How to manage a bad back?

[Dan Maynard]

.
Occasionally when I have to lift big lumps and my lads aren’t about I put on my weightlifters belt which keeps everything in place.

Saw 'em in half !!

(the lumps that is, not the lads).

[Billhook]

I had a bad back injury when I was 18.  I was working on a dairy farm and loading large sacks of meal onto a hopper.  I undid the stitching as I had done on the previous 100 bags but some barsteward had put another line of stitching which i did not see so when I leant forward to drop the contents nothing came out and the shock of the weight put my back out

I played 1st team league hockey for years and found no problem when I was warm and playing hard , but I would seize up after an hour of sitting and chatting by the bar.  Beer did not help!

My recipe now is to go to work warmed up so I do a 4 mile bike ride each day before work and also have an ABS machine to do 30 stretches and stomach muscle tensioners before the bike ride.  Hot bath last thing at night with bath salts.

Becoming a bit old now,( a year behind Stubby!) hence the  Lockdown Splitter which means I do not have to do any heavy lifting.  It has been modified again so I need to post a new video

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by Billhook

[Baldbloke]

Probably like many on here I suffer with back problems. Over the last year or two its become a major issue and required time off my regular work of log cutting and feeding the processor.
 
Recently I have been using a back brace which seems to help quite a bit but not exactly comfortable to wear and might lead to other problems?
 
Just interested in how other manage. Pain killers, physio, gym work, massage, operations of something else? 

First time I got into difficulties with a bad back an osteopath sorted it with one wrench. Most impressive. He pointed out the visible issue to my wife before lifting, dropping and catching me in a certain way to use my body weight to put everything back into alignment. Continuing bad lifting techniques, partly due to broken knee ligaments unfortunately mean regular revisits.
I later knackered a disc and even privately paid for an MRI scan which showed an impressive white rupture which I treated with co codamol, white wine and rest. It got better prior to a privately booked op that would have cost thousands. But If I overdo the chainsaw work it comes back to remind me by the evening.

Visit an osteopath and follow his exercise advice to the letter[emoji1303]

[Baldbloke]

If you're in any doubt about the root cause I'd suggest an MRI scan. I spent many years and much money on physios and osteopaths until one of them suggested an MRI. They organised it and the cost was £150 ish but it showed a collapsed disc at l5/s1. Some NHS bolts and screws and I now have no back pain.

Point is up until that MRI all I was doing was treating the symptoms not the cause.

That was cheap! I paid £500 for a 7.30am private MRI scan 20 odd years ago!

[Woodworks]

7 hours ago, Billhook said:

I had a bad back injury when I was 18.  I was working on a dairy farm and loading large sacks of meal onto a hopper.  I undid the stitching as I had done on the previous 100 bags but some barsteward had put another line of stitching which i did not see so when I leant forward to drop the contents nothing came out and the shock of the weight put my back out

I played 1st team league hockey for years and found no problem when I was warm and playing hard , but I would seize up after an hour of sitting and chatting by the bar.  Beer did not help!

My recipe now is to go to work warmed up so I do a 4 mile bike ride each day before work and also have an ABS machine to do 30 stretches and stomach muscle tensioners before the bike ride.  Hot bath last thing at night with bath salts.

Becoming a bit old now,( a year behind Stubby!) hence the  Lockdown Splitter which means I do not have to do any heavy lifting.  It has been modified again so I need to post a new video

 

Those are the sort of lumps that I need to manage more efficiently. Love your box splitter and being ably to  just slide them across from the cutting point to the splitter. 

[Billhook]

18 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Those are the sort of lumps that I need to manage more efficiently. Love your box splitter and being ably to  just slide them across from the cutting point to the splitter. 

If I can find an easier way to do a job, I will!   We have all these mechanical devices, hydraulic , electric and engine power so we must use them when possible, not just do some stupid lift because you cannot be bothered to go and fetch the machine, or because you are worried about appearing weak in front of your colleagues.  I would not be doing woodwork without the Matbro Teleporter.

I have had my fair share of doctors and osteos over the years, the doctors recommending ibuprofen mainly (which I do not take as I need to know what is going on)  and physio/osteo /chiros who made me feel better at the time but after the car journey home I was nearly back to square one.

My conclusion is that I need to strengthen the back muscles evenly to give my back enough strength to hold the discs apart and not trap a nerve.  This means paying attention to the stomach muscles so that the stress on the back is not one sided.

On top of this of course is general fitness and diet.  Although I was playing a lot of hockey, I weighed over 17 stone at times but carried it fairly evenly and not as a massive beer gut.  But it was far too much so I have managed to reduce that to 14 stone now which is comfortable and about right for my build.

I prefer cycling which is more gentle on the back than running and the hills around here help to make me work harder!

The result is that if I do suffer an occasional twinge, I react to it immediately so it does not last much longer than a day whereas before it would have been  week or more.

 

[Stephen Blair]

This should help mine !

 

 

best go , off to my weekly physio😀

[bigtreedon]

That was cheap! I paid £500 for a 7.30am private MRI scan 20 odd years ago!

Mri's are considerably cheaper than that now around £200-£250 wear I am

[Svts]

I had a good back up until I ignored a rugby injury and ended up out of action for 6 weeks in my early 20s.

Almost ended up in hospital with horrendous sciatica. It took a few years to get over properly. 

Since then its been problematic if I've not kept it in good shape and or overdone it. 

Things I find help... 

Simple stretches if I feel it starting to tighten. Cycling seems to both strengthen and relax it. Nothing too full on just a good sustained rhythmic movement. 

Simple exercises to keep a good level of core strength. Such as crunches, deadlifts and pressups. Nothing too heavy just regular and trying to keep good form. 

Try and lift things without twisting. Using two tongs to lift and stack lengths rather than dragging lengths with one Tong. Try and flex at the hip while keeping my spine straight and not hunched over. Avoid over reaching with the saw. And trying hard not to push on and get a few more trees cut and stacked at the end of the day.  Fatigue will undo it all really quickly. 

 

 

[youngsbury]

As a 25year old rugby playing judo throwing scaffolder ( now 52 ) I jumped out of the lorry cab at the end of the day and twisted as I landed and felt a pssst. Gradually throughout the evening got twinges then woke up in the morning stood up and MY GOD literally fell to the floor. The shear pain was unbelievable I couldn’t do anything. Was living on my own and had to pee in a saucepan because I couldn’t even bend. 
Turned out I had ruptured my L5 and I was now flat and had compressed on nerves. Now 27years later still giving me grief occasionally but manageable with 10minutes light stretching in the morning without fail and generally keeping strong and healthy. I take a supplement of glucosamine and chondroitin which tbh don’t know if it helps or not but was recommended by my physio.