Suffering a back injury

WalkingGirl1985

I am asking if anyone ever been in my position and if so, what your experiences has been? I've been going through this for the past 2 months. I am a runner in training that signed up to do a 25K in May. Even being injured and signing up in the process is giving me hope and confidence and I know I took a risk. I have been seeing a chiropractor for the past 6 weeks and had at least a dozen adjustments done. I seem to recover for a day or two but then have a hard time maintaining my runs. I know with back injuries some say strength and weight training can be a huge help. I have tried like deadlifts, squats, and lunges and its just way to much..even doing high impact cardio has been a toll. I am okay doing yoga and walking. I don't have access to a gym because I can't afford one otherwise I'd try doing water aerobics and strengthening in the pool. I have the okay to exercise, but not to push to far and go past my limits. Any other ideas I can try..like low impact? Strengthening without using my lower back to much?

BrotherBill913

Yes I've had a couple. Broke my L-5 that left me in a wheelchair for a while then broke my C-7/ T-1 ( neck region) they wanted to cut off my right hand for that one, lol, not joking, nerve damage. Both were from motorcycle acccidents. What is the area you hurt? Have you had a MRI? Or even X-rays? The back can take up to a long time to heal even with pulled muscles, and anything of heavy lifting or high impacts could re-injur it. Swimming is typically what helps most ppl. I read you said that you could'nt join a gym at this time. The usuall things to try, ice/heat for 10 minute intervals, ibuprofen or naproxen, obviously the more rest you get the faster you will heal. Your shoes? Do you wear heels or something that;s supportive? I'd really thihnk twice about any heavy lifting until you are healed up and stick with the stretching!! Good Luck to you

Nan_

I had a back injury and it took six months of constant pain before the pain eased up, and another six months before it was totally healed. Even now, I have to be careful about heavy lifting, etc.

Eventually my physical therapist o.k.'d walking for exercise, but I couldn't walk very fast. As time went on, of course, I was able to walk faster.

So do what you can to strengthen your core. My physical therapist told me that if I strengthened my core it would strengthen my back because your core supports your back.

Unfortunately I re-injured my back a couple of times (my fault, doing stuff I thought was "safe.") and regained all the weight I lost due to my poor eating habits, which is why I'm back on here, lol!

So I would do whatever your doctor recommended for exercise. I couldn't do yoga as I couldn't bend like that, which is why I stuck to walking and some core exercises that I *could* do. You don't want to hurt your back again. Your back is more important than any running or exercise, because the injury could be a lifetime, so you want to be careful.

Just take it slow. Ask your doctor for exercises that you CAN do to strengthen your core and do them. Don't push!

WalkingGirl1985

Yoga, I should of been more clear..hot yoga like 95 degrees. I have taken a few classes and it wasn't so bad.There were a few poses like chair positions, pigeon poses that were tough. I like the power vinyasa class they have. I have a groupon to take these classes. I don't plan to go everyday, but maybe a few times a week..and its only good for a month and got this groupon as a gift and dont want it to go to waste. I'll talk to my doctor. I have had x rays at a chiropractor but not a MRI or other specialists

bradwwood

core strength. squats, lunges, bridges, leg lifts, bicycles, etc. for the last two, you can place your hands under your butt for support of your lower back, helps a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHSIerbp-CE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUNiGFvb0qY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz0oFaVGuh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L8BIvIu5pU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC7Lon6zHSY

There is some other stuff you can do if you have a yoga ball, if you have one, or get one, you can search Youtube for Ab exercises to do on them.

I would stay away from things like dead lifts. Even though that movement is supposed to have low impact, I think that only applies to folks that are healthy.

I love getting adjusted by a chiropractor. That said, I don't think they provide long term benefits. I'd suggest you stop for a while. Get on a good strength routine, and stretch routine, and give it time.

After my first surgery, I walked laps in a pool. After my third surgery, I actually ended up in official pool therapy because my spine was curved. I was walking straight withing a week. I can't say enough good things about the benefits of the pool, but if you don't have access to one, you need to figure out something else to do.

musclebuilder

Yoga, I should of been more clear..hot yoga like 95 degrees. I have taken a few classes and it wasn't so bad.There were a few poses like chair positions, pigeon poses that were tough. I like the power vinyasa class they have. I have a groupon to take these classes. I don't plan to go everyday, but maybe a few times a week..and its only good for a month and got this groupon as a gift and dont want it to go to waste. I'll talk to my doctor. I have had x rays at a chiropractor but not a MRI or other specialists

Imaging does not hurt but it does not always tell the story either when it comes to low back pain..really what it boils down to is your symptoms and what aggravates those symptoms. To determine that you would need an assessment done..its not just exercises but all the activities that you do during your waking hours that can interupt the healing process of your low back issue. The back is very tricky because it is involved in weight bearing. If you are struggling to recover and are dealing with fairly constant back pain and feel like you are stuck in that cycle of injury, pain, re-injury you should look to see a specialist. Most of recovering from something like this is on you..But a specialist can help give you the tools and counseling so you have some direction and know more about what you are dealing with.

