Low Back Pain

Good day all,

 

First time posting so If you need any clarification please ask in case I miss anything. I am 9 weeks into F1. I am really enjoying the progressions I have made. I found F1 because i have suffered from low back pain for years. I been doing body building/crossfit for several years. I started getting some olympic lifting where my workout career came to a halt, FAST. From what I have gathered, I tend to over extended my low back in the lifts which has left me in a lot of pain and making no progress for years as my back injury tends to return from time to time. So I started with F1 in order to rebuild my body. But I am still having these issues with my low back at times. Is there anything I can do to fix over extension through get training?

Hi Mike,

 

Foundation 1 is excellent for bringing about postural changes, such as an anterior tilted pelvis, which i assume is what you mean when you say 'over extended back'. In GST, the posterior pelvic tilt position as emphasised in FL, sPL etc will do great to help adjust that, but it takes time, months and months and months. Our posture is shaped continually by what we do, and for it to change takes a lot of time and consistent training, but it can and will change.

 

It also sounds like you have not had the cause of your back pain diagnosed properly either. What you describes is an observation, not a diagnosis. Having an exaggerated lumbar lordosis/anterior pelvic tilt can indeed be a contributing factor, but it is not causing the pain. From your history of heavy lifting I would take a bet that you have some degree of discal disease, most likely a disc bulge. 

 

Best things you can do for your back now are 1. stop lifting 2. lots of  F1 and emphasis on posterior pelvic tilt in FL and sPL early progressions. 3. start stretching out your quadriceps, hip flexors (many times per week)  as well as your lumbar erector spinae (manna progressions and even RC progressions help with this).

 

I hope that helps, best wishes with your training!

 

Wesley

Just my own experience but I've found that glute activation is key and is my savior from back pain! Foundation is great but if your glutes aren't turning on you will overuse the back muscles.

 

I struggled with several of the Foundation exercises because my glutes weren't quite doing what they're supposed to. A bit of physical therapy helped get them turned on again and it made a big difference.

 

Incidentally, I've heard of people lifting impressive weights in the gym with no glutes. So, just because someone squats or deadlifts, doesn't mean his glutes are firing on all cylinders.

Wes Tan said:

Hi Mike,

 

Foundation 1 is excellent for bringing about postural changes, such as an anterior tilted pelvis, which i assume is what you mean when you say 'over extended back'. In GST, the posterior pelvic tilt position as emphasised in FL, sPL etc will do great to help adjust that, but it takes time, months and months and months. Our posture is shaped continually by what we do, and for it to change takes a lot of time and consistent training, but it can and will change.

 

It also sounds like you have not had the cause of your back pain diagnosed properly either. What you describes is an observation, not a diagnosis. Having an exaggerated lumbar lordosis/anterior pelvic tilt can indeed be a contributing factor, but it is not causing the pain. From your history of heavy lifting I would take a bet that you have some degree of discal disease, most likely a disc bulge. 

 

Best things you can do for your back now are 1. stop lifting 2. lots of  F1 and emphasis on posterior pelvic tilt in FL and sPL early progressions. 3. start stretching out your quadriceps, hip flexors (many times per week)  as well as your lumbar erector spinae (manna progressions and even RC progressions help with this).

 

I hope that helps, best wishes with your training!

 

Wesley

Thanks Wesley for the reply. I think I'm going to take some time off from lifting and stick solely with gymnastics and lots of stretching. Particularly F1 and some ring work for my upper body workout.

The Hansenator said:

Just my own experience but I've found that glute activation is key and is my savior from back pain! Foundation is great but if your glutes aren't turning on you will overuse the back muscles.

 

I struggled with several of the Foundation exercises because my glutes weren't quite doing what they're supposed to. A bit of physical therapy helped get them turned on again and it made a big difference.

 

Incidentally, I've heard of people lifting impressive weights in the gym with no glutes. So, just because someone squats or deadlifts, doesn't mean his glutes are firing on all cylinders.

Thanks for the info. I have always struggled with glute activation and I am sure it's the weakest link in my lifts. Any suggestions or can you share what you did to get yours firing?

mike_e_eh said:

Thanks for the info. I have always struggled with glute activation and I am sure it's the weakest link in my lifts. Any suggestions or can you share what you did to get yours firing?

