Lower Back Maintenance

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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I am still crazy young :) however, as I get older, I am noticing my lower back is far less resilient than when younger.

Yesterday I swapped out a bad engine mount on my wife's car which was maybe an hour and a half of work. No heavy lifting and just being half bent over at hood level.

Today I am hurting like a M'effer. All lower back.

I can only crouch on the floor for 10-20 min before I know I am going to be sore the next day.

I'm 38 by the way. My dad and grandmother have always complained of having "bad backs" but I don't know medically what they mean. I should probably find that out.

How does one approach a project knowing they will be punished for it later?
Do you stretch prior to working on things, avoid them completely?

I want to know if there are things I can do now so that when I really am older, I have as much use of my back as possible. I have had issues like this and with spasms and it seems to take less to hurt it and longer to heal as time ticks away.
 
It only gets worse as you get older. Just comes with the territory. But, as others have noted in other threads, it beats the alternative.

BTW, I'm 62.
 
Exercises which strengthen your core (sit-ups, crunches, etc.) will help. If you do them regularly.

Less weight has helped me a lot as well, but you don't look like you need to lose much. Unless those are photoshopped or fake avatars. :D

I lost 60 pounds and now have a much better back. But it still gets me some times. Interestingly, standing still for long periods is what does mine in most.

John
 
jsstevens said:
Exercises which strengthen your core (sit-ups, crunches, etc.) will help. If you do them regularly.

Less weight has helped me a lot as well, but you don't look like you need to lose much. Unless those are photoshopped or fake avatars. :D

I lost 60 pounds and now have a much better back. But it still gets me some times. Interestingly, standing still for long periods is what does mine in most.

John
Click to expand...

I could ditch about 15 pounds.
I don't do a lot physically but I am looking into getting more active.

Lately, I have been going to my son's basketball games and it looks like a lot of fun. I have never really been a sports guy but I find myself getting into his games. They are really fun to watch and the kids are working their butts off out there.

I am thinking about finding a local league where people might want to play basketball and aren't bothered by the fact that I will suck so completely the only way we will win is because the other team is laughing at how poorly I play.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
[snip]
I am thinking about finding a local league where people might want to play basketball and aren't bothered by the fact that I will suck so completely the only way we will win is because the other team is laughing at how poorly I play.
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Don't knock it! I've won a few racquetball doubles matches that way. :D

15 pounds will help but probably not that much. Core strength is the deal. Your back muscles make up for the other core muscles when they are weak. Active sports will help your wind and general fitness (and they're a whole lot more fun) but won't develop your core strength. I've only found that exercises do that.

John
 
Strengthen the core. Maintain your mobility in flexion, extension, and rotation. When you get old enough and it hurts badly enough there are procedures to deal with the damage. It all depends on what's making it hurt. I've had a couple of nerve ablation procedures and a few steroid shots but while they make it hurt less, the damage is still there. I just want to hold off the surgeons for as long as I can.
 
Oh yeah the shoulder. Being fit is the only defense against back pain. But of course not hurting yourself getting/staying fit is also key.
 
I kinda wish I hadn't chosen a profession where I sit for a living.
It is not something you think about when you are 19 and choosing a major in college.

20 years later and I am aware I don't move as much as I should.
 
A balance ball and doing short sit-ups from only about 45* to vertical will do more for your core with less stress on your back than just about anything. Lock your toes under a counter or sofa and tilt back a little. Try to tilt or rotate right or left. It won't take long for you to know that it's working.
 
My advice: Just keep moving. My lower back is aggravated by some arthritis that limits flexibility. When it tightens up, I tend to not work out their kinks. Then it just gets worse. As long as I continue to do some stretches and other flexibility exercises once in a while, I can keep things loosened up. But getting old sucks.
 
Matthew said:
But getting old sucks.
Click to expand...

I had this conversation w/ my mom last night. Getting old happens sooner than you think. Yesterday my daughter says "Daddy how come you have one eyebrow that is growing longer than all the others?"

