Anything actually work for low back pain?

[corners]

Walking is the best medicine for backs. Lots of scientific evidence to support this. Half hour per day does wonders for most people. Cheaper and more effective than chiropractic, says my grandfather, who is a chiropractor.

[Bud]

You may want to research something called the Melt Method. It's basically a new twist on Trager bodywork - which uses gentle rocking movement, light pressure and stretching to relax the body's connective tissue. The only tools used are some soft rubber balls and one of those 3' long x 6" diameter cylindrical foam 'rollers'.

I tried some of the exercises today and it definitely releases body tension and feels great.

- - -

As many others stated - walking - probably the best exercise you can do for your body.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by maleyoyo

Bedroom activities could have detrimental effect on your lower back.
You are not 25 anymore heycal; can’t be that baseline basher forever. Maybe it’s time to refine your technique and your game just like tennis.
Just saying

Well, you gotta give the people what they want.

In any case, my neck suffers from bedroom activities much more than my back does. Movement seems good for the back, remember?

Originally Posted by Bud

You may want to research something called the Melt Method. It's basically a new twist on Trager bodywork - which uses gentle rocking movement, light pressure and stretching to relax the body's connective tissue. The only tools used are some soft rubber balls and one of those 3' long x 6" diameter cylindrical foam 'rollers'.

I tried some of the exercises today and it definitely releases body tension and feels great.

- - -

As many others stated - walking - probably the best exercise you can do for your body.

Thanks, I'll check it out. And continue my 4 hours plus a week walking. Glad I'm doing something right!

One thing I don't understand when I read about all this stuff is flat back versus neutral spine stuff. So many exercises and stretches call for flat back, touching the floor, but I thought a natural curve in the back was the ideal posture. So what's the connection between the two?

[Povl Carstensen]

I never felt playing tennis worsened my back problems. I would never consider using a back brace. Perhaps just being a bit more aware of my posture on the court. My 2 c.

[comeback]

Originally Posted by heycal

This thread prompted me to follow up on the back brace yesterday, and should have it next week.

Thanks for the thoughts, guys. Keep 'em coming!

Hey cal, you will love the brace if it's the nada chair..It's great for prolonged use where it is very difficult to keep your back in an upright position.The belt will keep you anatomically correct without weakening your back..keep it on your computer chair. it easily folds up to carry. And i even wear it in restaurants, even airlines. There are many good therapies recommended here. But as in any recipe, all the ingredients are good, but too much or too little of one ingredient will ruin the dish..It's finding the right combination formula for you.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by comeback

Hey cal, you will love the brace if it's the nada chair..It's great for prolonged use where it is very difficult to keep your back in an upright position.The belt will keep you anatomically correct without weakening your back..keep it on your computer chair. it easily folds up to carry. And i even wear it in restaurants, even airlines. There are many good therapies recommended here. But as in any recipe, all the ingredients are good, but too much or too little of one ingredient will ruin the dish..It's finding the right combination formula for you.

It's actually not the nadachair, but a more conventional brace.

[comeback]

ok if that's what you desire but a brace that constricts your stomach might actually weaken your back and it's very difficult to keep it on for any extended periods

[heycal]

Originally Posted by comeback

ok if that's what you desire but a brace that constricts your stomach might actually weaken your back and it's very difficult to keep it on for any extended periods

It's not what I "desire", it's what I'm going to try after a year of pain and no improvement, and after being prescribed one by a doctor, and after having been endorsed by others in this thread who say they've been helped by them. I can easily see it not helping, yes, but it's hard to see it doing much harm since I'm not required to continue wearing it, and can stop if no improvement or worsening of symptoms.

[heycal]

Anyone know why we're supposed to keep our back flat on the floor whilst doing these various exercises? I thought a flat and/or rounded back was the enemy here, and that we were after a natural curvature.

[comeback]

Originally Posted by heycal

It's not what I "desire", it's what I'm going to try after a year of pain and no improvement, and after being prescribed one by a doctor, and after having been endorsed by others in this thread who say they've been helped by them. I can easily see it not helping, yes, but it's hard to see it doing much harm since I'm not required to continue wearing it, and can stop if no improvement or worsening of symptoms.

sure i understand, no problem, just want you to get better.. it's just that i have gone thru many braces and have a box full of them and other apparatus..The nada chair is the best thing i ever got ..I actually turned a lot of people on to it. Contrary to what some others say here. They have never tried it (the nada chair) and don't understand it. i didn't see anyone endorse a another brace unless i missed it..I usually trust people more if they have experienced something themselves..

