back injury and training

[psytaco]

I have been weight training now for about 10 years. As most of you who train hard for a significant length of time will know, injuries do happen and can be a great spanner in the works.

I hurt my back about a month and a half ago. The main pain was concentrated in my lower back, but there was also quite a bit of pain and stiffness up the right side of my back. It resulted in about a week of being in constant pain, and pain killers were necessary if I was to be able to work (office job). after about three weeks I was almost entirely pain free.

I have hurt my back twice previously at the gym, the first time being the most serious with a compacted disk in the section of my back just above my right buttocks.

I am gradually getting back into training. I can still do most chest exercises (though I am wary of having to carry dumb bells around), and all arm exercises. I can also do pull ups. I did do low weight (50kg) cable row, but my back got a bit sore afterwards. i am still wary of touching lowerback, legs and abs.

Anyway, what do you guys think are some exercises to steer clear of, or just strategies in general to still workout but not aggrevate it? It will getter better with time, but i would like to stay in reasonable shape whilst it is healing.

 

[Voxide]

Strengthen your core and spinal erectors, start from the ground up on compound movements. Drop the weight and focus on perfect form. Replace deads with hyperextensions.

 

[auhsoJ]

Enhance your mind/muscle connection. Don't just perform the movement - BE the movement.

 

[painquestions]

long post ahead, but this is an issue i've been dealing with my whole life and even more so the past 1.5 years while i've been taking my training more seriously

I've had to deal with back issues my whole life; I have 2 degenerative discs and an abnormally narrow spinal canal. A couple of years ago I had a disc removed at L3-L4, basically cut in half, and put back in. I'm in the gym daily but I've come to terms with the fact that there are certain things I'll never ever ever be able to go heavy on, like squats and deads.

I can only speak on my experience but here are a few things I've found work better for me when training lower body and other areas that may be affected by lower-back disc issues.

Squats: I go light and slow and shoot for perfect form on every rep. Narrow stance helps. Front loaded squats help too. I can't do hacks or sumos ever.

Deads: same as squats - light, slow, perfect form

Basically all lower body / leg exercises I go light, slow and good form. It's a little tough sometimes to see a girl under the bar squatting my max. but I just physically can't do it. My body can't move like that anymore. I take pride in the fact that I've had an operation and im still in the gym hitting what I need to hit. Just go light with higher reps. Be sure to stretch your quads and hams multiple times a day

Upper body: I avoid anything SEATED. So on shoulders day instead of doing a seated arnold press I have to stand. Honestly I love doing standing instead of seated because it also helps you stablize your core a lot more - which is very crucial when your back is fucked

I suggest going to a few physical therapy sessions too. When I was in PT with my back issues we focused mostly on stretches and core exercises. Those things you can take with you to the gym and incorporate into your routine. Extensions or "cobras", lots of plank variations... etc...

Good luck and most of all listen to your body. I have some friends who say "train through the pain" - which may be motivating to some, but when you have serious disc issues, it's dumb advice. lower back injuries are nothing to trifle with