Lower back struggles

[Steve R]

Last time I was posting on this part of the forum I was asking for help with upper back issues. The general wisdom and advice from the generous replies and a couple of pm's helped massively in sorting it out, very grateful for that. So thought it worth asking for help again, this time lower back is the problem...

Though never really severe, I've been struggling on and off for months now with tightness, soreness, stiffness in the lower back on both sides. (I'm sure this is all too familiar for many). Having done a lot of building work for over a decade, (occasionally heavy stuff though I try to avoid it) I'm fairly used to looking after my back and being aware of when it's a bit tired and achey. This has always gone away fairly quickly by being extra careful and also climbing seems good for lower back. This time however, it's just not seeming to put itself right so Iooking for the best ways forward.
I went to see a local osteopath a couple of weeks ago but found it to be a waste of time and money really. Was slightly useful in that potential disc/structural problems were ruled out and muscular/connective tissues ruled in as the source of the problem (which I was already pretty confident was the case but good to have confirmed by a professional). Maybe a Physio would be a better bet?
I'll list a few of the symtoms to give a sense of problem (again probably familiar to a lot of people):

-typically have to be slow and careful straightening up / standing up. Much better / fine once body is more warmed up
-have to be very careful (even more than usual) when lifting anything
- often have to use that 'old person, hands on knees trick' to assist with straightening up from cold...
- nervous when sneezing

Don't really know or understand what caused it. No particular trauma or anything so guess just cumulative. Fairly confident it's not climbing related, intuitively feel climbing in fact helps it.
Any advice on where to start with self fixing it or best type of medical professional to see would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Johnny Brown]

I find climbing good generally but as I get older I find my lower back is increasingly sensitive to heavy landings when falling/ jumping off. They can trigger exactly those symptoms, although now always immediately and they've also been triggered by getting a pan out of the cupboard.

Have had various treatments over the years which can help to start improvement but lots of stretching, twisting and self-massage needed to sort. Yoga has been very helpful in getting those sort of exercises into a proper routine with warm-up and down, and also helps with increasing awareness of exactly where problems are.

 

[Motown]

A lot of desk work during lock down kicked off back pain for me. Very similar to what you describe. I started doing a range of stretches to help - some addressing tight hamstrings, a couple more specifically stretching the back - and these did help but I found it hard to stay motivated to keep doing them, despite the obvious benefits. Not the case with yoga.

Started doing yoga shortly after I got bored of stretching - using the Yoga with Adriene stuff on YouTube - and now do that most mornings. It's an early start but it has been worth it and I really enjoy it. There is a specific routine for hips and lower back which I have found good for the type of back pain you describe, but I think doing lots of hamstring stuff - low lunges etc. has also been really positive.

 

[Somebodys Fool]

I suppose yoga covers it, but I have found a combination of planks and lots of hamstring stretching to alleviate similar issues I’ve had in the past.

 

[SA Chris]

I think it's a tricky combination of aging / height / weight / history all of which add up. I'm especially cautious after a near miss skiing accident nearly permanently spannered me.

Agree with the above comments, maintaining range of motion with a bit of yoga; cat stretches really work for me, along with other stretching exercises and carefully going core work.

Also love my Zen Viber massager, and get a sports massage (beasting) occasionally.

 

[cowboyhat]

Do you cycle?

I've had a lot of lower back issues, mainly SI joint pain and its very closely related these days to how tight my hamstrings/ glutes/ psoas/ etc are. Yoga + specific stretches for these always helps.

 

[Wellsy]

Could be that your back needs some strengthening? Anecdotally, my mum had terrible back pain until she started deadlifting and now apparently she's seen them disappear. That said sounds like your back is already pretty strong. A physio might be the best course.

 

[battery]

As with all of these things advice from a trained person who can get their eyes and hands on you for a proper diagnosis is highly recommended...

...however having said that I suffered when I was younger with lower back pain after a connective tissue injury and strengthening my core - my whole core (not just abs) sorted it. I have always been told that all stretching and strengthening activities should be pain free so no pushing it but I was told to crack on with climbing as the type of stretching and strengthening movements would do it good.

 

[webbo]

I have had lower back problems for decades. I have a stretching routine I do most mornings, knee hugs, cats and dogs, Mckenzie’s hamstrings and of last week lunges on the osteopaths instructions. However my back has been much improved since I stopped going bouldering at the wall. I think it was a sort of whiplash/ compression effect from jumping off.
Steve did you see the Osteopath in Beverley?

 

[Steve Crowe]

I find this yoga session very easy to follow and brilliant for my lower back issues.

https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/deep-release-hips-hamstrings-and-lower-back

It shouldn’t do you any harm to try it.

 

[Hoseyb]

I had exactly your issues in my early 40s, made worse by wonky hips caused by an ols ground fall. The wall where I work has a very good osteopath and an amazing pilates teacher who specialises in pain management. The osteo straightened out my hips, but it was the pilates that fixed the back.
Basically due to hypermobility amongst other things, my hamstrings had taken over the functioning of a lot of my minor butt muscles. Resulting in tight hams, lats and QL's and a tiny useless bum.
2 years of pilates later and I have a proper bum and a much better back.

 

[Oldmanmatt]

Core strength. Anterior and posterior.

