Lower back pain - Any tips?

[Stanimal3]

In my mid 30s. Played a lot of tennis last weekend after two weeks off. In my last two matches, I realized my lower back was really sore. I’ve had this issue before but after working with a physical trainer and doing a lot of core work, it got better I think? But suddenly it’s back.

Any tips on how to reduce the pain? It’s still sore days later. It sucks because the pain and soreness affect my footwork, movement, serve and control of my ground strokes.

It’s not a sharp pain. Just a dull soreness, fatigue or tightness. I’m going to try more core work and stretches but any tips for something more immediate would be awesome. I’ve got at least 8 matches coming up over the next month.

 

[happyandbob]

this is what works for me

1) deep tissue massage. have someone really grind out all the knots. it will be very painful if done well

2) yoga - cobra, childs pose, cat, downward dog

3) bar hangs. 6 sets of 30-60 seconds hangs. good for back and shoulder

 

[Yogeshvara]

I swear by Hanna Somatic Exercises, arch and flatten. They will teach you to relax your stomach and back muscles between exertions.

This is key. When they get locked in contraction they fatigue and become vulnerable. Relaxing between, strokes, serves etc allows them to remain supple and not become sore and exhausted.

My marker for this is a soft belly. Between shots it should feel loose. At first it is hard to do. Even now I have to remind myself regularly and it works amazingly well.

 

[jimmy8]

Sleep a lot more.

Do stretches.

Sleep some more. Your back is speaking to you through your back about your needing more sleep.

 

[Crocodile]

I think getting into a pool and doing exercises there works.

 

[LuckyR]

In my mid 30s. Played a lot of tennis last weekend after two weeks off. In my last two matches, I realized my lower back was really sore. I’ve had this issue before but after working with a physical trainer and doing a lot of core work, it got better I think? But suddenly it’s back.

Any tips on how to reduce the pain? It’s still sore days later. It sucks because the pain and soreness affect my footwork, movement, serve and control of my ground strokes.

It’s not a sharp pain. Just a dull soreness, fatigue or tightness. I’m going to try more core work and stretches but any tips for something more immediate would be awesome. I’ve got at least 8 matches coming up over the next month.

Assuming you are somewhat tall, most low back pain in my experience is either caused by back tightness or abdominal weakness. Usually the latter. My recommendation is work on core strength.

 

[Stanimal3]

Thanks everyone. These are all really helpful.

 

[EggSalad]

In my mid 30s. Played a lot of tennis last weekend after two weeks off. In my last two matches, I realized my lower back was really sore. I’ve had this issue before but after working with a physical trainer and doing a lot of core work, it got better I think? But suddenly it’s back.

Any tips on how to reduce the pain? It’s still sore days later. It sucks because the pain and soreness affect my footwork, movement, serve and control of my ground strokes.

It’s not a sharp pain. Just a dull soreness, fatigue or tightness. I’m going to try more core work and stretches but any tips for something more immediate would be awesome. I’ve got at least 8 matches coming up over the next month.

I don’t want to scare you but I had a herniated disc this year that started with that same feeling - soreness/tightness in my lower back. At first, it felt like I slept poorly or needed to flip my mattress.

Cobra poses, held for 1 minute and doing 5+ sets per day.

Hanging is also really good both for the muscles and for giving your vertebrae space.

I’d be very cautious with rest and taking time off.

If you start to feel the pain down into your butt and leg; that will be a major warning sign that it is a disc pressing on your sciatic nerve.

A round of steroids could also help.

 

[gvsbdisco]

Look up McGill's Big 3. Three basic exercises to stabilize and strengthen lower back. Easy and doesn't take much time. Just do it every day. https://squatuniversity.com/2018/06/21/the-mcgill-big-3-for-core-stability/

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Unfortunately, mid-30's is where you start to realize you just can't go back-to-back-to-back-to-back like you used in your 20's.

All I can say is to understand how many hours a week your body is comfortably playing, lift less, and stretch more.

 

[tennistiger]

3) bar hangs. 6 sets of 30-60 seconds hangs. good for back and shoulder

Thats the best! 90% of back issues are only muscle problems. So always stretching.

 

[Deleted member 775640]

Look up McGill's Big 3. Three basic exercises to stabilize and strengthen lower back. Easy and doesn't take much time. Just do it every day. https://squatuniversity.com/2018/06/21/the-mcgill-big-3-for-core-stability/

This one.
Core strengthening + stretching. Foam rolling and stretching momentarily relieves pain and increases flexibility. Roll your legs and back out. Do yoga. Do calisthenics or compound lifts on non-tennis days.

 

[vokazu]

Sleep on a flat hard surface, avoid soft mattress.

 

[Power Player]

I had this issue. This series of stretches is extremely beneficial if you do them daily. They will help a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSDLDhbacc

 

[socallefty]

Lose weight. Back muscles will have less weight to support.

 

[GhostDog]

I've been playing tennis for more than 10 years and I really get how tough lower back pain can be. A while back, my back started hurting a lot after playing too much tennis over a weekend. It was so bad, I thought about stopping tennis altogether because it messed with how I played and took the fun out of it.

Before I decided to quit, I looked for help and found https://www.elevaterehabilitation.com/ online. Going there was the best decision. The physio team was awesome. They showed me special exercises to make my core stronger, stretch better, and even how to stand and move so my back wouldn't hurt as much. This made a huge difference in how I felt. I could serve and play without the back pain getting in the way. Thanks to their help, I kept on playing tennis and didn’t have to worry about the pain stopping me anymore.