What type of therapy should I seek for a low back injury that won't heal?

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November 2014 - Strained muscle in lower back during squat due to bad form (corrected since then). Took about a week off of heavy lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

March 2015 - Aggravated the same injury during a deadlift. Took a few days off of lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

July 2015 - Made a mistake during a Romanian deadlift that resulted in mild pain in the same area as before, but not nearly as bad. Skipped the deadlifts but continued to lift as long as it didn't hurt, but then took an entire week off of lifting in an attempt to allow it to heal completely.

Even after taking the week off, I am getting mild random pain in that same spot. I haven't done heavy squats or any type of deadlift since I aggravated it again last month, but it's frustrating because it seems to hurt at random times (like chest/tricep day, even though I'm doing no back movements).

The pain isn't severe, but it's keeping me from doing squats and deadlifts, which is a huge inconvenience and a bummer. I can already feel my legs getting weaker.

I made an appointment with a chiropractor for today, but it seemed really sketchy and I walked out. I have an appointment tomorrow with a sports injury physical therapy and rehabilitation type of place. I'm not sure which type of specialist would help the most. My GP doesn't seem too concerned about it, so I'm on my own and unsure where to turn. The place I'm going tomorrow also does personal training, so they seem more geared toward athletic patients and weightlifters in particular. However, I don't want to waste my time and money if a chiropractor is better suited for this type of thing.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Personal experience?
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Replies

  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
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    No personal experience, but I'd totally go with a physical therapist.
    One that is specialised in sports injuries sounds even better IMO.
    But again, never visited either...
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Personally I think you were right to flee from the chiroquacter, the sports therapy place is probably the right choice. The first thing they need to do is diagnose what the injury actually is (some soft tissue injuries can take forever to heal...)
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.
  • Spamalam
    Spamalam Posts: 25 Member
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    November 2014 - Strained muscle in lower back during squat due to bad form (corrected since then). Took about a week off of heavy lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

    March 2015 - Aggravated the same injury during a deadlift. Took a few days off of lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

    July 2015 - Made a mistake during a Romanian deadlift that resulted in mild pain in the same area as before, but not nearly as bad. Skipped the deadlifts but continued to lift as long as it didn't hurt, but then took an entire week off of lifting in an attempt to allow it to heal completely.

    Even after taking the week off, I am getting mild random pain in that same spot. I haven't done heavy squats or any type of deadlift since I aggravated it again last month, but it's frustrating because it seems to hurt at random times (like chest/tricep day, even though I'm doing no back movements).

    The pain isn't severe, but it's keeping me from doing squats and deadlifts, which is a huge inconvenience and a bummer. I can already feel my legs getting weaker.

    I made an appointment with a chiropractor for today, but it seemed really sketchy and I walked out. I have an appointment tomorrow with a sports injury physical therapy and rehabilitation type of place. I'm not sure which type of specialist would help the most. My GP doesn't seem too concerned about it, so I'm on my own and unsure where to turn. The place I'm going tomorrow also does personal training, so they seem more geared toward athletic patients and weightlifters in particular. However, I don't want to waste my time and money if a chiropractor is better suited for this type of thing.

    Thoughts? Recommendations? Personal experience?

    So for around 6 years I've had severe awful shoulder pain I've had accumpuncture physio and also done what the doctors prescribed NOTHING WORKED. nan suggest I try and stuntmen it whilst having my gym induction the girl assisting saod ur shoulder keeps popping out ur socket. And ur back is curved... Do u have (i cant remember the name for " shapped curved shoulders)
    She gave me a leaflet for a BIO MICANIC I did pay alot of money, but I had a3 hour appointment. So the result. My Hips is unaligned from an injury in my childhood which is also why my nees hurt (yrt I've been told it's normal) anyway he gave me alot of excersize to partake in daily mainly pressure and stretching. Fabulous I lost hope and was sceptical. Hope that helps
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    Personally I think you were right to flee from the chiroquacter, the sports therapy place is probably the right choice.

    This ^
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Spamalam wrote: »
    November 2014 - Strained muscle in lower back during squat due to bad form (corrected since then). Took about a week off of heavy lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

    March 2015 - Aggravated the same injury during a deadlift. Took a few days off of lifting, then eased back into it once the pain went away.

    July 2015 - Made a mistake during a Romanian deadlift that resulted in mild pain in the same area as before, but not nearly as bad. Skipped the deadlifts but continued to lift as long as it didn't hurt, but then took an entire week off of lifting in an attempt to allow it to heal completely.

    Even after taking the week off, I am getting mild random pain in that same spot. I haven't done heavy squats or any type of deadlift since I aggravated it again last month, but it's frustrating because it seems to hurt at random times (like chest/tricep day, even though I'm doing no back movements).

    The pain isn't severe, but it's keeping me from doing squats and deadlifts, which is a huge inconvenience and a bummer. I can already feel my legs getting weaker.

    I made an appointment with a chiropractor for today, but it seemed really sketchy and I walked out. I have an appointment tomorrow with a sports injury physical therapy and rehabilitation type of place. I'm not sure which type of specialist would help the most. My GP doesn't seem too concerned about it, so I'm on my own and unsure where to turn. The place I'm going tomorrow also does personal training, so they seem more geared toward athletic patients and weightlifters in particular. However, I don't want to waste my time and money if a chiropractor is better suited for this type of thing.