flechero

Any chance the recurrent portion of the injury is shoe related? I had a back injury that became a nagging back injury that my worn out running shoes (still looked good so I thought they were fine) re-aggravated with each run.

whitneyps7

massages would help. if ur going and getting adjusted but it dosnt last long before your back starts to hurt again thats a big indicator that your muscles are tight which means they will just pull your bones back to where they were. muscles and bones go hand in hand. try getting a massage before your adjustment and it should help for longer plus benifits of massage would help tremendously.....btw your chiropractor should be reccomending massages as well, i personally reffer ppl to the chiropractor if i feel they need that kind of treatment as well or even the accupuncturist. hope this helps good luck!

dlassiter10

Try plank exercise. That is elbows and toes on ground, like push up position, and hold for 2 minutes keeping body straight and looking forward. Roll to left side hold 1 minute, then right side 1 minute. Rest a few minutes. Do two more reps. Try this 3 - 4 times per week. It will take a few weeks to feel the benefits of a stronger core which helps support your back.

WalkingGirl1985

It can't be shoes..I just bought a pair of Asics..and I'm still hurting. I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow I'll see what they say.

jonchew

I've had a fusion of C7/T1 (in 2006), and a laminectomy of L3/4 (in 2009). Before going "under the knife", we tried PT & Chiropractor (withoug too much success). One theme throughout the PT was stretch, don't compress. I would think that you'd want to avoid lifting that would compress your disks... but it's good to hear that you will be seeking professional medical advice.

BTW/ I still get an occasional twinge, but I'd consider both surgeries to be a success, and losing weight certainly helps prevent the aforementioned twinges!

Best of luck to you!!

jonchew

broke my C-7/ T-1 ( neck region) they wanted to cut off my right hand for that one, lol, not joking, nerve damage

Yep - I gotta tell you, I was ready to cut-off my right hand also, felt like a (dull) drill going right through it - C7/T1 fusion did the trick for me - life is good!

L3/L4 disk compression was different, I could only walk for about 15 feet, and I couldn't control the direction that my feet would point, very strange, & hurt like HELL!!! Laminectomy was a great help, but I still get an occasional reminder.

NCchar130

I had three ruptured disks in my low back, happened in 2007, with a lot of nerve damage to my left leg. Honestly, until I had the microdiskectomy surgery in 2010, I was in pain almost every day. I tried to exercise and I went to PT but it seemed like all exercise just aggravated it and made it worse. My surgeon said after that he had never removed a larger piece of cartilage off the spinal nerves. And boy do I relate to those of you talking about cutting off a limb cause I swear I was ready to just be rid of my left leg with all the cramping, shooting pains, and whatnot (WAY worse than the back pain).

Once I was cleared post-surgery and another round of PT, my doctors just said I could do any activity I liked as long as it didn't cause the old pain. I took it slow though once I got serious about working out and weight loss this past summer. My left leg was significantly weaker than the right and has some permanent nerve damage in the calf especially. My strength training consisted entirely of bodyweight exercises at home in front of a mirror, using youtube videos as a reference. I modified the moves as needed because I really fear another injury. My cardio was walking only at the beginning. It's been very exciting that I've had rapid progress and now I'm lifting weights and running up to 3 miles at a time!

My point to the OP is this: see what your doctor says first. A back injury is nothing to play around with and there were times pre-surgery when I pushed through the pain to engage in strenuous activities like heavy yardwork and just made things worse. I was basically out of commission for 3 years.

WalkingGirl1985

Seeing my doctor first thing tomorrow. I am feeling a bit nervous. I'd like to do a 25K race in 6 months. The time I signed up I just thought I was tight and adjustments would be the trick in fixing it. I just hope ts not serious, and I don't need surgery. Where I'm hurting is my tailbone..mostly right side.

funkycamper

Having been through my own severe back injury with a long period of time, almost 5 years, before I could exercise beyond walking. Oh, and beyond doing the specific exercises I was given to strengthen my back. I just gotta say that you shouldn't listen to anybody here who is giving you exercises. This is something that should be worked out with your medical team as your back injury may be very different than mine so my exercises might harm you, not help.

Best wishes. And better to skip this run, if needed, to get yourself back in running condition via doctor recommended exercises than to re-injure and run the risk of a much longer recovery, imho.

I know I'm luckier than some but allowing full healing has enabled me to go back to doing any activity I choose without any problem. Once in awhile, I do have to modify an exercise a bit and I have muscle imbalances that make other activities challenging but I'm doing just about anything I want these days (heavy lifting, century bike rides, starting a mountaineering class, etc.) so it was worth the wait. I know too many people who are on permanent limitations. You don't want that to happen.

WalkingGirl1985

I went in today. No serious injuries. I think I just have a weak core and bad posture. I have been prescribed PT for 4-6 weeks to build myself back up. I also was given some at home exercises to do at home.