab/corrective exercises program chosen. Again, it should be specifically designed for your frame so that everything can become re-aligned, highly functional, and pain-free.
You could check out the reverse hyperextensions. Louie Simmons reccomends it a lot. I’m not sure if he’s exaggerating the benefits of it though. The reason is that discs (if that’s your issue) can’t heal without traction, and that’s what the reverse hyperextensions provide
[quote]rawBenchingGal wrote:
You could check out the reverse hyperextensions. Louie Simmons reccomends it a lot. I’m not sure if he’s exaggerating the benefits of it though. The reason is that discs (if that’s your issue) can’t heal without traction, and that’s what the reverse hyperextensions provide [/quote]
5 sets of 20 every workout with bodyweight makes mine feel amazing. Wish i had one at home for the summer 