Smacked into a reef, straight legged, going over the falls on a big day, in Sri Lanka in 1996, before getting chewed in the washing machine from hell.
I had four epidurals (excellent, but only a few months relief), numerous Osteopaths and tried Chiropractic. Total waste of space (particularly, when I started seriously researching it).
In the early 2000’s a German Physio in Dubai, told me to just make sure my Ant/Post chains stayed strong, with emphasis on “core” but in particular the dorsal and Erector Spinae.
It worked for me. Weighted Dorsal raises in particular are a must for me.
As long as I keep on top of it, no worries. Too much inactivity and sitting, buggered.

Of course, your pathology might be totally different, so find a good physio and ask.

 

[Steve R]

Thanks a lot for the replies, much appreciated. Useful to build up a bit of a picture of what tends to work for people.
I'm not a runner or cyclist and I think naturally have pretty good hamstring flexibility. Hip flexibility considerably worse so stretch a fair amount here in an attempt to help with climbing. I've actually done more stretching and yoga stuff this year than ever before and have progressed a bit with it. Maybe that's lucky timing or else I'd be totally knackered. Some stretching feels good for the back, some I've felt like it's possibly made things worse (though entirely possible that's due to user error / doing it wrong). I do find I have very tight glutes when trying anything like pigeon pose or 90-90 type stretch so now wondering if that might be a significant contributor to the problem. It sounds like stretching does a lot for people so will re-double efforts here and try some new, more lower back focussed stuff and see if I can identify what (hopefully) helps.

Steve did you see the Osteopath in Beverley?

I did...

 

[webbo]

I have seen Paul Cairns at Brantingham for a number years I go about once a month as given the state of my body and my age there’s usually something I need fixing.
He’s pretty good on sussing out what’s wrong and as well as the hands on stuff. He will suggest exercises to resolve the issue.
When I went the last time I had instructions from the missus to tell him that when I had been walking for a bit I started stooping like an old man. I did try to say to her that’s because I am an old man.
Anyhow it turns out tight abductors and arthritic hips are the likely cause, hence the lunges added to the morning ex’s.

 

[largeruk]

I find this yoga session very easy to follow and brilliant for my lower back issues.

https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/deep-release-hips-hamstrings-and-lower-back

It shouldn’t do you any harm to try it.

Thanks for this. Can anyone point me to yoga/stretching/pilates/deep core (ant + post) exercises that they use to tackle stiffness, weakness, lack of mobility and/or pain in the areas highlighted in this thread - glutes, hips, lats, lower back etc.

Many thanks.

 

[Oldmanmatt]

I find this yoga session very easy to follow and brilliant for my lower back issues.

https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/deep-release-hips-hamstrings-and-lower-back

It shouldn’t do you any harm to try it.

Thanks for this. Can anyone point me to yoga/stretching/pilates/deep core (ant + post) exercises that they use to tackle stiffness, weakness, lack of mobility and/or pain in the areas highlighted in this thread - glutes, hips, lats, lower back etc.

Many thanks.

Ant/post strength routine I do once a week. Usually in the ~10 rep area of each exercise.
I do other stuff at different times and these are just the core/basic movements, so, I might add toe to bar, or L sits, or crunches, or floor dorsal raises. Depends how I feel/what’s been niggling.
I really don’t do much stretching. For me it usually just irritates old injuries and I just do one session per month (ish) on a day when I’m not doing anything else. More to check I still have full range, really.
If I’m rehabing something, then I’ll stretch, more specifically, more often.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BurDxwMhzDD/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

[Steve R]

Quick update a few months on just in case it's useful to anyone at some point. Back is much improved, not quite 100% but problem is sufficiently diminished that it doesn't really inhibit me climbing, working or doing anything else now. I think the biggest underlying contribution to my back pain was a lack of activation and strength in glutes and hamstrings (but mainly glutes) - probably not an uncommon deficiency in a climber. I found doing glute bridges and similar exercises like the wee fella in this vid demos (should be time stamped) provided immediate and marked relief. I've continued to do some of these movements daily and fingers crossed, things seem to continue to improve. Also I did a couple of hard (for me) rides up local col on bike and noticed my back felt better and more stable after that which lends weight to the glute/hamstring deficiency theory I guess. Switching to a better, much stiffer mattress also felt significant.

 

[Fultonius]

As much as I now cannot stand the trainingbeta podcast (irritates the hell out of me, repetitive and often conflicting / dogmatic), there was a good one a while back with a coach / physio / strength & condition type guy.

I'm that, he was talking about the concept of "strength and mobility". Often there's a lack of mobility in a certain area (which, conversely often means that area is quite strong). Conversely, problems can arise due to an excess of mobility, which can also just be described as a weakness.

As in, you kind of have a scale from weak / mobile to strong /immobile... Sometimes the issues require more mobility, but just as often they need more strength.

Still don't think I'm really explaining this as well as the podcast, but I've long since deleted it so I won't find it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is stretching isn't always the answer, as OMM says, sometimes it requires regular strengthening instead, and sometimes it needs both.

 

[GraniteMan]

Hi there. I’ve had a bad back. Been to the hospital, had MRI, Physios x 3, Osteo x1. Researched and educated myself with big books, friends, experimenting, for tooo long.

When I have a bad back now I consciously decide to not give a F**** about whatever’s stressing me, go climbing for mobility, do as much core work as I can and it goes away.

Magnesium might help too (de stress and stop cramping).

The biggest factors are Chilling them Beans right on out, Climbing and Core.