There wasn't a particular exercise that was magic for me. I worked with a couple of physical therapists who did an evaluation and gave me different activation exercises. A quick google search will bring up some of the most common ones. One tip I was given is the exercises you struggle the most with have the most potential benefit.

 

One thing that seemed to help a lot is grabbing my butt and stumbling around the bathroom until I figured out how to tense the muscles isometrically. After learning to feel the muscles and developing the ability to tense them, I made it a point to feel them working during things like walking, glute bridges, kettlebell swings, deadlifts, and reverse lunges. The kettlebell deadlift seems to be a good one because of the stance width and the weight being between the feet.

I would say ring work isn't really necessary, it's better to stick with F+H+S and some cardio (rowing, running, whatnot)

Wes Tan said:

Hi Mike,

Foundation 1 is excellent for bringing about postural changes, such as an anterior tilted pelvis, which i assume is what you mean when you say 'over extended back'. In GST, the posterior pelvic tilt position as emphasised in FL, sPL etc will do great to help adjust that, but it takes time, months and months and months. Our posture is shaped continually by what we do, and for it to change takes a lot of time and consistent training, but it can and will change.

It also sounds like you have not had the cause of your back pain diagnosed properly either. What you describes is an observation, not a diagnosis. Having an exaggerated lumbar lordosis/anterior pelvic tilt can indeed be a contributing factor, but it is not causing the pain. From your history of heavy lifting I would take a bet that you have some degree of discal disease, most likely a disc bulge.

Best things you can do for your back now are 1. stop lifting 2. lots of F1 and emphasis on posterior pelvic tilt in FL and sPL early progressions. 3. start stretching out your quadriceps, hip flexors (many times per week) as well as your lumbar erector spinae (manna progressions and even RC progressions help with this).

I hope that helps, best wishes with your training!

Wesley

Wesley, I forgot to add I did have an MRI on my lower back. I have some mild posterior disc bulge on L3/L4 & L5/S1. Also, for my current job, I sit in car for 10 - 12 hours per day. Any other suggestions would be deeply appreciated. And I just wanted to say thanks for your instagram page, I get lots of great stretching ideas from it!

Based on this latest information, I do have a suggestion for you.  That's an awful lot of sitting, and based on your symptoms, MRI, and the current state of automobile seat design, it's safe to assume you are sitting in lumbar flexion the entire time.  You can do all the gymnastics, stretching and strengthening you can, but until you fix your posture your back is not going to improve.

 

You need to relearn your sitting posture so that you can maintain a neutral spine even while sitting.  For this I know of two good resources.  One is Esther Gokhale and here Gokhale Method Institute.  She has a book and some DVDs that are very effective.  There is also the Postural Restoration Institute.  This is an even better resource in my opinion but it may take more effort to get started.

 

It may seem like a daunting task to relearn something as basic as sitting, but it can be done and it gets easier as you go.  And the payoff is huge.  Best of luck.

Hi Mike,

 

Okay so the disc bulges are there, in my experience the majority of low back pain is caused from too much pressure on the discs. Some may disagree but it's what I find all the time. 

 

Sitting, in my opinion, is the biggest causation factor that leads to disc bulges/prolapses occurring in the first place. Many people develop this having never lifted anything particularly heavy. Heavy lifting of course is often enough to bulge an already weakened disc.

 

Is there any chance you can change the amount of time you spend in the car? 12-13 hours is loads. A car that allows you to sit more upright is also preferable, a car with more height usually allows for this more than a saloon or sports model. A van or truck are usually better.  

 

Sitting slouched, where one would lose the lumbar lordosis will put more pressure on your discs. So using a support behind your low back or on a cushion to keep you more upright could also help.

 

If you can't avoid the car for the time being (longer term definitely aim to change that) you should set yourself a target like getting out of the car every 20-30 miles, even just for 30secs, in order to stand up straight, stretch a little an walk around. It will temporarily help to decompress the discs. 

 

I would also highly recommend investing in an inversion table for the home, so that you can decompress the spine more effectively at the end of your working day!

 

Wes