I’m currently at a point where I’m straining my back every 2-3 months. It’s nothing major, just a nuisance when I sit all day at work and have an energetic toddler.
What do you do to keep this shit in check? What works?
Looking forward to taking in this information and making some changes in my life.
I’ve underestimated how important it is and how much work is required to not be a feeble old man (I’m 36!).
Thanks in advance guys
33 comments
I deadlift at 85%-95% of my max every week 👌
Exercise and stretch. Exercise is the most important thing in life I think. There is really no negative aspect to exercise.
Resistance training. Squats, deadlifts, all kinds of rows and other back exercises. A strong robust back is more resilient than a weak pampered one when it comes to rising to the demands of daily life.
Keep it strong: bent over barbell rows, rdls
Keep it flexible: yoga and stretching
40 yrs old and the same back as when I was 20
I had back problems annually from age 20 to 48, but none aged 49-53.
What changed? I lost weight and got into the healthy BMI range.
Before that, when I was still fat, I found having a firm mattress made it much better.
All good answers here. I’d like to add that I try to spend a few minutes in the morning and at night in a full yogi squat to really open up the hips just as maintenance.
Gym is great for that. Kinda heavy but not super-heavy deadlifts for example.
Cross-country skiing also works, and I have a feeling that (trail) running with good form also will work. Most people just don’t have a good form so the results may vary.
Basically use it or lose it.
For me the essentials are… foam roll, sleep with a pillow under my knees, and workout the lower back. I’ve never felt better.
Check your mattress. Replace it if it’s sagging or approaching 8 or so years old.
Target your back in the gym. Deadlifts, barbell rows, cable rows, T-bar rows, etc. Also strengthen your abs. Your entire core is probably weak.
I’m around the same age as you and was having constant back pain. Had to roll around on a lacrosse ball and foam roll everyday for relief, but I’m pain-free 90% of the time after getting back into the gym last summer.
I highly recommend the book “Back Mechanic” by Stuart McGill. If you’re not into books listen to Peter Attia MD’s podcast with McGill. The best comprehensive back information you can find.
Get in aerobic shape. Do regular cardio five days a week whether it’s walking or running or biking or hiking or whatever. You don’t have to lift weights to be in shape and strong. Personally I got a peloton and it was life changing, I hit that five or six times a week.
-Agreeing with the comments about core exercise 👍🏽.
Even just simple bodyweight things for core that you can do when you wake in the morning… right there on the bedroom floor, for example. Endless supply of ideas always flow on google, youtube, heck – even pinterest.
-Other thought for you is you may wish to tweak your approach to the workday. What I mean is, since sitting all day for our office jobs/desk jobs isn’t awesome for spine health, some folks start to mix in some standing workstation time during the day.
And personally, since office furniture budget isn’t always unlimited, I’ve rigged up a makeshift standing workstation at the office, as well as at the crib for times of working from home. (Sometimes it’s been as simple as placing the laptop on top of a tall dresser, and voila.)
You can always take sit down breaks when needed, and then return to standing after a period.
Just keep listening to your body. If your feet ache a little at night because you stood too long, simply begin to adjust your standing time a bit.
Look up Mckenzie protocol. That’s what my physical therapist recommends for my back.
I am 55. I have a set of body-weight only core exercises. Super important I do them. They take 20 minutes do do three sets.
You do not need a gym. You need a mat and some floor space.
#1 for me was stretching. I can’t seem to find the position easily online, but the specific stretch I did was to just lay flat on my back, then, while keeping my leg straight, rotate one leg up and grab my foot, so that my back and leg is straight and my leg is making a ~90 degree angle at my hip (keep your back flat!). 1 minute per leg, morning and night, every day. That got me through about a decade with pretty minimal other exercise. I still hurt my back sometimes (it was still weak) but at least it wasn’t hurting every day. To this day if I skip a couple days stretching then my back starts hurting.