[comeback]

Originally Posted by heycal

Anyone know why we're supposed to keep our back flat on the floor whilst doing these various exercises? I thought a flat and/or rounded back was the enemy here, and that we were after a natural curvature.

keeping your back flat on the floor is so you can stabilize your back while you do a specific exercise, hopefully which will loosen or stengthen specific muscles.. But when you are playing or doing normal activities, Yes your back is then rounded many times but sometimes certain activities (especially tennis or other sports ) will compromise your back in an unsupported position which you don't always feel at the moment but slight injuries are building up thus causing more pain later or the next day..In my case kick serves and running wide for a forehand injure me more than shots on the backhand side where i'm stabilized better

[tbln]

heycal - to be honest, if you have insurance or can afford it I'd highly recommend seeing a good physiotherapist for a few sessions who can help assess and create an specific exercise program for your back.

Your symptoms (stiffness)and MRI report is suggestive of fairly "normal" wear and tear in the spine rather than a weakness of the musculature where core exercises might benefit. The herniation will most likely heal on its own if you don't aggravate it further.

I'm studying medicine and evidence seems to suggest exercise can prevent or slow progression of your degenerative changes. However, everyone's ailment is different so which exercises to do is the question. Hopefully a good physiotherapist (someone preferably with experience or postgraduate training in musculoskeletal conditions) can: 1) conservatively resolve any acute conditions you have (the disc hernia) and 2) tailor a daily exercise regimen that's specific to you to prevent worsening of the facet joints. You will likely have to practice them daily. A lot of suggestions posted so far may be great, but they may not be great for you specifically. In fact, I can see some suggestions are excellent for muscular back pain which is actually more common than spinal pain.

[dennis10is]

Originally Posted by heycal

I've had lower back pain for about a year. MRI's show not unusual damage for a 50 year old in terms of disc and arthritis stuff. I've tried various strengthening and stretching exercises, but nothing helps. I continue to do all recreational activities and weight training I've always done, since they don't seem to aggravate the problem. (Sitting and lying down are the bigger problems.)

Anyone here have any experience with any treatments that actually greatly helped their long term-ish low back pain? (I never did have much success trying to treat my neck for similar issues. The pain just gradually turned into a chronic stiffness.)

I'm worried that the only thing that's going to help -- if anything does -- is time. Anyone beg to differ?

Shot in the dark but I can only report on data of one, my own.

I had some serious issues with everythig from lower back down. in 2006 I tried wearing MBT shoes. Many years latter, I'm much better. I now wear mainly MBT shoes at work for for 45-50 hours per week I'm walking and standing on MBTs.

You have to start slowly because it takes time to build up your strength. If interested, look for a discount one on amazon'' of f''l****. Normall price is 250 but they are well made and lasts many years.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by tbln

heycal - to be honest, if you have insurance or can afford it I'd highly recommend seeing a good physiotherapist for a few sessions who can help assess and create an specific exercise program for your back.

Your symptoms (stiffness)and MRI report is suggestive of fairly "normal" wear and tear in the spine rather than a weakness of the musculature where core exercises might benefit. The herniation will most likely heal on its own if you don't aggravate it further..

I actually just started. This gal says my mri doesn't even correspond to where my symptoms are, so thus may be irrelevant to the problem.

To be specific, I feel occasional pain several inches to right on the spine in the upper lumbar/lower thoraic region, which the PT says is a muscle spasm in her opinion. But most of the pain i feel and near constantly is directly on my spine in the middle/upper lumbar area, a chronic soreness/stiffness that generally feels better with movement.

PT suggested this could be referred pain from the muscle spasm area, though I personally wonder if it's two different issues.

Originally Posted by dennis10is

Shot in the dark but I can only report on data of one, my own.

I had some serious issues with everythig from lower back down. in 2006 I tried wearing MBT shoes. Many years latter, I'm much better. I now wear mainly MBT shoes at work for for 45-50 hours per week I'm walking and standing on MBTs.

Never heard of them. Will google. Thanks.

[tbln]

heycal, I'm having some trouble imagining the location of the two pain areas you're describing. "Upper lumbar/lower thoracic region" seems vaguely in the same area as "middle/upper lumbar area" to me. Is the latter a tad lower than the former? As described in your MRI report in the first page, most clinicians describe back pain at the level of a specific bone ("at the level of the L5/S1 junction"). Referred back pain can and usually does refer downwards but not upwards.

It may very well be that you have 2 separate issues such as an acute muscle strain or spasm near your thoracic/lumbar junction and a chronic degenerative spinal condition causing the soreness/stiffness. However, I wouldn't worry about it at this point because your PT will help you sort out the muscle strain first probably using a combination of massage, heat, stretching and anti inflammatory topicals. If she's right in that the two symptoms are related, both should go away. If she's wrong, then she will help you sort out the second condition next.

Be diligent and patient and hopefully you'll be back on court soon!

[heycal]

Originally Posted by tbln

heycal, I'm having some trouble imagining the location of the two pain areas you're describing. "Upper lumbar/lower thoracic region" seems vaguely in the same area as "middle/upper lumbar area" to me. Is the latter a tad lower than the former? As described in your MRI report in the first page, most clinicians describe back pain at the level of a specific bone ("at the level of the L5/S1 junction"). Referred back pain can and usually does refer downwards but not upwards.

