RRC Archives

muscle imbalance. actually surprised this isn't more pervasive amongst the ab-savvy climbing throng. if it were my back I would look up back levers and start ticking through the progression.

Opposing muscle groups are important to work on for sure. However, if you are in pain, doing this can be a challenge. You should consult your doctor about "diclofenac" which is a powerful anti inflammatory frequently used for pain reduction and to facilitate musculoskeletal healing. It is particularly suited to those "hard to reach" muscle groups in the lower back. I was immobilized by lower back pain,took diclofenac, and found myself virtually pain free in just two days. This allowed me to begin working opposing muscles... (however, being a very powerful NSAID, it is not to be used long term)

Treatment without a diagnoses tends to not work out so well.

I have a bulging disk between L3 and L4, and L4 and L5. Like an alcoholic, it assists in management if I admit it's chronic. Stretching the Hammies is super important. Get on your back. Lift your leg up to near 90°. Straighten the knee. Hold for 50 min. Repeat with other leg. Then 2 more sets. You won't do this well at first. To aid in the leg lift use a runner loop intermittently if needed. This hamstring stretch keeps the affected section of the spine aligned and supported. Don't push this exercise hard when you begin. Allow yourself to improve. Download an exercise timer to your phone. Put this on your calendar to do with your coffee ritual.

A strong workout that involves olympic lifts (deadlift, power clean, snatch) in moderation after a good joint rotation and warm up has help me the most I think. But an hour a weedeating or using the chainsaw still puts me down for a day or two. Im starting to think that once the back trouble arrives its here to stay, you just have to be really careful from that point on. But on the bright side, Ive never had back pain while climbing!

If it's really bad, differ to skeptic's post. Deal with pain and inflammation first.

climb2core wrote:Treatment without a diagnoses tends to not work out so well.

I had some back pain pop up in early fall. I treated it with stretching (especially forward bends which were bad for what I have) and massage and neither did anything for me. Finally, after getting to the point that I could not sit down for more than a few minutes, I saw someone. Xray showed herniated L5 and facet syndrome ... the culprit being my backpack that was gifted to me about four years ago (too big and no internal which compressed my lower spine).

With the help of the right chiropractor (who did traction, not manipulation on the low back, and Active Release Tech.) and C2C's suggestions of yoga poses, I got down to a level 0 on the pain-o-meter WITHOUT ever touching a drug. Thai yoga put me over the top to healthy.

I'm happy to talk to you about what I did, but C2C is right ... it would help you to have a diagnoses. I recommend doing it soon in case it gets much worse.

thanks everyone!

I was diagnosed with facet syndrome and am getting it treated now. hopefully it will be a quick recovery. glad it's not the herniated disk i feared it might have been. once i'm able to move freely i do hereby solemnly swear i will never skimp on an ab or back workout again so long as i shall live

on a side note - both stephanie and i had muira backpacks that caused this pain. anyone else experience back pain from their muira?

Josephine wrote:thanks everyone!

I was diagnosed with facet syndrome and am getting it treated now. hopefully it will be a quick recovery. glad it's not the herniated disk i feared it might have been. once i'm able to move freely i do hereby solemnly swear i will never skimp on an ab or back workout again so long as i shall live

Glad to know that you got a diagnosis and treatment.

While I agree that muscle imbalance is bad, and strengthening your core is good, the dirty little secret that P90X (or Crossfit, or Pilates, etc.) won't tell you is that a LOT of their ab workouts are actually bad for you if you have any sort of lower back pain issues. Those sitting frog crunches, in-and-outs, "boats", and what not, when you are balancing on your pelvic bones and doing stuff? Bad-bad-bad, if you have lumbar spine issues. Lying flat on your back and doing various leg raises? bad-bad-bad, unless you have some kind of (correctly sized) support under your lower back.

I used to teach Pilates. I have background in dance and gymnastics. Nobody ever called my core weak. And then I ruptured a disk in a bouldering fall. Had PT, rehabbed it, mostly not an issue at all... except now traditional Pilates aggravates my back like crazy. Interestingly, I occasionally had people in classes who complained that their back was hurting after doing Pilates, and they usually didn't come back after a few classes. I always put it down as people having weak core, and not doing the exercises correctly (hard to watch everyone all the time, even when you show the proper form), but after the accident, I started wondering. I am not saying that ALL Pilates exercises are bad for you, just that some of them are not really meant for people with lower back issues and/or need to be done with modifications.

Search for "Yoga for back pain" books by Loren Fishman. She has couple different ones. My PT had recommended those to me, and I found yoga and stretching to be very helpful.

And also, I actually find that my back feels better when i climb regularly. Something about reaching and hanging, I guess... falling-- not so much.

Anyway, my rambling aside, I am assuming that you have PT as part of your treatment. And I would imagine that they have given you stretches and exercises to do. Do them religiously. And ask your PT about other "core-strengthening" exercises you are planning to do, once you are feeling better, instead of just getting back into P90X ab exercises which might have caused your problem in the first place.

I have to agree with Lena. The herniated disc was an easy fix, but I can definitely tell I have the restriction from facet syndrome. While I'm religious about Ab Ripper X, I found a couple of moves were a problem, however, I still did them.