Severe Back Pain

[ireekofawesomeness]

mods dont move this please bc it ties in directly with lifting

ok so on memorial day weekend i was warmin up to squat with 135 and i knew something was wrong in my lower back so i stopped, whiuch was smart bc by the time my partner finished his workout i was in agonizing pain and could hardly walk bc my lower back was so tight and had this electric shock feeling going up it...long story short i rested it iced it and ever since ive avoided exercises thatd compromise it until i got my xray results back...well i got them today and they said my back is perfect, but this morning i had to call out of work bc i had the worst flare up since memorial day and literally couldnt stand up to get out of bed...went to sleep and i can walk now but its still very painful...what would you guys recommend doing bc i have noi fucking clue what this could be, maybe a pinched nerve is the only thing bc obviously a bulging disc wouldve showed up on an xray? i wanna get back to lifting heavy but i also dont wanna be in a fuckin wheelchair by the time im 25 (im only 23 now) Any ideas?

 

[musketeer]

Just wondering what level of training/ body stats you are at/have and if you use AAS?

 

[ireekofawesomeness]

i am 23 years old....6'5 inches tall...currently weigh 226 lbs at about 11% bodyfat...i have weighed as much as 265 lbs (11/03) but i was way fatter...before memorial day when i hurt myself i might have been a percent or so higher bodyfatwise but i also weighed about 10 lbs more, which i attribute to the fact that i cant even think about serious lower body training with this injury, so ive definitely lost some muscle on my legs...my training leading up to the injury leads me to believe this MIGHT be an overuse injury that i somehow aggravated again, bc i was really killing it and moving more weight/more reps every week...the month before the injury memorial day i was squatting and front squatting alternating every other week, on fronts my heaviest set was around 280 lbs below parallel for 6-8 reps, and back squats i was doing anywhere between 315-350 for sets of 6-10...i have not taken steroids so thats not a factor but i was planning on taking them soon (within next year def. ) until this injury came along and screwed my all time high progress

 

[musketeer]

I belive that the muscles in your back are over worked and therefore tight and tired (weak!). You are really tall and therefore really put a lot of stress on the spine when you do things like squatting. You should be following a comprehensive stretching routine after every workout. You should also be practicing something like pilates and/or swimming in order to keep your bones supported properly. Perhaps if you are not doing this already, then you will see a night and day difference (like I did!) when you start.

 

[ireekofawesomeness]

while i dont doubt what youre saying that my lower back muscles ar eprobably overworked and tired, that is overshadowed by the fact that im almost positive something is wrong with my actual spine or spinal column/nerves...ive had slight injuries before and i know the difference between muscle pain and nerve pain and although my lower back muscles are def. tight, the pain i had yesterday morning was a sharp hot shooting pain almost like a sciatic pain but not in my leg...yet my asshole doc tells me im fine...i feel like any route i go to solve a problem never works, ive done stretching, xrays, creams, etc, nothing works or points me in the right direction? thinking maybe an MRI?

 

[musketeer]

If you lived over here in England then I'd recomend my Doctor of oesteopathy to you. He would probably see where your bones are out of line and snap them back in place. The tiny misalingnments in the spine, hip and elsewhere are almost certainly what's wrong. After he had 'corrected' your joints, he would suggest preventative measures that I've made above.

 

[ireekofawesomeness]

ive done the chiropractor thing before it helped a bit but i never had a prob this bad...u think its a good idea or maybe acupuncture?

 

[blut wump]

My first guess would be something out of position; maybe the sacro-iliac joint. A chiro or osteo would be the best bet at least to see whether a quick adjustment will solve the problem. Whether it's a simple mis-alignment or a tear or rupture it sounds like you need attention. I've suffered similarly in the past and been fixed by a single chiro visit. It depends on what the problem actually is.

 

[musketeer]

Like I'm saying, if you were here, I'm sure my DOCTOR OF OESTEOPATHY could fix you up. He is like a legend, he tours Europe giving lecturers, has his own DVD coming out and basically charges whatever he likes ($200+ an hour) for consultations. It's because his stuff works. Try and find somebody who is good, not just any old chiro...

 

[blut wump]

Congrats on finding someone good. I went through three chiros before finding one I was happy with. I'm sure there are shoddy osteos too.

 

[ireekofawesomeness]

whats the difference of a chiro vs a doc of osteopathy, or are they essentially the same?

 

[bignate73]

if your muscles are that tight....just like tight muscles in your hips you can put pressure on nerves. tight muscles in the hips shoot pain down your leg via the sciatic nerve. tight spinal erectors could probably have some effect on your spine as well. also, keep in mind: if your back is that tight, and you are squatting, you probably have to comensate somehow to get down that low. As was mentioned earlier the SI joint, which moves freely and nutates when you squat...cant do that if you are tight as a banjo string.