The tender pain that's a few inches to the right of the spine is more in the thoraic area. The soreness/stiffness directly on the spine is lower, perhaps in the upper lumbar area. It's sort of diagonally downward from the the first area.

I'd describe the pain in the right thoraic area as a tender kind, where if you press the right spot too hard I'd jump halfway across the room in pain, but otherwise mostly doesn't hurt too much minute-by-minute.

The spine spain is more dull, sore, stiff, and constant, and could withstand a tough massage.

I guess it's these differences that make me suspect two different problems.

[heycal]

Originally Posted by tbln

Be diligent and patient and hopefully you'll be back on court soon!

I can play tennis or do most anything for the most part. It's inactivity that seems to cause more symptoms, not moving around.

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by Bobby Jr

One of the best alleviators of lower back pain is walking. The cadence relaxes the hips and spine area somewhat (assuming you can walk fine).

I've also had many troubles with lower back issues over the years and found doing the yoga child pose very helpful. Tight quads and hamstrings especially are also known to contribute to back issues.

So far as core exercises go - they can help but many people end up worse off because the sort that help your lower back need to be done with ruthless adherence to form otherwise they'll be counter-productive and probably make the pain worse.

One good one is the leg lift - where you lie on your back with your legs straight and lift one/both up and then and then back down to almost touching the floor.... Everyone has seen this exercise but the majority of people with sore back will make it worse doing it. Instead do it one leg at time with the other leg bent at the knee with the foot pressing on the floor near your buttock. You should also do it with the small of your back pressed onto the floor. So, hold you hands palm down with the fingers wedged in under the small of your back instead of having them simply on the floor by your side. You should be able to do the exercise with your hands being pressed down by your back - if not, you're not holding your core straight enough and probably wasting your effort with regards to addressing the back pain.

Don't do: sit-ups, crunches or double leg lifts. No amount of doing these will alleviate lower back pain and will usually make it worse.

I agree with this 100%. I have two dogs I walk every night that I am with them and it isn't raining. We go on average about 45 minutes which is just under three miles. Not only does my back feel better as a result but the walks help keep my weight in check and I think it helps with my endurance somewhat. I know since I started doing this over two years ago I almost never get tired playing singles tennis, even four or five sets in a row.

[heycal]

Yes, walking does feel good. Boring, but good for ya in a number of ways I suspect.

Question for you back experts: one thing I notice I do is cross one leg over the other when I sit in most chairs. When I try not to do this, I soon find myself crossing the leg again. Even if I'm in a slightly reclined lounge chair with my laptop on my lap for an hour or so at a time, I still have a leg crossed. Somehow just feels more comfortable to me that way.

Could this be aggravating the problem?

[charliefedererer]

It may be less that you are crossing your leg, but in so doing you are sliding your butt forward, and rounding your spine.





I'm with you that there is more likely two problems going on.



Again, I understand your reticence to stop weightlifting entirely, but would you consider cutting back the weight 20% on squats and deadlifts and really concentrating on perfect form for a week or two to see if it helps?
Even with perfect form there is some strain on the back muscles - that is what makes these exercises so great - they exercise so many areas including the back.




"The Progression of Paraspinal Muscle Recruitment Intensity in Localized and Global Strength Training Exercises Is Not Based on Instability Alone
Juan C. Colado, PhDa, b, Carlos Pablos, PhDb, Ivan Chulvi-Medrano, BScb, Xavier Garcia-Masso, BSca, Jorgez Flandez, BScc, David G. Behm, PhDd,

Participants
Volunteers (N=25) without low-back pain.

Intervention
Subjects performed (1) localized stabilizing exercises (callisthenic exercises with only body weight as resistance): static lumbar extension, stable (on floor) and unstable static unipedal forward flexion, stable dynamic unipedal forward flexion, and unstable supine bridge; and (2) global stabilizing exercises (70% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction [MVIC]): dead lift and lunge.

Results
Normalizing to the MVIC, paraspinal muscles were significantly (P<.05) most active, with mean and peak amplitudes of 88.1% and 113.4% during the dynamic stable dead lift at 70% of MVIC, respectively. The supine bridge on the unstable surface obtained the significantly lowest values of 29.03% and 30.3%, respectively. The other exercises showed intermediate values that ranged from 35.4% to 61.6%.

Conclusion
Findings from this study may be helpful to strength trainers and physical therapists in their choice of exercises for strengthening paraspinal muscles. Our results suggest that in asymptomatic young experienced subjects, the dead lift at 70% of MVIC provides higher levels of mean and peak electromyographic signals than localized stabilizing exercises and other types of global stabilizing exercises."
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...03999311003364