Middle back tweakage

[Greg]

I've gone through the lower back pain issue as a skier, mostly due to poor form in the early days with lots of back seating. Lower back has been pain free for a long time now. A few weeks ago, the left side of my middle back starting bugging me out of the blue. I don't recall anything that I did to aggravate it. Within a couple days, I was pain free. Towards the end of and after my mountain bike ride yesterday, the same area started bugging me again. It was still there this morning. Then as I went to lift my ultra lightweight 24 lb 2.5 year old, I tweaked it. It actually made it hard to breathe for a few minutes. Throughout the day, it loosened up and felt better, but there is still a constant dull ache. I'm self-medicating with a bit (okay more than a bit) of vodka. I hope that it subsides soon. I'm only less than a month away from turning 35, but can this sort of stuff be chalked up to getting older? I think it's definitely a muscular thing.

 

[ckofer]

The golden years have begun.

 

[hardline]

about every two or three months i will doing something when i am sleeping and have the same pain on the lower left side of my back and sometimes my neck after a few days it goes away

 

[snoseek]

Greg you should consider some well thought out stretching and toning with the advice of someone that has knowledge in physical therapy. Sounds crazy but could be as simple as tight hamstiring or something similar.


I had a friend who was studying to do this that showed me some problems I had and a plan to work through them in just a few minutes every day. After doing this for awhile I felt a ton better and could do a lot more excersise for much longer leading me to eventually lose 40 pounds and ski lot's better this season. For me it was just hamstrings and hips.

Maybe just yoga could work? pilates?

 

[ski9]

Greg, I used to deal with back issues pretty regularly until a sports med specialist suggested a serious ab routine...

Strengthen your core and it takes away a lot of the beating your back takes.

I'm now six years into doing weighted situps and other core work and haven't had a single day of back pain.

Just something to ask your doc about, I suppose...worked for me. Having to lay in the snow to ice my back just to be able to make my two race runs was pretty pathetic.

 

[snoseek]

Greg, I used to deal with back issues pretty regularly until a sports med specialist suggested a serious ab routine...

Strengthen your core and it takes away a lot of the beating your back takes.

I'm now six years into doing weighted situps and other core work and haven't had a single day of back pain.

Just something to ask your doc about, I suppose...worked for me. Having to lay in the snow to ice my back just to be able to make my two race runs was pretty pathetic.

What your saying about the abs makes sense. Greg you should really see someone, even a good knowledgeable personal trainer could help maybe.

 

[ckofer]

I used to have terrible back problems. Core strengthening made a huge difference. Learning to snowboard was a big factor in my remedy.

 

[Marc]

What your saying about the abs makes sense. Greg you should really see someone, even a good knowledgeable personal trainer could help maybe.

Seeing a PT would be a good idea. My girlfriend is in year 5 of a 6 year DPT program, and I'm consistently amazed at what she knows. A competent PT in instances like these can actually help diagnose the cause of the problem, and treat the cause (I know this because until I started dating her, I wrongly thought PT's just helped treat the symptoms).

 

[Trekchick]

Sorry to serve up the cold hard truth, but............
Weak lower back is usually a sign of flabby abs.
Strengthen your core and you'll probably strengthen your back.
*Disclaimer: I have never met Greg and he could be totally ripped, I'm not accusin', just sayin'

 

[Warp Daddy]

Welcome to mid life !
I have dealt withthese issues for years but have resolved MOST of them

ADVICE :

1. SEE an EXCELLANT Physical Therapist It may be an alignment issue . The tower starts with teh achilles then moves up thru the hams, then the Abs , then the lower back etc etc . If ONE element is misaligned it may also cause problems elsewhere in the alignment tower

2, There are several stretches that are EXCELLANT ( Try McKenzie Method ) together with HAM stretches , Achilles Stretches, Illeial Band stretches ( i had serious achilles issues from years of competitive Hoops and Tennis ) . I do them Daily for 30 minutes .

3. I also use power walking and some lite weights to help also .

4Get YOUR personal assessment and realated thereupeutic routine from your PT and follow it RELIGOUSLY and things will improve given NO serious structural damage


5. I NOW use Orthotics for the Achilles -- un real how that helped !!

Good luck -- with effort you can be pain free ------------( Mostly )

I too started these issues ABOUT when i was YOUR age

 

[jack97]

I agree with trekchick, exercise the core.

 

[Marc]

You mean "iliotibial band" Warp Daddy?

My IT band is quite tight, as my g/f pointed out. I've been stretching a lot this year hoping to avoid the knee pain from cycling I had last year. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'm still optimistic at this point.

 

[Marc]

Also, with all the advice to strengthen the core- it is good advice, but something you want to be careful of-

Strong abs are good, but you also don't want to have an imbalance. Whenever you work one muscle there's almost always another muscle that works the opposite direction (quads/hamstrings, biceps/triceps, adductors/abductors, etc)

Strengthening excercises targeting the lower back muscles, mid/lower traps, lats etc. should be included with an ab strengthening program.

 

[Warp Daddy]

You mean "iliotibial band" Warp Daddy?

My IT band is quite tight, as my g/f pointed out. I've been stretching a lot this year hoping to avoid the knee pain from cycling I had last year. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'm still optimistic at this point.

No i don't think so, since i have NO knee pain at all

Altho i may have mis named it Marc its the band that is related ( I believe) to the area around the hip and upper thighs ( I have had HIP BURSITIS from competitive running in the past ) and was advised to stretch out this band to prevent simalr occurances

 

[Greg]

Again it's more my middle back, sort of an area right below my left shoulder blade. My sister-in-law has a degree in PT so maybe I'll ask her. It feels better today, but it's still there a bit.

 

[Trekchick]

Again it's more my middle back, sort of an area right below my left shoulder blade. My sister-in-law has a degree in PT so maybe I'll ask her. It feels better today, but it's still there a bit.

I had a similar problem with my right shoulder after a wipe out on Devils Dive at Boyne.
After a lot of medical expense, I found out I'm a big sissy.

Seriously, the problem you have sounds like something similar to one of the things they checked out on me.
Sometimes the socket covers more of the ball in the shoulder joint than necessary and can cause fatigue intermittently.
Sounds like a possibility, but who knows

*Disclaimer:
I'm in the excavation and Sewage business, so I can give you the dirt on all kinds of sh*t, but I don't know sh*t about medical stuff.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Sounds to me like you need a massage with a happy ending.

 

[wa-loaf]

My back has been killing me since my surgery. All that sitting around and walking funny really has my back muscles messed up. I'm seeing my PT tomorrow and I'm gonna ask for some exercises to help out with it. I'll pass them along.

 

[drjeff]

Some rest, a couple of aleve a day, and some alternating ice/heat for starters. I know it's tough for guys, but accept the fact that you might be injured and actually give your body a chance to heal


Then after that, accept that fact that you're getting old, and start taking a motrin each morning with your vitamin Before you know it, you'll be seeking out groomers instead of bumps and switching over to Geritol and saving the coupons in the Sunday paper for Depends :0

 

[Greg]

Some rest, a couple of aleve a day, and some alternating ice/heat for starters. I know it's tough for guys, but accept the fact that you might be injured and actually give your body a chance to heal

Pfft. I'm riding on Thursday. It should be better by then... :lol:

Then after that, accept that fact that you're getting old, and start taking a motrin each morning with your vitamin Before you know it, you'll be seeking out groomers instead of bumps and switching over to Geritol and saving the coupons in the Sunday paper for Depends :0

Motrin? Probably. Geritol? Maybe. Depends? Sure, why not. Quite bumps for groomers? You might as well just put a bullet in me.