ARRRGGGHHH!!!!! *warning....short rant*
 

I had an awesome day yesterday (as I posted earlier in the Success forum) and tonight, i do my stretches, get started and then 10 min into my workout, i go down into a squat and my back gets messed up! Now I can barely sit without hurting! DAMN!! I just got off the internet and phone trying to set up a vacation with a friend to go to Key West in August, thinking I will have worked out and done wonders to myself by then.

Now what am I gonna do?!? I will call the Dr in the morning if it isn't better....I apologize for the whining, but darn it, I get remotivated and now this! Ugh.

*grumbling and in a funk* Vanessa:mad:

you know, I have a bad back (lower back, I pinched a few nerves last year). A good exercise, but one that looks perverse is lying on your back with your knees bent. put your arms by your sides on the ground and lift your pelvis. This is great for streching out that lower back and your abdominals. Also, don't twist your torso for any exercises!!!!

I think in yoga there's something called cat stretches or something like that. Ice, heat, ibuprofen!
And today lay on your back with your knees cricked and do arms things instead.
Gently now, we need to look after our backs. Walking, sauntering may be the best you can do today.

Tell us the details of your squat, maybe we can prevent this from happening again.

Be careful and see your doctor first before you start doing too much stretching of it and exercise. When I messed my back up (bending over to pick up a toy off the ground) I felt something kind of pop/twang type feeling, like a guitar string would if it broke, if that makes sense, and next thing I know, I'm practically on the floor in SEVERE pain. Went to the ER and they diagnosed sciatica (cause I had pain down my left leg too), sent me home with muscle relaxers and told me to rest, etc. etc. I was in severe pain for weeks and weeks before it eventually let up a bit. It never went completely away though. It hurt to sit, stand, walk, lay down, etc. But, with no insurance, I didn't pursue it too much. Then, about two years later, I bent over in the shower to pick up a shampoo bottle I had dropped. Same thing happened, Severe pain and that twang feeling. Pain, pain, pain, pain. Uggh. Long story short, I couldn't sit for more than 5-10 minutes without crying in pain. Had to quit my job sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day. Luckily, I had met my then significant other soon to be husband and he supported me for a few months, then I moved in with him. I went to the doctor again. They did x-rays, etc. Couldn't find anything wrong. I got muscle relaxers again. Went for months in pain. It would slack up a bit, then come back with a vengence. I couldn't work. It was all I could do to drive my son back and forth to school My husband and I got married, and as soon as the insurance kicked in, I insisted on an MRI, but insurance wouldn't pay for it unless I had nerve conduction tests done too. By then I was having numbness in my arms and legs as well as the pain in my back. I was trying to exercise but I hurt so bad most of my days were spent laying around in bed. Then, I just ended up hurting worse. Anyway, I finally got approved for the darn MRI and found that I had two bulging discs in my back, pressing on the nerves. But, they were not "bad enough" for surgery (which I didn't want anyway). The numbness turned out to be related to all the sweeteners I was consuming, cause the neurologist told me to quit drinking diet soda and using sweeteners cause I had been doing that for more than 20 years. When I quit that (cold turkey) within two weeks the numbness cleared up. So, at least that didn't appear to be related to my back.

I still have problems with my back sometimes. But, it had finally gotten well enough that I could exercise a bit and try to stengthen it. Knowing that I have two bulging discs that could rupture keeps me from trying to do things that would not be good for it. But, I do Curves, except for the squat machine which puts too much pressure/compression on my spine. I also take Tae Kwon Do now, started in September. And, I walk as much as I can. So, exercise HAS helped strengthen my back and make it feel better, but I'm glad I didn't attempt to do too much without knowing what my situation was or it could have been made worse.

I will probably always have problems with my back. It hurts to sleep on my left side, cause it puts too much pressure on it. I can't do floor exercises that put any kind of pressure on those discs like sit ups. It's the lower discs, L4 and L5. It's hard to do Pilates or Yoga if it involves any kind of laying on my back. I can't do the Curves squat machine, or some exercises in Tae Kwon Do. But, I've learned to modify, and do the best I can with the exercises I can do.

So, I know this is really long, but I just want to warn you to be very careful when you have a back injury, and please go get it checked out if you can, ok? Good luck!

Kathy
Merritt Island, FL

:hug: Sorry to hear about the ouchie.

I hope that it is nothing serious and you will be back in fighting shape soon.

THank you all for the thoughts....it is a little better today...but i called and scheduled a dr appt for wednesday. kitkat...wow...i'm so sorry to hear that, but i'm glad things have turned out a little better. Thankfully, mine hasn't been that bad... but with that kind of warning, i will definitely go to the dr.



I'm going to take it easy this evening, and then tomorrow do arm stuff. Thank you all!!!

Vanessa

**EDIT: SusanB... I was standing with my legs a little over shoulder width apart (which I think might have been my mistake), I was tired, and I bent, arms going to the front. It was when i hit the end of the squat that it happened. I was leaning forward slightly, so my back wasn't straight up and down.

I did something like that to myself about six weeks ago. I was doing one of those bridge stretches where you lie on the floor on your back and then stretch up onto your hands and feet. The "bridge" only got about halfway up before *KABOOM!* and down it went.

I was in quite a bit of pain for about two days, and sore for a week or two (especially in the mornings) but it did clear up. I highly recommend heating pads and hot showers.

Good that you're seeing a doctor. You're smarter than I was. :)

There are wide and narrow stance squats I *think*. The most trouble I have is remembering to arch my back a bit and push up off my heels. it's really easy to lose concentration and use your back too much.

How are ya today?

Tamibeep! Oh my Lordy! A bridge! I can't think of any diplomatic way to say this so ... DON'T DO THAT! ... no adult should, who hasn't had years of practice and a spotter. I'll maybe run that past the fitness guru's here but OI OI OI OI! I just don't think so.

Thank you all for the nice thoughts. My back is doing much better, but I'm afraid other things are broken now. My "surrogate brother" was a Marine in Iraq, with 40 days left in this deployment. We found out yesterday that he was killed Tuesday afternoon by a roadside bomb. The funeral will be sometime this week or the beginning of next, so it looks like things are not going uphill at the moment. It has definietly not been a very good week.

Planks are a great way to strengthen your core muscles, and work up to bridges. Start out by holding the position on the floor on your toes and elbows, and your back flat. When you can do this for at least a minute, you are strong enough to try doing a bridge without hurting yourself ;)

Mel

Grumbleworts, I'm so sorry to hear about your surrogate brother. Please take good care for the next few weeks.

Jay