Bad Back
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I blog for Slim Sensations, as I have said in other articles on the Website I suffer from severe and sometimes chronic back pain.
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But when I see a problem I like to find a solution, the solution to a bad back has been one of the tougher challenges I have taken on.
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The bad back I suffer from stems from flat feet that I was born with. I basically have very little arch in either foot. This means went I walk my feet pull my legs and back down and put excess strain on them.
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When i was younger, in my early teens the flat feet caused my knees to bang together when I walked and I also had quite a funny running action.
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I then got customised insoles for all my footwear and went on a year long physiotherapy programme. This cured the problem with the knocking knees, some people say I still run with a funny action, but they may just be saying this as I fly pass them doing my 100M dash.
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This improvement in my stance was fantastic and people would common straight away, I was standing taller and moving better.
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As time went on, I started to feel pain in my lower back, a pain I had never felt before. It really started when I was about 17 or 18. I was getting ready for my first holiday away with my friends. I was running on the road everyday and working out in a gym I had setup in the garage, much to my father's annoyance. Hoping to get the perfect pecks and 6 pack for the beach.
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I went to see my Doctor to ask him what this pain was or what could be done. I was sent back to physiotherapy where it was explained to me that essentially my back pain was caused by my hamstrings mainly but my other leg muscle too, pulling at my back and when I was running on the road the vibrations and impact of the road where magnifying the pain.
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I was given a list of stretches to do and advised not to run on hard surfaces. The list of stretches I was given I still do to this day. So I have stretches for my flat feet and stretches for my back, I have to go to the gym 15 minutes before everyone else or stretch in the house before I leave because other wise I would miss my workouts, still on the stretching mats.
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The stretches I have been doing, seem to add flexibility to my back and ease the pain while I train, the problem for me is when I am not in the gym. This is when the pain is at its worst.
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I work in an office behind a desk 10-12 hours a day, the pain is at its worst during these hours, when I am sat at a desk for hours on end. I try to balance this by going for a walk every hour, to move about more at my desk. Simple stretches can be done while sitting. Also I make sure I sit at 90 degree angles so my posture is good.
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As I have said the back pain issue is one of the tougher challenges I have tried to conquer. It is an ongoing challenge.
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At the moment I do a lot of Boxercise and Circuits classes, the instructor at these classes is brilliant. He knows about my back pain and will give me different routines to do. For example when everyone else in the class is doing Russian Twists I will be doing stomach crunches as these are less concentrated on your back.
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He has taught me you do not need to do every workout and every routine. I now pick and choose and leave out the ones that cause pain in my back. There is a macho image that you need to do everything in the gym, but this stupid thought process has lead me to do routines over the years that have left me in agony, so now I do what I know by back can handle.
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I also now try and soak in a hot bath filled with muscle soak at least 3 times a week, this seem to relax my back and ease the pain. I also go and see a masseuse twice a year to work on my back. He tells me I do not need to go every week as other practitioners in his field have try to inform me. His thoughts are that if a massage on a certain area of the body is done correctly, there is no need to go week after week.
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I am still trying different things on my back to ease the pain, I think like most things in life, good management is the key.
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Thanks for reading if you have any tips for me and my back let me know at twitter @slimsensations or on our facebook page www.facebook.com/slimsensations
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