Because my body is starting to do weird crap!

I mentioned this and Mrs. 6PC goes I have been doing my best not to stare at that one wild hair growing out of your right eyebrow all day.

I have a whole collection of things going on that I thought would happen later in life. All through my teens and 20s I believed grey hair was something people started getting in their 50s.

Nope. You know when you get grey hair? 31!
coincidentally when I had my first kid but still I'm 20 years ahead of my expectation on that one.

Next time my kids ask how old "old" is I am telling them 35.
Every year after that your body is just a science experiment that hasn't finished reacting but all the pertinent data has been collected.

Take your minecraft and your fancy google sunglasses and get off my lawn!
 
Motrin,stretching exercise daily. Strengthening the core will help,also walking can help stretch the back.
 
Oh, boy, just wait for your first owner-assist annual...
 
jsstevens said:
Exercises which strengthen your core (sit-ups, crunches, etc.) will help. If you do them regularly.

Less weight has helped me a lot as well, but you don't look like you need to lose much. Unless those are photoshopped or fake avatars. :D

I lost 60 pounds and now have a much better back. But it still gets me some times. Interestingly, standing still for long periods is what does mine in most.

John
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

I speak from experience.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I could ditch about 15 pounds.
I don't do a lot physically but I am looking into getting more active.

Lately, I have been going to my son's basketball games and it looks like a lot of fun. I have never really been a sports guy but I find myself getting into his games. They are really fun to watch and the kids are working their butts off out there.

I am thinking about finding a local league where people might want to play basketball and aren't bothered by the fact that I will suck so completely the only way we will win is because the other team is laughing at how poorly I play.
Click to expand...


Good luck. I've found that most adult leagues; basketball, softball, soccer, etc., are all played by people living their high school glory years for the past 20 years. I finally found a softball league where it is more about the fun-and drinking. Your best bet is to find a co-ed league.
 
Bryan...

Perhaps you, me, B. Garner, and maybe another one or two locals should get together and do something.... Even if it's 3 or 4 inspections of 52F's taxiway per session. Or some form of sport...

That way we can multi-task... get some exercise, make sure the taxiway is safe for AeroValley's RV Rodeo, BS about aviation, and more.
 
I found a great machine at my gym that has been been helping my lower back strength.

It's kind of a backwards sit up machine. You sit on it, lean forward and bend back against weight. Love it. Not sure who makes it.
 
As others have said..... Core, strengthen your core. I love doing Pilates and my back rarely bothers me know... Strengthen your core, ease into it..
 
I wrecked my lower back when I was only 28 (5 years ago) and it's never been the same since. Do everything you can to keep it in good shape. Once it's messed up, there's no going back to 100%.

Some dumbass wanted a parking space and backed up down the road while I was sanding next to the car with the door open. To avoid being crushed, I ended up flinging/twisting myself into the car and closing the door on myself. By morning, I could barely move. Any movement caused excruciating pain in my lower back, left hip and lower left leg. It took 10 minutes to get up from a chair, seriously, no exaggeration.

My L4/L5 disc was ruptured. The referred pain in my hip and leg was because the disc was crushing the nerve root that led to those areas. After back surgery, 2/3 of that disc was removed. No more pain, I can do most things I used to do. But sometimes if I really push it, I can tell. And it will never be the way it was.
 
I'm just laughing at the post. My little weird crap started in the late 30s also and nope... Doesn't get better. I'm 4+ years ahead of you.

This year it was the thumb thing. (I should go update that thread....) and little while ago I had a damn back spasm that lasted on and off for a month and I was a cranky ****ed off old guy for that month too.

Even went to the masseuse regularly. One night the massage was over, felt great, went to get up and about fell off the damn table in pain. Sat there wondering if I could reach my socks or even get dressed. Kinda ruined it. LOL

Masseuse laughed as I hobbled out of the room and explained. Said sometimes that happens.