    Thoughts? Recommendations? Personal experience?

    So for around 6 years I've had severe awful shoulder pain I've had accumpuncture physio and also done what the doctors prescribed NOTHING WORKED. nan suggest I try and stuntmen it whilst having my gym induction the girl assisting saod ur shoulder keeps popping out ur socket. And ur back is curved... Do u have (i cant remember the name for " shapped curved shoulders)
    She gave me a leaflet for a BIO MICANIC I did pay alot of money, but I had a3 hour appointment. So the result. My Hips is unaligned from an injury in my childhood which is also why my nees hurt (yrt I've been told it's normal) anyway he gave me alot of excersize to partake in daily mainly pressure and stretching. Fabulous I lost hope and was sceptical. Hope that helps

    ^This
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.

    i have papercuts that take longer than 1 week to heal, just sayin
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.

    i have papercuts that take longer than 1 week to heal, just sayin

    I don't know about you, dude, but paper cuts don't keep me out of the gym. Not sure why you think the two are comparable.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.

    i have papercuts that take longer than 1 week to heal, just sayin

    I don't know about you, dude, but paper cuts don't keep me out of the gym. Not sure why you think the two are comparable.

    strange that i'm not the one seeking medical help from the forums right now, huh? but hey, keep doing you
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.

    i have papercuts that take longer than 1 week to heal, just sayin

    I don't know about you, dude, but paper cuts don't keep me out of the gym. Not sure why you think the two are comparable.

    strange that i'm not the one seeking medical help from the forums right now, huh? but hey, keep doing you

    :laugh:
  • skeo
    skeo Posts: 471 Member
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    Maybe the pain may have subsided, but the injury was still there, and to keep aggravating it with certain routines, just continues to halt the healing process your body is trying to do. I think a week was too short of a "recovery/deload" period. I had an elbow injury that stopped me from doing any push movements, no push ups or presses. I made an appointment with a sports doctor, they scanned me and said no torn or dislocated anything, just aggravated muscles. So my advice, would be to just continue to de-load, and do lighter work until you can get back to where you were.

    It was a blow to my ego, from being able to do 20 standard push ups no problem, to struggle doing assisted ones against a wall. 2 months later, and I'm sorta kinda back to where I used to be. It sucks, but hey, better to be safe than sorry.
  • kk_inprogress
    kk_inprogress Posts: 3,077 Member
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    Physical therapy. Look for one that specializes in sports related injuries and LBP.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    You need a sports medicine specialist - don't ever eff with the lower back and get your GP to refer you.
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
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    If you ever get your back healed and haven't injured by being careless time and time again by not resting it and seeing sports meds or physical therapist it sounds like you could really work with a trainer to figure out your form. If you keep injuring your back it sounds like your form needs a lot of work.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    Why do you think a week off is sufficient?

    Because I was pain-free for the majority of it and I saw no reason to take more time off when this tweak wasn't nearly as painful as the first two times.

    i have papercuts that take longer than 1 week to heal, just sayin

    I don't know about you, dude, but paper cuts don't keep me out of the gym. Not sure why you think the two are comparable.

    strange that i'm not the one seeking medical help from the forums right now, huh? but hey, keep doing you

    Yeah, I'm the person seeking advice on what type of specialist to see for a lifting injury… On a fitness forum of all places. The nerve!

    So yeah, that's me. And who are you? The guy that continues to post on a thread and yet hasn't said a single useful thing thus far? But hey, you keep doing you, bro.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    skeo wrote: »
    Maybe the pain may have subsided, but the injury was still there, and to keep aggravating it with certain routines, just continues to halt the healing process your body is trying to do. I think a week was too short of a "recovery/deload" period. I had an elbow injury that stopped me from doing any push movements, no push ups or presses. I made an appointment with a sports doctor, they scanned me and said no torn or dislocated anything, just aggravated muscles. So my advice, would be to just continue to de-load, and do lighter work until you can get back to where you were.

    It was a blow to my ego, from being able to do 20 standard push ups no problem, to struggle doing assisted ones against a wall. 2 months later, and I'm sorta kinda back to where I used to be. It sucks, but hey, better to be safe than sorry.

    Yeah, I'm starting to suspect that more time off is what it's going to take. But I still want to seek advice from a medical professional before I admit defeat. :)

    Thanks for the insight!
  • jaeisla
    jaeisla Posts: 56 Member
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    Joe Rogan raves about cryotherapy. It wouldn't hurt to look into it.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    it takes at least 6 weeks rest to heal a minor back injury. and its not about admitting defeat, its about modifying your lifestyle. Injuries are part of being an athlete. Rehabbing an injury properly will make you stronger in the end. Never rush healing an injury.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    I swear by my chiropractor. That said, when my back goes out the therapy he gives me is warm heat, TENS stimulation and one or two other things, NOT manipulations. When my back went out really badly several years ago my regular doc prescribed muscle relaxers, pain medication and rest. After a week off work, the first day back the injury flared up again and I couldn't work. I went to the chiropractor (recommended to me) in desperation because I was in so much pain and could barely move. He had me back at work the next day.
    After seeing him twice a day for week and then once a day for another week my back was completely better.