My Back Hurts!

Many people who work out can tell stories of sports related injury – sprains, torn muscles or ligaments, pressure on muscles, broken bones etc. I didn’t have firsthand experience with this, and thought I was being careful…until recently when I had the misfortune of spraining my back.

I had to see a Physical therapist (Victoria – if you live in Abuja and want to consult with her, contact me for her details) and have since learnt that my issue with my back (which I took for normal muscle strain from working out) was a result of a combination of reasons:

1.   Not taking sufficient care when working out with my kettle bells and other weights that I love to use

2.   Continuing to work out even when I am in pain (silly, right?)

3.   Sleeping posture – I have six pillows in my bed, this and my posture when sleeping meant that my weight was not evenly distributed and I had too much pressure on my back/spine. Not good if you are overweight.

4.   Poor sitting posture at work (I kindda slouch)

5.   Mattress issues –I was on holiday recently and the hotel where I stayed for two weeks had a really soft mattress whereas I have become used to a very firm mattress (that’s what I have at home). When I got back home it was pain-ville on my super firm bed.

Unfortunately, because I am in pain at the moment I have been advised to give my vigorous work outs a miss for the time being. This rings like doom to me because if I cannot work out how do I keep my momentum? I’ve been told I can take walks and do gentle stretching exercises. But I think I will go a step further and cut my daily caloric intake by about a quarter – I’m thinking that could compensate for the drop in my calorie burn rate (work out). Hope it works…I’ll tell you what the scale says in a few weeks.

So what have I learned? How do I/we support our backs as we PUSH towards our goal to DROP IT 4 LIFE?

a.   Warm up before you work out! This should ease your muscles and give you a wider range of movement and flexibility. Plus you get more benefits from your work out.

b.   Your bed & pillow are the first step if you want to get any relief. The bed should not be lumpy, soft or too hard. You want to maintain the normal curve of your spine when you lie down.  

    The bed (pillow and mattress) is just the start of your caution – your posture is key. My therapist has taught me that since I prefer to sleep on my side, it’s best if I sleep with a pillow between my legs, and one supporting my neck.

 

    I have tried that for a couple of days now and I’ve noticed that I am not as sore or stiff in the morning. What is your preferred sleeping position? Do you know the advised posture for yourself? It’s important. Why Drop IT when you won’t be able to “drop it like it’s hot” thereafter? [chuckle]

c.    Supplements like Glucosamine, Calcium with Vitamin D and Vitamin C help support your bones, muscles and such while helping putting back what life and strains from working out take out.

d.   Water therapy – It’s no news that I am a fan of swimming for fun, burning calories and toning muscles – but I just found out that depending on how you harness the power of H2O, you could derive benefits to your posture and joints. My swimming coach Ndubisi (If you live in Abuja and want a swimming coach contact me for his number – he is GOOD!) tells me that water aerobics is ace when you have back sprain. I don’t have to tell you that as soon as the pain I am in eases off, I am going to jump opt for this. Apparently the water buoyancy helps deter strain on joints and when you do this in a warm pool your muscles get more relaxed and the pain is eased.

e.   Victoria (my therapist) is using electric stimulation on me – and I LOVE IT! It really does relax the aching muscles and I actually do dose off during these sessions. At least before she commences the actual manipulation of the joints and muscles – then I am WIDE AWAKE! LOL. So if you have score muscles, ask your therapist if electric stimulation will ease your pain.

f.   Temperature therapy helps as well. As I write this, I actually have a hot water bottle at my back – I don’t quite know how to explain it, but the relief from a hot water bottle on my back is…better than sticky toffee pudding (my favorite desert). The high temperature helps reduce cramping and muscle spasms, so it’s worth a try …right? I know athletes use cold compresses – basically ice packs which I hear can help reduce muscle inflammation.

So, this is where I am on my DROP IT journey, and this is what I have learned so far. I hope my sharing my pain will mean that you don’t get hurt when working out or due to bad posture (sleeping or while at work). I know I still have lots of questions and a whole lot to learn, and as I do learn you can be sure I will share on this forum.

Do you have any information or tips to share on how best to manage back strain/pain? I would sure love to hear from you. Thanks in advance for sharing!

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