Still don't have a damn clue what I reached for or did that brought that whole bastard on.
 
denverpilot said:
I'm just laughing at the post. My little weird crap started in the late 30s also and nope... Doesn't get better. I'm 4+ years ahead of you.

This year it was the thumb thing. (I should go update that thread....) and little while ago I had a damn back spasm that lasted on and off for a month and I was a cranky ****ed off old guy for that month too.

Even went to the masseuse regularly. One night the massage was over, felt great, went to get up and about fell off the damn table in pain. Sat there wondering if I could reach my socks or even get dressed. Kinda ruined it. LOL

Masseuse laughed as I hobbled out of the room and explained. Said sometimes that happens.

Still don't have a damn clue what I reached for or did that brought that whole bastard on.
Click to expand...


Its weird the worst back pain I ever had was caused by essentially nothing. I walked up stairs and I got to the top step and I just froze.
I fell to the floor in pain and I could not move at all. The pain was so bad.

It was unreal. I called a bunch of docs in agony saying I need back surgery. All of them said you are probably having a muscle spasm.

To me "Muscle spasm" was when your bicep twitches or your eyelid when you have had too much caffene.

This pain was off and on for about 2 weeks. Went to a couple docs and it was muscle spasm. Apparently a muscle spasm in your back is different than a twitch. Probably one of the only times where I would have chosen to die rather than move.

Time to get active.

Aggie Mike, I am not opposed to walking 52F. I actually did that a couple times after getting my fit bit. First I'm going to see if I can find a community center w/ a gym. I want to start with some raquet ball or some other form of aerobic sport. I need to get moving. Something competitive sounds motivating.

I need to go charge my fitbit. That thing had me walking 10k steps a day when I wore it.
 
I probably should start training for the half marathon I signed up for...Haven't ran a mile in like a year.
 
I've had several lower back surgeries. One thing that helps is yoga (yeah, I know, I know).
 
I messed up my back once when training for a half marathon or maybe it was an 8 miler, I can't remember. The old saying is if you undertrain you don't reach the finish line and if you overtrain you don't reach the starting line. I overtrained. A couple days before the race I was working on the back sliding glass door, adjusting the track or something. I was on my knees, twisted just an inch too far, and my back went. I was stuck on the floor. I crawled to a dining room chair and was able to pull myself up. I ate some ibuprofin or something, then fell down onto my bed for the rest of the day. I think I went to work the next day, maybe the day after that. We had a medical clinic that was pretty good about handling workplace injuries, like wrenched backs. They had me lie on my side and pulled a sandbag out of some kind of heating unit and jammed it against my lower back. It was outstanding. They finally chased me out after an hour or so. The doc recommended taking max doses of tylenol and ibuprofin, but alternate every other dose.

These days, if it acts up I find that naproxin (Aleve) works very well for me.
 
Eighty percent of adults will have one or more episodes of low back pain during their lives that affects daily activity. Most episodes are self-limited and require no special treatment. For nine of every ten people with a serious episode of low back pain, no abnormality of the back is found no matter how hard the doctors look.

There is no evidence that ordinary "stretching" affects the risk of new episodes of low back pain or shortens the duration of an episode of low back pain. Bed rest is associated with greater duration of any given episode of low back pain. For most patients, regular light-to moderate activity is associated with the most rapid recovery from an episode of low back pain.

Better aerobic fitness is associated with lower risk of low back pain.

Episodes with pain radiating down the leg are of greater concern than those without radiating pain.
 
One day I was lifting some things and went down. I end up at the local Trauma center. I tell the doctor on duty I need an MRI for I broke my back. I tell him you will send me for an x-ray, you will then tell me I pulled an muscle.

He sends me off for an x-ray. He comes in the room and tells me I pulled a muscle and gives me a shot and sends me on my way. The next morning I am getting a phone call from the Trauma Center. They are asking me to please come back for the doctor miss read my x-ray and I do indeed have a broken back. I crushed L-4 L 5.

I spend a few weeks prone waiting for my back brace so I can walk. Once I get this, down the road we go. We were 1000 miles from home when this happened. We where moving back to our home town.

