Training With an Injury.

[Kellen Bassette]

A little over a month ago I jacked my lower back up pretty good; I've been on light duty with my training ever since. Prior to the injury I had been doing some pretty hard sessions.

Anyways, I got to Thailand this week and have had some serious training planned for this trip for quite some time. Was intending to do 6 days a week, 4 hours or so a day for the next couple months. The plan was to run in the morning, stretches, light workout, solo KF drills and forms; then training at a Muay Thai camp in the evening.

About 2 weeks ago I could barely stand up straight; my back has improved since; but I'm nowhere near finished healing. I saw the doctor yesterday; he says it's muscles, not my spine and I guess I got the ok to train. He just said no sit ups for a month; but I stopped them a month ago when I got hurt.

I seem to be alright with most punches, front kicks, roundhouses, side kicks...but if I do the snap kick, slap foot thing that we always do in Shaolin forms, it kills me. Crescent kicks, spinning kicks, jumps hurt pretty bad too. I'm afraid I may have to forgo the form training so i don't get into bad habits from compensating for my back.

I have no idea how I'm going to respond to bag/pad/clinch work; I haven't done any since I got hurt. I know the smart thing to do is keep resting until I'm better; but I've been so stoked for this trip for a while; I know I'm going to train until I can't.

Anyways, I'm sure some of you guys have dealt with this problem. Any suggestions for working around the injury; or minimizing damage? My current plan is to just strap on a back brace, pop some pain killers and hope I'm not crying when they where off.

Thanks.

[bawang]

how did u hurt ur back man? did u feel numbness or tingling? i hurt my spine in august

[Kellen Bassette]

how did u hurt ur back man? did u feel numbness or tingling? i hurt my spine in august

I don't know exactly how I did it, it was either at work or in training. I do manual labor and had to move some stones that were probably pushing 200 pounds, I only weigh 145..stones aren't like moving weights because they are so awkward and unwieldy...I think I may have twisted wrong.

I never actually felt it when I did it though; my back started waking me up several times a night from pain and got progressively worse. Another possibility; at the same time, I was drilling the Cannon form pretty hard for a couple hours one night; the move where you do the triple arm swing into the sky cannon may have tore a muscle. A week later when I worked that form i couldn't do that move because it really tweaked my back.

[Kellen Bassette]

I was hoping it would be healed by now, at the same time last year I tore a muscle in my upper back, being stupid and trying to do one arm pullups. It acted the exact same way, being worse at night, waking me up and forcing me to stretch several times every night. It lasted just over a month, then healed.

This is the lower back, but has been very similar to what I did last year; and it's been a bit over a month now; I was expecting it to be better.

I never had back problems like this before, I must be getting older.

[bawang]

but did u feel numbness or tingling?

[Kellen Bassette]

No I didn't..but mine was muscle, not spine...may be the difference.

[bawang]

then i dont know why its taking you so long to heal man. can you do lat pulldowns at the gym?

[Kellen Bassette]

I haven't tried, I really don't do much at all for weights except dumbbells...I can pretty much do anything I usually, do but stuff that involves twisting or big circular movements hurts me.

Everything I read suggests I should heal in about 2 weeks, but this has taken much longer...

[bawang]

dam man. you never lift weights then tried to lift 200 pounds???

have u seen a chiro? or just family doctor?

[Kellen Bassette]

I've done manual labor for a lot of years, I'm always lifting heavy stuff at work. I carry blocks weighing between 40 and 60 pounds, one in each hand all day and toss them on scaffolds..throw 80 pound bags of mortar all day..help set steel lintels...carry 16 foot OSHA planks ect...

I've never done much weight lifting for strength training, mostly because I get so much at my job...weights would mainly be for definition...I just have some dumbbells at the house I was doing every couple days...

The issue with all the heavy work I do at my job is, it's not like weight lifting because it's not in a controlled environment. I'm not on a bench with a spotter lifting a perfectly balanced weight that was designed specifically for that purpose.

I'm carrying crap over rocks, mud, ice and snow...it's just so easy to slip and get hurt or lift something wrong..it happens to everyone in my line of work.

[Kellen Bassette]

The doctor was at a clinic here in Thailand..I waited until I came here because I don't have insurance...he was the most recommended guy in town, FWIW.

[bawang]

man, you dont hurt muscle from lifting with bad posture, you hurt muscle by lifting veyr heavy. you hurt spine by lifting with bad posture. and you said its lower back which pretty much confirms it.

also that doctor seems to be lying to you. because you dont do situps when you hurt your spine, and he told you not to do situps.

you really need to take it easy. i got a feeling you gonna pop some sh1t up.

[Kellen Bassette]

man, you dont hurt muscle from lifting with bad posture, you hurt muscle by lifting veyr heavy. you hurt spine by lifting with bad posture. and you said its lower back which pretty much confirms it.

also that doctor seems to be lying to you. because you dont do situps when you hurt your spine, and he told you not to do situps.

you really need to take it easy. i got a feeling you gonna pop some sh1t up.

I'm a little concerned with the Doc, he didn't even X-ray me, just asked questions...It's real discouraging because I was really trying to push my MAs training, then the down time, now still not healed for my trip...I guess I'll play it by ear...I know it's stupid to push it....

[JamesC]

I tore a muscle in my back months ago and it just recently healed completely. Wasn't that heavy of weight and I had done it lots of times before. Injury is just a byproduct of liftin heavy **** lol.

Only thin that worked for me was light stretching and slowly restrengthening it. Baby steps.

[IronFist]

man, you dont hurt muscle from lifting with bad posture,

That's not true. I've pulled my lower back doing nothing, so the weight being too heavy was not the issue.

Really.

I was sitting in my desk chair one day, twisted to the left to grab something that was behind me, and pulled my lower back. It was sore for a week, the kind where you can't bend forward or really do anything and when you wake up in the morning it takes 5 minutes to be able to sit up and get out of bed.

you hurt muscle by lifting veyr heavy. you hurt spine by lifting with bad posture. and you said its lower back which pretty much confirms it.

Nah, bad form/improper leverage can hurt your muscles. See above.

also that doctor seems to be lying to you. because you dont do situps when you hurt your spine, and he told you not to do situps.

If your lower back is pulled, doing situps will elongate the muscles which can cause pain. The doctor's advice makes sense.