back pain

cavewoman15

looking for some advice/shared experience with back pain.

i'm in week 6 of my oly training, and i was benched yesterday with some extreme back pain. i was a little sore over the weekend, but chalked it up to playing sand volleyball on friday, but then yesterday morning i moved the coffee table (very light - no reason this should have hurt me) and something happened in my lower/mid back region and i almost passed out = GLARING pain. i was on the couch flat on my back most of the day to get any comfort. after a lot of icing and a visit to the hot tub which allowed some light stretching, i'm feeling better today - i can stand and sit, which is nice - but i'm still very sore. the pain seems to be in the muscles surrounding my spine rather than my spine itself (i think this is a good thing).

has anyone had this happen to them before? i'm trying to self-diagnose, and i'm guessing it could be a number of reasons, or a combination of them - 1. my training has picked up a lot, especially the run portions - i'm running three times a week, while i only ran twice a week when i was training for my sprint in april, 2. i'm about 30 pounds overweight (but this isn't new), 3. i'm having trouble working in proper rest into my training. i only get one rest day a week, and it seems even on my rest days, i'm walking and/or biking decent distances. i live in a city, so it's hard to get around this.

i'm definitely doing my best to drop some weight, but that is slow progress. i could take another rest day by doubling up workouts or just dropping a run workout (at least for a while until i feel rested). feeling confused and frustrated...

lj3jones

the back pain could really be from anything. I've thrown out my back a few times and most of them I was never able to figure out what exactly caused it. One time I think it was from rolling my ankle on a run.

They say now that rest actually makes it worse, so try to do some light activity, ice and stretch that back out (think upward facing dog in yoga) as much as possible. Take advil or a muscle relaxant as neccessary. My back is usually mostly back to normal after at most a week. Running and biking seem to agravate it a lot less than swimming. The time I hurt it by rolling my ankle, I hurt it in early July and it hurt after every swim for two months (I was ironman training at the time - November race). I eventually got accupuncture done and two sessions helped it go away (I think the original problem was fixed, but there was just some gnarly knot that wasn't able to resolve itself).

scott091501

Well it definitely could be the recovery issues. As a coach I try and schedule in 2 days of recovery a week for my athletes. This doesn't necessarily mean do nothing. It could be active recovery. What fit's active recovery? Low intensity days. A short/strictly form drill focused pool set, an easy spin on the trainer with some one legged drills, a recovery run (defined as just a smidge faster than walking). Basically anything that will flush your legs out and move fresh blood in. The alternative to scheduling in 2 days of recovery per week is to go at it for 3 weeks straight and then schedule in a week of low volume stuff on the 4th week.

On the other hand it could be muscular. A trip to the chiro or sports focused massage therapist might be in order.

daj150

Being plagued with life-long back issues thanks to a car accident...I know how easily you can get shooting back pain like that. From what you said, I think I could probably diagnose this, but as the back is serious business...I definitely think you want to see a chiro or sports medicine doctor to check things out. Also...the active recovery stuff mentioned is good...and make sure you are getting "rest" days in. Also...I always recommend investing in a foam roller.

cavewoman15

thanks for the advice all! day 3 now, and continuing to improve each day. i told myself that i would give it a few days of taking really good care of myself (rest, ice, hot tub, stretch, repeat!) and that if it wasn't getting better i would see the doc. i don't have good access to a sports doc with my insurance and my regular doc will surely just tell me to rest. plus it will take a week to see her anyway. from what i have read online, i think i pulled a muscle. i guess this is relatively common (and your posts lead me to think that too!) and typically gets better in about a week. but it has never happened to me so i totally freaked out

i was able to get in the pool to swim a few laps yesterday, and i'm going to try to get a longer swim in today. everything i read (and you guys!) say that 1-2 days rest if probably best, then to get active again. i'll try my regular bike commute (short - 3 miles) and a short run tomorrow if things continue to improve.

i changed my desk to a standing desk at work - i've been meaning to do this for some time and i figured this is a good excuse! it gives me some relief at work and i'm hoping it will help build strength for future prevention. i also plan to address my running form, which is something i have been meaning to do for a while. i'm pretty sure i lean forward too much, which likely has all kinds of bad effects. i'm also committing to getting a yoga session in each week. and the main thing i think will help is to drop some of the extra weight i'm carrying around. goal #1!

thanks for your advice and commiseration. happy training all!!

jacksonpt

Taking everything at face value, lack of proper rest is probably your biggest issue. You mention being overweight - are you in a caloric deficit to lose weight?

I've tweaked muscles in the silliest of ways when my body was run down. Give it a few days, do some stretching, and start being more respectful of rest and how important it is in your training.

work + rest = training.

cavewoman15

thanks. i have trouble getting proper rest as i have a very active lifestyle in general (biking and walking for commuting and fun, pick-up sand volleyball, etc.), and then training on top of that adds quite a bit. BUT i will definitely be more careful about it and make sure i get a full rest day each week.

i am at a calorie deficit to lose weight, and i've lost 10 pounds this year, but still have a ways to go. i tend to cheat a lot on the weekends (ahem, beer), but i'll double down my efforts after this. clearly my body is sending me a message. i'm thinking it is something like "you're a great athlete, and i'll work hard for you, but you've got to drop that 20 pound backpack you're making me carry around!"

thanks again all for your support and advice.

EnduranceGirl2

I started having back issues for the first and only time in my life when I started training for half marathons instead of 10k's. I found strengthening exercises where your spine is stable to be very helpful- planks and side planks in particular. Be careful and feel better soon.