We get back to our home town and I go see what is suppose to be the best back doctor in the area. He walks into the room and there I sit with my MRI from the trauma center. He holds it up to the light and says, I need to remove that back brace for there is nothing wrong with me. He looks at his nurse and says just ask her she can tell you that this is a waste of time and will hurt you more then help you.

I could not get out of that quacks office fast enough. I spend another 4 months in that back brace.

Its not always a pulled muscle sometime its more. Did I mention I would cut and hand split using a axe, 10 cords of fire wood every year. I would also ride a bike over 10 miles a week. I rode it to work.

I laugh when people say, if you would workout and exercise you will not have lower back problems and that I should have been working out and this never would have happened to me. I tell them they do not know squat but believe they know it all for its not always about lack of working out. Sometimes its deeper or a medical issue such as I have.
 
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I have this weird deal where I can walk for miles/all day long without much issue. I can spend a day moving heavy boxes around or stacking firewood or maybe dragging a cherokee around the ramp and I might be a little sore but not bad.

Ask me to stand still for just 5 minutes and I'm hurting... much more than that and I'm dying. Walking brings some relief... sitting/leaning for a few minutes pretty much restores me and I can walk another mile. Probably should get myself seen but it comes up so rarely that I tend to forget about it until the next event where I need to stand.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Aggie Mike, I am not opposed to walking 52F. I actually did that a couple times after getting my fit bit. First I'm going to see if I can find a community center w/ a gym. I want to start with some raquet ball or some other form of aerobic sport. I need to get moving. Something competitive sounds motivating.

I need to go charge my fitbit. That thing had me walking 10k steps a day when I wore it.
Click to expand...

If you find a racquetball court, I'm in. I played a bit for fun and fitness in the past and always enjoyed it.

Let me know what you find.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I am still crazy young :) however, as I get older, I am noticing my lower back is far less resilient than when younger.

Yesterday I swapped out a bad engine mount on my wife's car which was maybe an hour and a half of work. No heavy lifting and just being half bent over at hood level.

Today I am hurting like a M'effer. All lower back.

I can only crouch on the floor for 10-20 min before I know I am going to be sore the next day.

I'm 38 by the way. My dad and grandmother have always complained of having "bad backs" but I don't know medically what they mean. I should probably find that out.

How does one approach a project knowing they will be punished for it later?
Do you stretch prior to working on things, avoid them completely?

I want to know if there are things I can do now so that when I really am older, I have as much use of my back as possible. I have had issues like this and with spasms and it seems to take less to hurt it and longer to heal as time ticks away.
Click to expand...

If you don't assume bent over positions every day, working under a hood will definitely torture your back muscles. The best back exercise I have found are hyperextensions.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I had this conversation w/ my mom last night. Getting old happens sooner than you think. Yesterday my daughter says "Daddy how come you have one eyebrow that is growing longer than all the others?"

Because my body is starting to do weird crap!

I mentioned this and Mrs. 6PC goes I have been doing my best not to stare at that one wild hair growing out of your right eyebrow all day.

I have a whole collection of things going on that I thought would happen later in life. All through my teens and 20s I believed grey hair was something people started getting in their 50s.
Click to expand...

I'm 50 and don't have a single gray hair. Really ****es my wife off. She's 44 and has a ton of gray.

I've had my share of wild eyebrow hairs, though! My wife calls them antennae.
 
As many have said before me. Core workouts. Strengthen your core to support your spine. Don't take pills unless the pain is unbearable and you need to, otherwise you're masking the symptoms rather than treating the underlying problem. Start seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis for maintenance (you change the oil in your car and airplane on a regular basis, look at a chiropractic adjustment as an oil change for your spine).
 
OMG, somebody mentioned chiropractors. Let the arguments begin.

I'll start. DON'T GO TO A CHIROPRACTOR!

Years ago, I had back problem that was made MUCH worse by one. One of the worst decisions of my life, not to mention expensive.
 
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