Any idea what i did?

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Lourage

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Alright guys, today waking up my back was around 90% i still don't feel safe exercising, so i'm going to give it a few more days.

Whats weird, is this happened right when i was learning techniques to keep my back aligned! Like sucking in the abdominals, you know all these years i never knew the abs should always be kept in tight! i thought you flex them by pushing out not in to keep the back stabilized. I also found new stretches to do that i incorporated into my routine. I find it "odd" how a few days after doing these techniques, the back injury showed up! some of the stretches.. well i can't link them, but they are like when you strand up and like lower yourself backwarRAB from the waist. Kinda like your back, But they are supposed to be safe! I don't get it, It's more of an abdominal stretch, but it obviously places pressure on the back.

The names of them are

Kneeling Abdominal stretch
Standing abdominal stretch
Lying (prone) abdominal stretch

Maybe i'm trying too hard to keep my spine in alignment with the sucking the abdominals in all the time? and i should just stick to what comes natural?
 
OK, now we're getting somewhere!

All those stretches put your spine in extension. Most exercises strengthen certain parts of the spine and back. Most people through the years develop an irabalance. In other worRAB, some muscles are stronger than others. If you slouch or have anything other than perfect posture, the ligaments that work to stabilize the spine get out of balance, too and this allows the pelvis to tip slightly forward.

I'm guessing that by suddenly starting these 3 exercises that you mentioned, you stretched some longitudinal ligaments that hadn't been used in a LONG time. This would explain the pain that you were feeling.

With the spinal conditions I had, I was told to avoid ALL activities that put my spine in extension. This included any yoga position that bent backward, swimming -- any stroke on my stomach like the crawl or breaststroke, sleeping on my stomach, or sleeping on my back unless there was a pillow supporting my knees, taking the pressure of my lurabar spine, etc. This also included any weight machines at the gym that moved the back into even the smallest amount of flexion.

There is a whole school of physical therapy that uses extension exercises to treat back pain. It is named after Robin MacKenzie who was a physiologist from New Zealand who created these exercises for his patients, and had a great deal of success with them. There are a nuraber of books about his system, called The MacKenzie Method that will show a whole series of exercises that are used by physical therapists to strengthen their clients' backs and spines. You could probably find these online, too. When you have recovered from your pain, you might want to start slowly including some of these exercises into your workout. If your pain persists, seek out a physiatrist that specializes in spinal problems. This is a medical doctor who specializes in rehab. medicine (not to be confused with a physical therapist....)

Hope this helps!!

xx M:wave:M
 
I was getting ready to work out, and i warm up with jumping jacks about half way through them i felt this pain start in the kidney area, then spread to my mid back. I stopped what i was doing and laid down on the floor, keeping my spine in alignment. I thought it would pass, but now hours later i still have the pain. Hurts when i twist on both sides, bend down to pick up anything, and when i'm laying down i can barely lift myself up, and even turning to my side to lift is killing me!

Now i doubt it could be anything TOO serious? since i wasn't even lifting any weights and just doing warm ups. Could it possibly be that i threw out my back?
 
It could be as simple as a muscle strain. You don't want to be on "strict bedrest" but you do want to give your back a break. If after 3-5 days the symptoms haven't improved you may want to see your doctor. Sometimes something as simple as a prescription for muscle relaxants can help.
 
That makes sense! I thought my back would be strong though, i been doing pull ups and other back exercises for years. I always end my routine with an exercise called "supermans" as a final stretch, then go on to static stretches ( like the ones i posted about) Thing is though, i read when say sitting down, it's actually better for your back to kinda lean back into your chair? and not slouch forward. When trying to keep everything straight i always end up going back to leaning back. It just doesn't feel "natural" trying to sit with prefect posture. Like with abs sucked i tight, shoulders back. is it that my body is not used to sitting and even standing like that? I notice when standing when not thinking about it i curve forward at the waist. I want to know for sure so i can try to correct the problem. But you think it's most likely that my back is not used to keeping it aligned?
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure you are right and it's just strain. It's been a few days and it's gotten better. BUT when i wake up it's kinda bad at first! hurts to twist my body or to try and lift myself out of bed, but during the day it has been fine. I'm thinking i was maybe overtraining and not giving my body time enough to heal. I"M NOT going to exercise until it feels 100% and even when it does feel 100%, i'm going to give it a few more days, then i'll start out with light bodyweight exercises.

If it was something serious it wouldn't be getting better right?
 
Also , the best way to describe the pain, if it makes sense, (just bear with me since i never really had any back problems) was it felt like everything got compressed when i was doing those jumping jacks to warm up. The pain was so bad that i noticed my body itself took over, and my abs sucked in when i waould stand, like on their own! (maybe as a defense mechanism due to the back pain?) Even pushing my neck down, like to look for something on the ground by moving my neck caused discomfort. i thought i slipped a disc or something.

But i will tell you something! I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, and if that was nothing more than a little strain? I FEEL for the people who have really bad back problems, cause that was so bad even breathing hurt. I couldn't even imagine doing something even more damaging to it.
 
I think even a simple strain can hurt quite a lot. The back is just so basic to every move we make and we always take it for granted.

The most important aspect of getting your back strong is in keeping all the muscle groups in balance. Some people do tons of ab exercises and think that will keep their "core" strong, but if other muscle groups are neglected, some ligaments get stretched, others shorten up and you end up with problems.

I'm sorry, but I can't say what you did. I never had a back problem that came on suddenly. Mine just grew and grew from a small aggravation to an enormous problem! :mad: Sometimes a herniated disc starts out feeling like a muscle pull; sometimes you feel nothing, and other times, it is one of those life-changing moments where you KNOW instantly you did something bad!

How is your back feeling by today?
 
If it was something serious it wouldn't be getting better right?

I would go ahead with that thinking...but it is not necessarily true. Many problems of the back do get better with time, rest and care...but usually it takes longer than a week, or so.

You have a good plan in mind. When you do start back, you might want to think about replacing the jumping jacks with something that is a little less jarring to the discs...at least for awhile, anyone.
 
I agree that it might be a muscle strain and that you might be suffering from back spasms, which can be extremely painful. The way you describe the pain from your movements sure sounRAB typical of spasms (not being able to get up, or twisting or lifting. If it is spasms, then spasms are a protective mechanism to stop you from doing certain things in order to protect an area that's been injured in some way. So you might want to take it easy for a few days and in the mean time, try some ibuprofen as directed (take it exactly as the bottle says - every 4 to 6 hours so it can build up to therapeutic levels in your system). You might also want to try to buy a moist heating pad to put over the painful area. But don't relax for too long...try to do other things or exercise, except if that one area is still painful, take it easy on things that affect that area. And if it lasts & doesn't get better after about 2 weeks, you sould consult a doctor.
 
Feels 100% better today! Didn't even have pain when waking up! I'm itching to work out, but i still don't think i should yet, just in case. How many more days do you think i should wait? atleast 2 more of ya think just to play it safe? Thanks for the help!
 
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