[Mikeinsacramento]

I'm not hitting it much further, but with the increased flexibility I'm not rushing off the top...hitting it straighter than ever.

Chris

Me too. 

In addition to a bad back, I had pain in my right hip.  It was bad enough that people would occasionally ask me if I needed help trying to get out of my car after a long drive.  There is a muscle that connects the top of the quad to the base of the trunk.  You see it clearly defined in male models.  I do steeply reclined sit-ups that isolate that muscle and it's eliminated that pain.  Nice to be able to walk without a limp.  Be advised, doing too many of those will actually strain your back.  I learned the hard way.

[thethingx]

anyone try a ems machine?
my chiropractor used it on me once to relax the muscles.
I'm thinking about getting one soon.

[rodge827]

Yo Dudes,
I hope you are all feeling well and enjoying a backpain free summer .
A couple of weeks ago I was trolling around on Amazon and came across a new back massager called the Rumble Roller. They come in 2 sizes and firmness.
I purchased the extra firm large one (6" x 31"), and have been using it for a couple of days.
WOW! This thing is the ticket for a deep myofascial massage!
I was crusing along using an extra firm smooth roller thinking I was doing all I could. Then I saw this one and thought to give it a try...OUCH! It hurt so good
The "nubs" get right into the pressure points and free up the knots much better.
If your into the foam roller thing, you may want to check this puppy out.
Chris

http://www.amazon.com/RumbleRoller-Original-Density-31x6-Blue/dp/B0042JFAUK/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1313077142&sr=1-1
   

[John Casler]

Hi Guys,

I am sorry to see all the problems some of you are having.  However, since over 85% of the population will experience low back pain it is not unusual.

Primarily you have a couple issues:

1) Treat the Symptoms

2) Treat the Causes

The majority of low back issues are caused by these elements:

1) An injury that then reoccurs

2) A deconditioning and bad functioning of the TSM (Torso Stabilization Mechanism)

3) Age related deteriorations

Of these a high percentage are related to actual disc damage.  This damage is often in the form of a bulge, protrusion, or herniation of the disc.  This damage almost exclusively occurs to the posterior section (rear) of the disc, and the most pain is realized when it impacts a nerve root and causes inflammation.  This is also what causes the radiation of pain down the leg due to the Sciatic Nerve being affected.  This also causes immediate muscle spasms, sometimes leading many to conclude they have damaged the muscle, and not the disc.

As above, you initial course of action should be to treat the symptoms:

1) Anti-inflammatories help
2) Muscle relaxing therapies and medications help
3) Staying as active as possible in the "pain free" zone helps

But the above DO NOT cure or stop any reoccurrence.  If you do virtually nothing the injury will generally resolve itself (depending on severity) over 2-6 weeks as the protrusion recedes and the inflammation cycle and resulting muscle spasms  cease.

The bad news is that if it is DISC related, there IS NO CURE.  You have somehow through your activity or an injury like a car accident created forces within the DISC that have pushed through the annular rings (a structure of the disc body) and damaged them.  This damage will slowly recede, but it will not totally repair.  That portion of the disc will always be weaker, and subject to reinjury.

 The good news is that there are things you can do to reduce the reoccurrence.

If your back problem is a version as I described above, it is related to and caused by:

1) Improper postures
2) Improper lifting techniques
3) Improper biomechanical positions during sports or even everyday activities (like hitting a golf ball, tying your shoes, or getting in and out of your car)

All of these rely on the TSM (Torso Stabilization Mechanism) to manage and control forces "to, through, and from" your CORE or TORSO.

Reconditioning the TORSO and the TSM will then reduce the individual stresses to the disc bodies.  However this is not a task as some are attempting it.  Traditional CRUNCHES are some of the MOST DANGEROUS actions to cause reinjury, and should NEVER be used.

ANY exercise that causes a LOADED flexion of the lumbar spine is absolutely an AT RISK action.  As well, if you learn the proper body positions (mechanical postures) and recondition the processes that reflexively occur, then you substantially reduce your reinjury rate, and also the fewer reinjuries the longer the disc has to heal (as much as it can)

The reason the disc can only heal slowly and to a limited degree, is that it has virtually no blood supply.  It relies solely on the fluids that surround it (much like synovium).  Each time you stress/compress a disc it squeezes some of the fluid out.  That is why you are shorter at the end of the day, and taller in the morning after taking pressures off the discs.  These compression and decompression cycles are the only way for nutrients to enter the disc.  And since we are so sedentary most of our day is spend compressing in one big cycle.  Hardly a recipe for disc health.

This doesn't even take into account the natural disc deterioration from aging, which then causes the spinal ligaments to be lax and allows then sliding of the vertebra on the discs which is an additional problem.

So as you see, this is an multifactorial problem and the treatment and conditioning is complex (and I have only offered a few salient points).

I occasionally lecture and give workshops on all the above, as well as all the knowledge and elements one needs to be aware of and incorporate into your daily lives IF you have had enough.  The bad news is it isn't as simple as taking a pill or treating the symptoms.

