Recurring Back Injury

[Elijah Hernandez]

Howdy, GST Community.

I have been having a recurring back injury over the past 6 months or so. It seems like every time it gets better, I'll do some workout - whether it be GST or weight lifting - that will reinjure the same area. The first time I hurt it, I was doing heavy back squats. The injury feels like is deeper than surface muscles, and it spans along the left side of my spine kind of in the mid-back area.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of any good injury prevention exercises to do once I get to feeling better again. I feel like this has to do with my core stabilizers being weak or something...

Please help!

[Alessandro Mainente]

Hey Elijah,

you need to pay extreme attention to this problem:

first: your training program it is not correct for you. it is too much and you need a strong re-visitation. this fact it is confirmed by the injury. 

second: if an injury occurs after a rest and after a healing process then the problem it is not solved and imbalances still persist.

third: a spine injury must be evaluated carefully by a specialist with an imaging technique like the NMR.

fourth: there are no prehab exercises that can be helpful if you do not know the problem.

[Jennifer Marie]

To add to Alessandro's great response, interview your medical practitioners. I made a much better recovery when I found a physical therapist who knew exactly what I was training. Not every PT knows Olympic lifting or powerlifting or even gymnastics to the extent that we do it in these progressions.

I found a place where his PTA was a CrossFit coach, and it's made a world of difference in how they rehab me. Sadly, most people only want to rehab enough to sit at the office without pain. Those of us who want to rehab to return to a bodyweight-plus back squat are few and far between, and we need to work differently to get back to that happy place.

Good luck and happy healing!

[Elijah Hernandez]

Thanks for the responses!

I understand exactly what y'all are saying. I wish it were that easy for me to find a medical professional who knows the extent of the stuff I am trying to do, but it isn't possible at this time. We have very few options for medical professionals when we are deployed. That's why I was trying to turn somewhere else for information.

I really appreciate y'all weighing in, though. For now, I'll back off.