Back pain

DFP just sent me a pm on here and strongly disagreed with what I said by the way. I just wanna say that all the stuff I come out with is not professional advice. If you suffer from serious back pain, find a physio and get some professional help.

That said, I had some bad physio before I started my clinical pilates, as well as some chiropractors and osteopaths that made it worse, so be careful and research who you pick for your treatment.

I did send DFP a long winded reply and hopefully we can discuss the pros and cons of an exercise in detail here.

what about wearing a weightlifters belt, to do some exercises?

Don't know, haven't tried that, but from what I understand the core exercises should transfer into daily life usage as much a possible. Squatting on a bosu or wobble board for example has really helped me to prevent myself from bad lifting or even just picking up something without bending my knees. So that kind of exercise makes immediate sense to me.
Witha weight lifting belt you don't have that same effect, I would think.

BikerDee: I can see how the various balance and weight transfer aspects of Tai Chi could really help with encouraging good movement patterns while also strengthening the back.

Once your core starts to get stronger you'll probably find that your posture improves dramatically... I used to slump around all the time, probably cuz it was more comfortable...

Quite the reverse now, I'm much more comfortable sitting bolt upright as well as standing firmly planted on both feet... I used to stand with most of my weight on one leg... Again, cuz it was more comfortable...

Happy to discuss issues from a professional perspective.

I find it almost impossible to comprehend how a GP can diagnose an intervertebral ligament issue without severe trauma and diagnostic scanning. So many other causes of back pain, all of which can be addressed.

What about safe vs risky exercises? Would you said that crunches or v-sits for example are a safe thing to do for a back pain sufferer?

All this ^... My ten minute morning routine:
• hamstrings
• quads
• swan stretch
• shoulder bridge
• plank

Magical Mystery 'Slain - can you show me your ten minute routine sometime (oooh errrr)?

You at Souths tonight?

Can anyone give advice about cycling with lower back problems?
I have had a slipped disc in the past year and recovered after physio, however i recently put my back into spasm again, would continuing to cycle help allieviate/help my back?

Using the search is one way to reduce spinal load.

Thanks.. as im a newbie im still working my way round.

What about safe vs risky exercises? Would you said that crunches or v-sits for example are a safe thing to do for a back pain sufferer?

Depends on the cause of symptoms. Both of these will increase intraabdominal pressure which is often a problem for disc issues. '100's' are generally better and you have to maintain lumbar stability throughout.

back pain has returned with a vengeance (this after spasm 2 years ago) - it all re-started a couple of weeks ago carrying two shopping bags, one much heavier than the other - then I got involved in lifting a couple of servers out of the bottom of a rack - since then I've been in a lot of pain in lower back - definite 'clicking' when stretching and moving about, taking Ibuprofen etc hot water bottle at night - it's shit getting old!

going to physio tonight for first consultation - what can I expect them to do/offer me?

Ask for an x-ray...

The frequency of my flare-ups increased exponentially over a two year period, if I'd had an x-ray* sooner (was finally offered one only two years ago after 20+ years of back problems) I would've saved myself a lot of pain and could've started addressing the problem a lot sooner...

If you're lucky you'll be offered a back strengthening course, lots of stretching and core strengthening exercises... Keep doing the exercises!

• X-ray showed loads of wear and tear in my sacrum, half the cartilage is gone...
  
  

PS Sorry to hear that, sounds shit...

cheers

I'm doing cat into cow pose etc. child pose grabbing ankles and arching back etc. planking. press ups (although they do hurt me)

using that back magic thing too

hope they can help me :/

I've just had a little flare-up as well, seems to be calming down now... Stupid, sexy brakless trick bike!

Which back thing, the sacro-wedge? I stopped using mine, I think it was doing more harm than good...

similar its called back magic - I also wonder if it's making things worse - even at the lowest setting it is quite a stretch

this

Bodi-Tek Back Magic: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Just wanted to make sense of something. Started having some really horrible back pain yesterday without having done anything that I think could have resulted in this level of pain. I have been having trouble getting up from sat down and walking hurts. Getting in bed and out of it was a task and a half. It's that painful. Let say if I did pull a muscle or sth, surly I would remember that ouch moment for this amount of pain? And surly the pain should clam down by now? Also, if it's a muscular problem, should it be fairly localized? Coz I can't really pinpoint exactly the pain is as it seems to travel side way on my lower back...

Have an appointment with the GP tomorrow, but I don't want them to fob me off with a pulled muscle, because I really doubt I could have pulled a muscle and not remember it. Already have a never going to get better problem with the top of my spine that if they had taken me seriously, things would have been a lot easier.

Cheers

^ Oh no! :(

You should describe this to the GP, though they might just say take painkillers, rest for a while etc.

They might request you go back for a review before referring you to physio but at least they can prescribe you something for the pain.

Hope you feel more mobile soon!

Thanks Miss Mouse. I have a mini pharmacy with various painkillers at home. Don't even get my started on how I was passed from pillar to post with a recurrent infection that lasted a whole year in the not too distanced past, which funny enough (or not), not far from where the pain is on my back. The good news is I don't have a fever, so I am keeping my fingers crossed its not that shit coming back. Oh I don't know what to think, it just doesn't feel like one of those back pain...

I've had this. It is truly horrible. Do you get shooting pains? If I recall correctly, my osteo told me it was muscle spasms and inflammation around my spine. The underlying reason was muscle imbalances. The solution was a whole range of core exercises which at the time felt pointless, but in the long term really did fix the problem..

Anything could trigger mine, from a sneeze to just leaning forward, so the fact that you don't recall anything strenuous doesn't really mean anything.

Hardcore pain killers can help but not much. Tell your gp to refer you straight to an osteo IMO. And play up how much it hurts.

Good luck with it in the mean time

It could be absolutely anything... Stick to your guns and ask for an x-ray, mention your previous problems too...

Get it sorted while you're still young enough to limit any further damage...

Is that a daddy's talk?? You know the age gap between us so... You technically could be my... Erm... Father... Lol

On a serious note, I will insist this time, like I said if they had taken me seriously when I had a fall few years back, my spine might not be as fucked as it is now.

Oh sunny weather and I can't ride my bike... Ifs can be a bitch sometimes...

So went to the doc, to be fair with her, she did offer a number of options plus a big bag of painkillers. NHS physio is too long a wait for what I need right now, think I will make an appointment with Michael, our very own forum physio!!!

So Hovis, did you have a injury initially to have casued the imbalance? Or did it just happen out of the blue?

Pain is better now so hopefully I can get back on my bike tomorrow...

Good to hear you're feeling better.

I didn't have any injury no. I used to do a lot of uphill running which meant I overdeveloped some muscles in my lower back, and my opposing muscles (in my case, transverse abdominus) were underdeveloped.

In the interim, I would do as much core work as you can. My exercises were really simple and could do most of them at home.

Is that a daddy's talk?? You know the age gap between us so... You technically could be my... Erm... Father... Lol

On a serious note, I will insist this time, like I said if they had taken me seriously when I had a fall few years back, my spine might not be as fucked as it is now.

I've just learnt the hard way, I've had back problems since I was a teenager but only got my first x-ray taken two or so years ago... Damage was already done by then so it's pain management, core exercises and putting up with it now...

It really fucking blows... I tell everyone with back problems the same thing, get it checked properly ASAP so you don't wind up in my position farther down the road...

And, oi!!! :P

I'm sure it's been mentioned before but I highly recommend the British School of Osteopathy: 98-118 Southwark Bridge Rd, SE1 0BQ / 020 7407 0222 / http://www.bso.ac.uk/

Cheap rates and I think excellent care.