Like millions of people around the world, I suffer from low back pain. It has dogged me for the last 10-15 years of my life. I had initially thought it was a weight problem, but this was not the case. Dropping 40 pounds has had zero effect on my back. It’s an easy assumption to make, but an erroneous one.
There’s hardly more controversy about a health issue than that of low back pain. There’s a million home remedies that don’t work. There’s doctors who want nothing more than to perform major surgery on you as the only solution. I’ve seen that fail first hand in a good friend.
My problem is a bulging disc in my lower back. My secondary problem is my muscles are furiously tight. I have a muscle knot in my upper shoulder that has been there for over a year. All of this limits my range of motion, as you can imagine. And oh yeah, I’m trying to speedskate with this condition - where you have to be low and back pain is the norm. Why didn’t I just pick up shuffleboard instead?
My chiropractor has been very helpful. He has kept me in my skates when it would have otherwise been impossible. But this has not solved my disc issue, and I do not know that it can. I’ve been working with a Myofacial pain/trigger point therapist for the last few weeks as well. I’m now doing a lot of specific stretching and compression. I hate it. It hurts, it takes up time I’d rather use to work out, but it’s necessary. I’m not sure how effective it will be, only time will tell. My hope is that this two-pronged attack can get me as close to “normal” as possible.
Then I go to practice last night and feel like hell. Skated four songs in the paceline, led one myself. But at that point the disc hurt so bad, I couldn’t continue skating at that pace. I seem to always get to this point where fitness or technique is not an issue, it’s the back, and I cannot begin to explain how incredibly frustrating this is for me. I can be a better skater, I can do better than I am, of that I am 100% sure. But my body is not cooperating.
My only other recourse would be to shut it down completely. And this would not be any guarantee that things would get better. They might stay the same. They might even get worse, because staying active is actually good for my back.
I imagine I’m not the only skater who has this experience. Somehow I’ll have to figure out how to make the best of this situation, because I am not going to stop skating. I’ve got to find the proper form that will allow me to skate marathons at the level I want to skate them without suffering so much. There has to be a way.
I’m going to find it.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Cor // Feb 6, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Have you tried cortizone shots? Could be an option just before race day. Not even sure they work for back injuries.
A sports physio person should be able to help with localized stretches or exercises no?
2 Tom // Feb 6, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Even if a shot could help, I wouldn’t want to do it. That’s only a band-aid on a symptom. I’m so tired of doctors covering up symptoms with drugs. Sometimes a drug is the only option, but it should be the last option IMO - and for me personally, it will be. There’s no guarantee a shot would help me anyway, the pain I feel is nerve paid via pressure from a disc.
The lady I am seeing now is basically a muscle pain specialist. I have a workbook of specific stretches for my back, plus stuff for my hips that I do based on what Publow teaches. I’ve got about 8 different tools for compression and stretching
I’m only a week and a half into it, so we’ll see if it helps.
The weather (cold and dry) doesn’t help me either. I need to work better with my stretching, it’s hard for me though - going to have to get used to it.
3 Cor // Feb 6, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Funny you should mention stretching… I am surfing the net right now looking for stretches that will help me get lower in my stride. My hams are sooooo tight that with my legs in a full straddle position, I can barely bend at the waist and touch my fingers to the floor. Not good.
4 Tom // Feb 6, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Stretch the hams, also Publow mentioned an important point, that the quad has a beginning (at the knee) and ending (at the hip) - all muscles connect at two points. You have to stretch both ends. To stretch the top part, do a lunge but put the back knee down on the ground. Keep your torso up and lean forward, you should feel the stretch in front just inside the hip. If you don’t, raise your back foot up and grab your heel with your hand (if you can) and that will do it.
Also, really important to stretch the glutes. There are all kinds of stretches for that. So both ends of quads, glutes, hamstrings, and don’t neglect the groin as well. All those muscle areas in the hip area are real important. I’m working on all those areas myself - in fact, I’m about to stretch in a few minutes :).
5 Cor // Feb 6, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Now that I am back from the hospital…..
OUCH. Stretching hurts!
6 Tom // Feb 6, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Hospital!?
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