My latest on PJ: Back Pain and Back Strength

[Barry Charles]

This may win the Inane Post Of The Week award.

Maybe not. Down in E&P there is an ongoing thread that claims Republicans are responsible for Obama Care because it was their idea.

[MWittmer]

Full disclosure: I'm a chiropractor, 36 years experience, and a lifting guy, having competed for 16 years in weightlifting, and as of now lifting weights and coaching/helping others for over 40 years.

I completely agree with this article. I have been of the belief from nearly day one of my practice that the barbell squat would cure much of what ails us. With few exceptions, everyone should lift. Set aside the athletes and construction/blue collar workers (less and less of them) who overdue it physically, and the major problem we have is a sedentary lifestyle. Too many people sit all day at work. I think most of our health problems in this country, in addition to MSK issues, are due to behavior, overeating, eating crap, lack of any exercise, smoking, drinking, OTC and social drug abuse, etc. I know from talking to some of my neighbors (MDs) how frustrated they are. Our infant mortality rates are not very good and the politicians blame the medical system, not the poor habits and behaviors of pregnant women. Now they want to pay doctors based on "performance" and things like patient satisfaction surveys. It's a mess.

I digress, back to backs. It is very frustrating working with people that will not take matters into their own hands and lift weights, or do any type of exercise, and I'm not talking about anything other than a very basic program which could be accomplished in three or four hours a week. No, they're perfectly happy to crawl into my office whenever they experience an acute episode, or pay me regularly to manage their chronic pain. You need to move, and movements that build strength are the best.

Great article Mark.

[Wretzel]

My boards are filled with examples of desperate people who come to barbell strength training after a long period of chronic back pain in the hope of some improvement, and who are then amazed when 3 weeks later their pain is either gone or satisfyingly diminished.

This is me, too. Tried 3 different chiros, which was enough for me, for one lifetime. Squats and DLs did the trick, and quickly, after years of daily back pain. Passed a few copies of your book out to family members who needed the same advice. (Not that they've taken it.)

[kringi098]

Isn't all chiropractic treatment a sham?

I don't think so as one of my friends who has severe shoulder pain has undergone chiropractic from a clinic in Oakville. I could see the changes in her. She said she felt a slight relief from the pain after suffering for months. It's been just a few weeks since she had been to this chiropractic clinic and I hope she will fully recover from the pain.

[Palladio]

Rip's article is right. I injured my back badly 20 years ago, enough to need emergency surgery and a back brace. One disc in my upper back is thin, and the surgeon told me I'd never be able to load my spine safely again. I believed him, because, hey, surgeon.

After finding Starting Strength, I decided to try squatting really light, and stopping if I felt any numbness, tingling in my legs, and/or pain. Squats and deadlifts have kept me free of back pain; I don't expect to set any records, but I can live normally.

[Matt Neilsen]

About two months ago my girlfriend and I convinced her dad to give strength training a try. He's been a chiropractor for over 35 years and had a very negative view of what "lifting weights" meant. He has multiple disc herniations and has had pretty severe back pain for years.

I got him set up with a training session with Leah Lutz, SSC and it's been a life-changer for him. His back pain is about 10-20% of what it was before, and he literally won't stop talking about strength training with his patients now.

I sent him this article a couple days ago, and he just gave me a call to say he read it and loved it. In his words, "6 months ago I would have dismissed this article, but now I see it working in my life. My back started flaring up again this weekend so I squatted and deadlifted today (he's around 200lbs on his work sets), and just like the article said my back feels better. If you know the author, tell him he's right on and this shit works."

Seeing this 61 year old guy get his movement back makes me every happy. This stuff makes a real difference.

Thanks again for the article, Rip.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Got this email this morning:

Mark I read your recent article: Back Pain and Back Strength and had to drop you a note. I am a success story, one example of proof of what you say in that article.

I am 68 years old. Most of my life I’ve endured serious back pain, had my first spinal fusion surgery at age 16 (1965 for Spondylolisthesis) and my second in 2003 at age 55.

Over the years I tried everything to conquer this pain: Acupuncture, Chiropractic manipulations, Epidural Steroid Injections, Trigger Point Steroid Injections, SI Injections, S-1 Nerve Root Steroid Injections, Physical Therapy, Swimming, T’ai Chi, Qigong, Kung Fu, Svaroopa Yoga, meditation, and various forms of narcotic pain meditation such as Darvocet, Percocet, Fentanyl, Oxycontin . . . but nothing worked. I could barely walk up stairs. It was actually painful standing at the photocopy machine!

When I turned 65 and retired, I decided enough was enough, went cold turkey off the narcotic pain meds I’d been on for 15 years and began lifting weights. Very slowly at first, dumbbell exercises for 6 months, then bought a barbell, cleared out half my garage for a gym instead: Olympic set, bench, power rack, pulldown machine. Focused primarily on the big compound exercises: Squat, DL, BP sticking with low reps and sets because recovery at my age is a problem.

Since the adoption of weightlifting and my emancipation from doctors and narcotic pain pills and all the rest of the nonsense, I have been pain free. I don’t mean a diminishment of pain, I mean pain free, period. Just 2 weeks ago I did a 330 lb. squat and a 380 lb. deadlift at a bodyweight of 190. It is no exaggeration to say that weightlifting has saved my life.

Thanks Mark for all you do to keep us informed, educated and excited about strength through weightlifting.
sincerely
Mike Estabrook