minor back pain

[red5angel]

So I started capoeira and I knew tha I had in the past neglected doing much work on my lower back, even when I was seriously weight lifting.

In cap you end up sort of bent over quite a bit, or engaging your core muscles, and I've found that from time to time they tighten up on me or get sore.
A couple of weeks a go I hurt my lower back doing something stupid so had to take a couple of weeks to recover. Now I'm back to normal but there's still some tenderness there after a class.


So, anyone have any tips for strengthening the lower back slowly? I don't want to just crush it, I just want to slowly build up strength so it doesn't hurt so much. I'm pretty sure it's all muscle related, not worried about spinal weirdness.

[Ming Yue]

I have always heard that your abs provide the majority of support for your lower back. Stronger abs = less back problems.

hope it gets better
:)

[Ford Prefect]

I prefer to take the weakest link approach. You have any dumbells to work with, Red?

[red5angel]

Ming Yue, I've heard something that might be exactly the opposite! Essentially too much work on the abs and not enough on the back is what sometimes causes back pain. I do tons of ab work, very little back work. I could be wrong, it happens occasionally :D


Ford, yep, I've got dumbbells up to about 45-50 lbs or so.

[Ford Prefect]

You could try dumbell swings then. They are basically a KB movement done with a DB.

http://www.trainforstrength.com/ex-4.shtml

It's not only great for lower back, but also for hamstrings.

[red5angel]

when the bell gets to the top do you just sort of drop it or swing it back down?

[Merryprankster]

Yoga works for me. I have chronic lower back problems from a very old injury.

Red, if you have tight hamstrings that too can cause lower back problems.

[Ford Prefect]

Red,

You swing it back down and use the stretch-reflex to help propel it up again. Keep your back arched at all times.

Merry,

My sister who has had chronic back pain since she was in her teens uses Yoga as well.

[red5angel]

I'm not sure if I have tight hamstrings or not, lol. I'm not as flexible as I want to be but I don't feel like they are tight.

MP, what sort of yoga are you doing and how often?

[PangQuan]

Dude I totally have the perfect exorcise for you. Lie your back down on a flat surface, lift your head and feet about 3 inches, hold that for about 30 seconds. Keep doing this until you can build up to about 3 or 5 minutes. Once you can hold that position for a long time, vuala, strong lower back. make sure and keep your spine straight and you legs straight dont bend.

[Merryprankster]

MP, what sort of yoga are you doing and how often?

Short story. I was doing squats and on the third rep, my back went out. I racked the weight and hobbled out. Drove to the barnes and noble, picked up a random "Strength and Flexibility" DVD by Ronald Yee. I do the flexibility workout, takes about 30 minutes a day.

I do it at least 3 times a week and always do it same day as my lifting. So I might do more, but if I'm lifting that day, Yoga before.

big difference. I hurt my back (again) doing something else, and went right to the Yoga. I was back on the mat the next day instead of 3-4 days off.

It's 30 minutes I'd rather do something else with, but as a trade-off between doing what I want in my life and not, it's no contest. And my hamstrings are more flexible, reducing injury. Cool.

Here's the thing. The weak back stuff is common for PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT OF SHAPE or in "normal," shape. Those who are serious about lifting, or athletic activity (ie, not something you do with a beer in your hand or in the cart) usually have pretty strong backs. So you need to look to other things.

That's not to say that your back can't be the weak link (mine is), it's just that our stabilizers are usually pretty well off.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by PangQuan
Dude I totally have the perfect exorcise for you. Lie your back down on a flat surface, lift your head and feet about 3 inches, hold that for about 30 seconds. Keep doing this until you can build up to about 3 or 5 minutes. Once you can hold that position for a long time, vuala, strong lower back. make sure and keep your spine straight and you legs straight dont bend.

Um, laying on your back with your feet elevated works your abs and not your lower back.

Just do what Ford suggested, or do some deadlifts.

Why do people say "strong abs = strong back?" That's not true at all. That's like saying if you work your biceps a lot you'll have strong triceps. Um, no.

Well, maybe that quote came from lifting circles where they talk about having strong abs for core strength to protect yourself during big lifts, and it somehow got taken out of context (imagine that) by fitness people to mean that if they did lots of situps they wouldn't have to worry about lower back pain.

[IronFist]

btw, if your lower back muscles start cramping up, stand up, squeeze your abs and clench your butt muscles as hard as you can and slowly breathe out for 5-10 seconds. Sometimes that helps.

[Merryprankster]

Ironfist,

The problem is that if you have weak abs, it shifts more of the stabilization effort to the back. That can create problems that lead to injury.

It's like tight hamstrings leading to lower back problems.

[red5angel]

It's not my abs.


As for in shape, I'm not what I would consider normal as far as my physicality goes, that's the problem. I'm not in rockstar shape but I'm in really good shape.

Maybe I'l try the pilates my wife does and see ifthat helps. It seems like that works more on your abs but it does work the flexibility.

[Merryprankster]

Red,

Just eat some Jewish Asian Bankers.

That'll firm those abs up.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by Merryprankster
Ironfist,

The problem is that if you have weak abs, it shifts more of the stabilization effort to the back. That can create problems that lead to injury.

It's like tight hamstrings leading to lower back problems.

But hamstrings and lower back are not antagonists like abs and lower back are.

edit - wait are you talking about during upright movement like walking?

[Toby]

My lower back is rock hard from squat and deadlift. I credit these two exercises with making my lower back stronger than it's ever been. I wouldn't mind doing more exercises to challenge my stability a bit more, but for pure strength they do the trick.

[Merryprankster]

Iron, yeah. All this stuff works together.

Those abs are thick and muscular for a reason - they help keep us upright. When they are weak, the lower back takes more of the strain.

That can lead to all kinds of problems. Lower back tightness, pain, injury.

So stronger abs can help your back....but for most athletic people, it's not a problem.

[PLCrane]

One other consideration -

If you hurt your lower back and are out of commission for a couple weeks, there's a real good chance that the multifidi have lost strength. These are the small muscles that are right up against the lower spine. They are stabilizers of the spine, and they should activate first when you move your trunk.

One way to work these is with abdominal hollowing. Suck your gut in as far as possible and hold for a few seconds at a time. Most people try to do this on inhale, but it's better to do it on exhale, so that you're not pushing your organs down and in the way.

Any exercise that gets the transverse abdominals will also get the multifidi, since they have a common insertion.