As others are saying, the next thing is exercise and core strengthening (your back is straining because your core muscles are weak, causing your lower back muscles to do more work than they’re designed for). You’ve got to take it very slow, because you’re not as young as you once were and core exercises use a variety of both big and small muscles. If you just start doing massive deadlifts then you’ll hurt your back more. The rule for old-person exercise is slooow and steady progress, first and foremost avoiding injuries.
There are tons of core exercises. Find what you like. I primarily jog. You could start by getting a standing desk if that’s available to you (some companies will give you one if you ask). Sitting all day is killer for your core muscles. Good luck!
Threw my back out the first time at 22. Got all the doctor’s stuff done and learned I basically have shit genetics. The biggest thing you can do to try and manage it is exercise. I’ve just incorporated specific things for my core and lower back into my regular workouts.
I hate to break it to you but there is no fix for this, only management of it
Go to a physiotherapist man. They will assess you and give you a treatment program that includes stretches and strengthening exercises specific to you.
I have scoliosis, degenerative disk, arthritis, schmorls nodes all in my lower back. I have pain every second of every day. To mitigate that pain I stretch for 20 minutes first thing every morning. It is probably the single best thing you can do. My abs work overtime when I do things throughout the day to compensate for a weakened back, so I try to do exercises that wont strain my back but that will slowly strengthen it, like supermans or planks. I find if I lift weights and am not very careful about how I lift, I will end up in a lot of pain for 2 to 3 days. I also take ibuprophen almost daily, use ice or heat as needed and have lidocain patches.
5/3/1 lifting program and Agile 8 mobility.
I work out 6x a week, focusing purely on core and functional fitness, mix in some stretching here and there and I early get back issues. I think, and I am not a dr or occupational therapist, many back issues can be avoided with just having a strong core…usually sore back is cause the muscles are compensating for other weak areas of the body.
Yoga has been very good to me. Most of us spend a lot of time hunched over or leaning forward. My yoga practice and yoga class make it so that I must spread out my shoulders and Arch my back in the direction different than usual.
I recently watched some lower back stretch videos that immediately got ride of my list back strain. Use all your core muscles when you stand up straight or bend over with your lower back straight
I had back surgery because of a genetic related disk problem. Had to get 4 screws into lower back. Started physical therapy and Yoga. 3 years ago I started going back to the gym and the combination of Yoga and weight training works for me. I just wont get back at running. Too much strain on my back. But walking and swimming works too for cardio
I’ve had two back surgeries in the past 10 years. My surgeon recommends planks daily to help keep the core strong.
PT 2x per week.
Get a standing desk, reduces stress on lower back tremendously. Tried many chairs looking for more comfort, but what I really needed was to just sit less in order to give my back a break so it could heal.
I was exactly 36 when this started happening to me. I started this routine then (I’m now 53) and I’ve had very few problems since.
I do this every morning as soon as I get out of bed. I never skip a morning:
Straight plank—
Opposite arm-leg lift—
Knee to chest stretch—
Childs pose—
Cat-cow
Just Google these. I’ve added a couple of lower ab strengthening exercises since. I’ve also added some standing dumbbell work for my core as well.
Doing these every morning changed my life.
An old back injury is acting up again, so I have this on my mind. PT helps, and actually doing the exercises they give you at home is key: I’m hurting rn because I haven’t been.
It’s so funny (or not) when ppl ask for fitness or financial advice online.
The Suzie Ormans and Joe Rogans come out of the woodwork – “Now’s my chance!!!”
Yoga man, ngl, changed my life/my relationship to my body. You will feel better than ever going 1-2 times per week
>>sit all day
Strengthen and stretch your hips and butt as well as your lower back and core.
Sitting has always been a killer for my back. You might get a lot of benefit from a convertible stand up desk. Loved mine.
12 minute foundation training is a great way to get started! https://youtu.be/oVOnXIiPgM8