Lower back blow out

[El Viejo]

The other day I was sitting in a chair bent over assembling a night stand that I bought at Ikea. When I stood up my lower back locked up. The pain was so bad that I couldn't move. I had to get my wife to grab me in a bear hug and lift up to apply some traction to my lower back.

I went to the doctor the next day. He put me through various moves and determined that I didn't have the symptoms of a herniated disk. He said it looked like a classic case of 'lumbago'. The all encompassing non-specific term for lower back pain. He prescribed ibuprophen and a muscle relaxant and said it would probably take about 3 weeks or so before I'd be back to normal.

This really pisses me off because it's going to set back my squat and deadlift goals by months. Obviously squats, deadlifts, and over-head presses (the meat and potatoes of my training program) are out of the question for the immediate future. On Monday I'm going to start a program based around dips, chin-ups, and hanging leg raises. All of which completely de-load the lower back.

Has anybody here had this happen to them? The doctor seemed somewhat surprised that at my age (58) I hadn't experienced this before. If you've had it, what kind of rehab exercises did you do and how soon after the injury did you start? I'm thinking of starting off with back extensions on the 45º hyper extension thing and light Romanian deadlifts as soon as I feel up to it. Maybe in 2 weeks or so.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[rdp]

Are you still in pain with difficulty moving?

One school of thought is that absent a specific injury, try to continue training. If it gets worse, stop or ease. Otherwise, do what you can. Doctors very often are overly conservative and will prescribe rest and drugs out of reflex.

Another school of thought is to discount advice from strangers on the internet

Good luck!

[ColoWayno]

Squatting, Deadlifting and advice from a book called 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back have all helped me a lot.

Google this for more info:
site:startingstrength.com stretch lying

It's just generally good for recovery, but especially in situations like yours. The book has a lot of glossy pictures that are cool but not necessary, but it's still worth the price IMHO.

Good luck!

[jameson]

This has happened to me twice. The first time, over a year ago, it took probably 2 months to fully heal. The last time, just a few weeks ago, it took only about a week. This last time was actually worse symptomatically than the first time, yet took less time to heal. I did the same rehab both times - chiro and high rep work focusing on my low back. However, this last time, I also did farmer's walks using only one hand. This specifically hits the quadratus lumborum which is usually the culprit for this type of low back pain.

To be concise, I took one of the pre-fab barbells (90-100lbs) in one hand and walked 10yds, turned, and walked 10yds back. Then switched hands. I did this 3x each hand. The barbell + one handedness adds lability. When you take a step, the QL is the primary stabilizer for the pelvis, backbone, and ribs. Do the farmer's walks. They'll rehab and work a muscle that is rarely paid much attention, but should be. It's probably what gave out on you.

I don't know that the farmer's walk helped to the extent that it took less time to heal. The only differences between the two times I've experienced this were that exercise and my fitness level. It may just have been that I was stronger this go round. If you don't want to take my word for it, read Stu McGill. He and Pavel came up with this exercise for this precise injury.

[El Viejo]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. The worst part of this whole thing is that I work in a small post office with 2 guys that won't lift 40 lbs without help. They're afraid of damaging their backs. Both are out of shape with substantial beer bellies. I know that both of them are secretly happy to see this happen to me, as they are always telling me that I too old to be 'straining' myself lifting weights.

I also did farmer's walks using only one hand. This specifically hits the quadratus lumborum which is usually the culprit for this type of low back pain.....

I don't know that the farmer's walk helped to the extent that it took less time to heal. The only differences between the two times I've experienced this were that exercise and my fitness level. It may just have been that I was stronger this go round. If you don't want to take my word for it, read Stu McGill. He and Pavel came up with this exercise for this precise injury.

I'll give this a try just as soon as the pain and spasms go away. Dan John calls this the 'suitcase' carry. I squat twice a week and deadlift once a week which I always thought was more than sufficient work for the lower back, but I'll think about adding suitcase carries and farmer's walks to my program.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

+1 for high rep work.
When I did my back deadlifting, I started with very long sets (25 reps) at very light weight (40#); then I reduced the reps and increased the weight. I basically took the Bill Starr rehab protocol and applied it to an exercise that would use my lower back. The assumption was that I had not done anything to the disc, which seems to apply to your case.

IPB

[George Noble]

Reverse hypers. You can do them on a preacher bench with a band choked on a dumbbell behind it. Hook the band around your feet and lean over the bench so that you are holding the pins where the bar would sit with your hands.

[gman]

I've had the same thing happen to me 6-7 times over the last 20 years. Basically, it was a result of very tight hip flexors that locked up, resulting in excruciating pain, and an inability to stand up, much less walk. I have noticed that the stronger I've gotten, the less severe the episodes.

I've never tried the farmers walk as posted above, but that sounds interesting. What's worked for me is seeing a massage therapist on a regular basis (once you get over the acute inflammation), stretching on a regular basis, reverse hypers (I built a platform to fit in my squat rack for this) or back extensions, and following the bill starr protocol.

Good luck. In the future, try to incorporate some type of stretching on a regular basis

[Mark E. Hurling]

I've been lucky in that although I never had a vertebrae or disk damaging injury, my L4/L5 would go out on a regular basis, getting worse and worse (and more frequent) during the last 4 years. A year ago I changed chiropractors because the one I had been going to was too small to adjust my hip flexors with the type of twisting manuvers he was using. I wear a size 50 jacket and he was 5'9" 170 lbs soaking wet. Good guy, just not helping me any more.

The woman I go to now is not a physically imposing specimen but applies adjustments directly to the vertebrae in a manner I had never experienced before. No manuvering or torsion involved, and it worked pretty well. She also advised me to stretch my illiopsoas. It took about 9 months of stretching 4-5 times a week for 15+ minutes. I stretched lots of other stuff besides the illiopsoas. While my lower back still gets stiff and fatigued at age 59, I can lift much better now without too much worry.

[Gwyn Brookes]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. The worst part of this whole thing is that I work in a small post office with 2 guys that won't lift 40 lbs without help. They're afraid of damaging their backs. Both are out of shape with substantial beer bellies. I know that both of them are secretly happy to see this happen to me, as they are always telling me that I too old to be 'straining' myself lifting weights.

Well they are wrong, you didn't "strain" yourself lifting weights, did you? Most of these random back injuries happen when we're NOT training - and those of us who train get over them earlier and easier. Try a month recovery compared to two years. Or in my case, the last time I "strained" myself (reaching behind myself and down for some paper) - recovery in less than a week. Doctors who give you general diagnoses for musculosketal injuries don't know shit about what actually happened and what you need to recover. It's good to get a diagnosis anyway, to rule out the major stuff. Now that you've done that, trust yourself.