Hello everybody! Last week I wrote a post on how I, like most Americans, had developed some fairly severe back pain while exercising last week. I couldn't stand up straight after sitting and I had some severe twinges of pain if I moved the wrong way (which turned out to be many ways). I'm happy to report that I am 97% back to where I want to be! I have no actual pain, but I will get the occasional "doesn't feel quite right" feeling when getting up from sitting. Although one week is very quick to get out of this kind of discomfort, I feel that my determination to resolve my issue was a large part of my rapid improvement and that if determined, many people could do exactly what I did and get back into their (more cautious) daily routine before they know it. Here's what I did:
- Got adjusted On Monday and Wednesday I saw my buddy Dr. Thom Arndt and he found that I did quite the little number on my pelvis. One side was anteriorly rotated and the other was posteriorly rotated, causing my spine to develop a compensatory curve. Both of these caused my muscles to SCREAM at me. After my adjustments I could move better and I felt pretty good.
- Got muscle work On Tuesday I lucked into Mary Carroll. Mary performs neuromuscular massage at Crossfit 100 on Tuesdays (She's great. Check her out sometime!) and before she saw clients for the day she asked if I could work on her a little bit. I happily obliged and asked if she could return the favor. She did. It was FANTASTIC. Knowing my psoas was a big issue, I asked her if she could work on it. Although it was very tender and the release really lit me up, I had ZERO back pain for several hours afterwards. Even after those several hours my pain didn't have the same intensity as before. The following day she followed up with another psoas release and checked my obliques. She found them to be a huge reason for why my hip was hiked up 1"+ on the right side. Big ups to Mary.
- Performed many pelvic bridges Just as I recommend to my patients, I spent some quality time squeezing my "butts and guts" establishing better posture. My exercise of choice was a pelvic bridge hold while I marched (2 sets of 15 reps/leg with a brief pause with leg extension) After each set I could truly feel my pelvis being in a more stable position.
- Used my lacrosse ball. A TON. After experiencing how tight my psoas and obliques were I had several marathon lacrosse ball sessions on the floor in my apartment as well as on the nearest wall between patients. I probably spent a collective hour mobilizing this past week and I credit this with why my pain stayed away after my chiropractic and muscle work.
This week came in like a lion and went out like a lamb and I fully credit it to practicing what I preach to patients. Tomorrow I plan on getting back into the gym and being super mindful on how I am positioned while exercising. Thanks for reading!
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Labels: back pain, chiropractic, exercise, mobilizing