Topic: Lower Back Pain

[Shawn Thomas]

Has anybody had extensive back pain/injuries? if so, what did u do to help the problem i.e chiro/physio/specific exercises/natural medicine etc.?

[corey chandler]

i had a constant pain once but it was do  to off technique so it went away after i fixed it

[QuinKroschinski]

yeaa i had a little back pain all i did was stretched my ham strings.

[Paul LaDuke]

Back pain can be caused by a huge number of things.  The tough thing will be to determine what the cause of the problem is.  First, you want to rule out herniated discs or spondylolysis.  

Herniated discs start out with a sudden episode of back pain that radiates down one leg usually.  This pain can come and go or fluctuate in pain levels.  You need to see a good physical therapist specializing in McKenzie techniques for this one.

Spondylolysis is a small fracture in the vertebrae of the lower back that interfers with the function of flexion and extension of the spine.  If too much extension pressure is placed on the fracture, the vertebrae above the fractured one can slip forward.  This forward slippage is called a spondylolithesis.  Either injury would probably end the career of a weightlifter.  Weightlifting entails too much extension of the spine.  Symptoms of spondy's include tight hamstrings and lordosis (increased arch in the lower back).  This injury needs to be treated by a good orthopaedic surgeon.

Other problems may be alignment problems due to muscular imbalances in the hips and core or leg length discrepencies.  A good chiropractor is recommended for these problems.

Studies have shown that 80-90% (I forget which one) of back pain resolves in 2 months regardless of treatments and injury.  The key is too figure out what is the cause and then prevent that from occuring.

Good luck.

[Tim Scanlon]

Good post Paul!

I'd just add to the comments here with; make sure that you have a good balance in your lifting program. A lot of injuries and pain stems from poor balance.