The good news is, it can reduce the chances of reoccurrence, and also reduce the down time if you do make a mistake (it takes vigilance)

But to be truly effective you need to understand the body, and how the discs function within the TSM.  You then need to know what positions and activities place the disc at risk.  You also need to condition the anatomical components of the TSM, and you need to understand how it all WORKS in harmony to reduce the damaging forces, even if they are created by something as benign and simple as tying your shoe, or picking up a quarter off the sidewalk.

Until you do this, all the hanging (decompression) devices, chiropractors, and medications will only treat the symptoms, and not the cause.  Yes, you must treat those, but they do not fix the problem.

[rodge827]

John,
Thanks for the very informative post. What you say here makes a lot of sense.
To build the whole suport system and not to be reactive, but diligent and proactive in your body care.
Unfortunatly our medical system is about treating the symptom and not treating the cause.
As George Carlin put it "Something wrong with your head?...Two in the mouth!"
Where can one get information on proper body mechanic techniques to help back issues?
Is this a program that would be individual specific or are there some general techniques?
Chris 

[prokennex]

John thanks for the info

I had surgery in 2009 at the L4-L5 level to remove part of the disc and bone. The surgeon said he mostly removed disc. The incision was about 3 inches.
You're right, the problem keeps reoccurring even after conditioning the core. I like to play alot of tennis and after 2 months of playing same old problem.

Most of my pain is in the left leg when standing caused from stenosis in the back and relieved when sitting.

I was actually thinking about some of the new spinal surgeries that employ laser which is supposed to leave a really small scar and seal the anulus of the disc better. My surgeon thinks I would be crazy to have that type of surgery but he could be bias because we don't have that type of surgery in Canada.

If it was not so much money, I think I would give it a try.

Anyway thanks for listening.

Ray

[John Casler]

John,
Thanks for the very informative post. What you say here makes a lot of sense.
To build the whole suport system and not to be reactive, but diligent and proactive in your body care.
Unfortunatly our medical system is about treating the symptom and not treating the cause.
As George Carlin put it "Something wrong with your head?...Two in the mouth!"
Where can one get information on proper body mechanic techniques to help back issues?
Is this a program that would be individual specific or are there some general techniques?
Chris

Hi Chris,

Sad to say, the LBP (low back pain) scientific community is "all over the place" on this topic and much disagreement exists in both the science and the rehabilitation.

From the Williams to the McKenzie exercises and therapies you have much disagreement.  As well much of the research is aimed at "silver bullet" type therapies focusing on bit players in the TSM (Torso Stabilization Mechanism) like the Multifidus, and TvA (transversus abdominus) which are involved but by no means are they "silver bullets".  These are most often spawned by the works of Richardson, Jull and a few other researchers from down under.

It would be virtually impossible for me to offer much meaningful and usable information without giving you a full course of the anatomy and biomechanics of the disc and the complete TSM.  The TSM (torso stabilization mechanism) is the sum of all hard and soft tissues, both active and passive and the reflexive and volitional motor events that cause, create and manage forces "to, through, and from" the torso (CORE).

One also needs to understand that it is vitally important to have a grasp of these in order to understand what caused the problem, how to avoid the same issues, and how to recondition all the structures and TSM to reduce reoccurrence and reinjury.

It is VERY important also that these exercises, conditioning, reflexes, and awareness be maintained.  As well, one should realize that in order to be able to be active and play sports with such a problem that ALL CONDITION be founded in strengthening the weakness, NOT strengthening everything else and avoiding the area due to fear of injury.

What I mean is, if you strengthen your legs and upper body but avoid the Low Back and Torso, so as not to injure it, you have simply created and injury production system, which virtually guarantees you will injure the untrained part again.  So much of LBP therapy is wasted on teaching those sufferers how to NOT stress the area, which in turn only makes it weaker and the weak link in the Kinetic Chain. 

Instead, as soon as one is out of the acute stages, ALL progress should be focused on and limited by the TORSO/CORE and reconditioning the TSM.  Even to the point of making it far stronger than the rest of the body.

But on a whole, I would suggest you familiarize yourself with the anatomy of the Lumbar Spine and the discs.  (See the photo)




If you flex the spine (as in bend forward at the waist) you will be compressing the anterior (frontal) portion of the disc body and opening the posterior (rear) portion.  This compression causes the liquid portion (nucleus pulposus) of the disc then to exert huge forces on the now open and unprotected posterior disc body and it can be forced into protrusion or herniation.

So the goal during most any loaded or high force action would be to keep the posterior portion of the disc compressed to not allow these internal hydraulic forces to see and exposed posterior annular wall.  This might even mean accentuating the Lumbar Dorsal Curve (arching the low back) when high forces are encountered.  Due to evolutionary developments in the disc (my theory) the posterior disc body is far weaker than the anterior. (has to due with millions of years of being on all fours) and one will seldom EVER see a herniation to the anterior disc surface.

The rest of the TSM is a far too complex group of elements relative to ITP (intrathoracic pressure), IAP (intra-abdominal pressure) and the myriad of muscle, fascia, bones, connective tissues, and even how we breath and open and close the glottis to create certain force management occurrences.

That is why I occasionally do Power Point Seminars and Workshops since this is not something that can really be offered in print/text for the most part.

I would tell you to learn as much as possible but the problem is that there is so much "mis-information", even from seemingly good sources, that even that is difficult wade through safely.