Should I drop weight for back recovery

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

So I've been dealing with this lower back ache/hip pain for a while now. I have gone to a DO that does adjustments. I guess my hips were out of whack. And apparently they are better. But I still have that nagging pain. That gets worse every now and again. I guess it did sorta get worse during my period of doing the 5x5 workout, but I'm not sure. Currently I'm doing 5x5 but a vertical/horizontal split.

It doesn't hurt when I do deads or squats. But usually regular activity. Sitting to standing. Stuff like that. However, I do wonder if the heavy weight on those is aggravating it.

I had debated to drop my weight and do higher reps but I like what pushing heavy seems to do and worry I'll lose muscle or hurt my gains by going lighter. I was thinking only to drop so I'm in the 7-8 rep area.

What is your opinion on this? I'm supposed to do squats tomorrow and right now my back is killing me. The thought makes me wanna cry.

[Sandy]

So I've been dealing with this lower back ache/hip pain for a while now. I have gone to a DO that does adjustments. I guess my hips were out of whack. And apparently they are better. But I still have that nagging pain. That gets worse every now and again. I guess it did sorta get worse during my period of doing the 5x5 workout, but I'm not sure. Currently I'm doing 5x5 but a vertical/horizontal split.

It doesn't hurt when I do deads or squats. But usually regular activity. Sitting to standing. Stuff like that. However, I do wonder if the heavy weight on those is aggravating it.

I had debated to drop my weight and do higher reps but I like what pushing heavy seems to do and worry I'll lose muscle or hurt my gains by going lighter. I was thinking only to drop so I'm in the 7-8 rep area.

What is your opinion on this? I'm supposed to do squats tomorrow and right now my back is killing me. The thought makes me wanna cry.

Personally, I would stop those exercises with lower back pain. Speak to the medical professional who is treating you for exercise recommendations.

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

Personally, I would stop those exercises with lower back pain. Speak to the medical professional who is treating you for exercise recommendations.

He knows I lift weights, and has not said anything about it. His only recommendation was to do alot of walking on low incline for at least 30 min stretches 3-4 times a week, he said if I could do 50 min, wonderful. Supposed to help realign the body when you do repetitive large muscle movements as long as you keep your body aligned and in good form when walking.

My trainer does alot if rehab stuff and she has seen me do deads and hasn't said anything. She wanted me to do like swim motions as she said I have some weakness in some area of my lower back I must strengthen. I honestly don't know.

My other thought is to try and find someone that does art to see if that will help.

Last time I went to the DO he wanted to start me on pain meds, which I refused. I won't take those, not to mention I don't think I'm at that point.

I guess I could specifically ask. But to be honest, I don't always agree with my trainers philosophies about some stuff. So I don't think I'd trust her answer.

And the doctor scares me lol

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

Oh. And the doctor does want and ordered lumbar films. I still need to get them done though. With the holiday I couldn't.

[Inatic]

Id try and find an ART doc. www.activerelease.com

[Cathie]

Even though it doesn't hurt to do deads or squats, I would still lower the weight and find an ART provider.

[jaleena]

I know all too well the frustration of not seeing what you want on the bar.
But I also know all too well that it takes more than a few weeks off to lose actual muscle/strength. You might spend a workout finding your groove on each lift if you take off long enough (I took a few workouts after spending about 6wks in bed), but if you keep your protein up to a decent level, you'll be fine.
By far better to get treated when things are at the "annoyance/aggravation" stage, than a true injury stage. The knife is what does people in for the >1month layoffs.

[Erik]

Dropping to the 7-8 range will not cause you any loss of mass so don't worry about that; that's still heavy work.

You definitely want to avoid any movement that is causing discomfort. That part goes without saying.

Do you do any dynamic warm ups / mobility work prior to your workouts? Any static stretching PWO or at any other times? (thinking hips and thoracic spine areas).

I'd also second the recommendation to find a good ART guy.

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

ok, that sounds like a good idea.

I definitely want to find someone that does ART in my area.

As far as active mobility warmup. I do do some stuff, especially related to my lower body and hip warmup, and glute activation stuff, especially when I am training legs.

I do stretch after workout. I had been slacking in this area for a while, do to time restraints, but after starting to have so much problems and pain I really have made a great effort to do that along with foam rolling the area alot.

Thank you for all your responses. Im definitely going to do that with the weight for a bit. Get that film done, and go from there. Im hopeful nothing is actually wrong and it is all just overworked or something (some inflammation or something).

[clc315]

You mind going into detail regarding your hips being "out of whack"? Have you been given a specific medical diagnosis? Depending on your diagnosis, an ART provider may or may not be what you really need. Are you being proactive in corrective exercises i.e flexibility, mobility and stability? Regarding exercises, obviously don't perform any that cause pain. I would also drop all bilateral lower body exercises for unilateral exercises. There's alot less stress on the lowerback on the reverse lunge, split squat etc than a barbell squat or deadlift.

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

You mind going into detail regarding your hips being "out of whack"? Have you been given a specific medical diagnosis? Depending on your diagnosis, an ART provider may or may not be what you really need. Are you being proactive in corrective exercises i.e flexibility, mobility and stability? Regarding exercises, obviously don't perform any that cause pain. I would also drop all bilateral lower body exercises for unilateral exercises. There's alot less stress on the lowerback on the reverse lunge, split squat etc than a barbell squat or deadlift.

Well I started with some tightness in my lumbar back muscles, that was mostly on the right. This was like 2 years ago. I was told then by a kinesiologist/therapist, that I was getting pain because my lower back on the right was compensating for my lack of glute activation on my left glute. So I have worked to try and activate my glutes since. Glutes are also my weakest body part and I hold alot more fat in this area (which yes, I know is normal for a female).

Anyway, about in July I started getting a pain/ache in my right hip. It felt initially more like it was just really tight. I feel it when I stretch that hip, so assumed initially it was that. But I started having increased ache when I would get up from sitting..that sorta extended to my whole lower back. Massage has definitely helped, but I finally went to a DO, who does some orthopedic adjustments (he is NOT a chiropractor). Anyway, he told me that my left hip was anteriorly rotated more than my right hip. So bascially they weren't aligned evenly, one going one way, one going another. So I have worked with him to get them aligned. Which last time I went he told me they were. But I still have this pain, and tightness in my lower back and hip area that gets better when I see him and gets worse after and over time. At this point, Im not sure if it is just soft tissue problem, or skeletal. Im kinda hopeful it is just overwork, muscle stuff...as it does feel better with massage and stretching, and foam rolling.

The other thing is, around June, my trainer started having me do these jump squats in a circuit thing. They were kinda a wide deep, jump squat, no extra weight (just BW) but they were just on the hard ground. I wonder if that didnt agravate something. I have refused to do the circuit thing for weeks now, as the thought of the pounded, is not something I want to do. She has been understanding and we have done other things. I dunno, would this kind of movement be an issue you think. The floor we do it on, has like no cushion.

[clc315]

I assume you are consistent with your foam rolling and stretching? Are you following that with stability and strength work? If not, it could be a case of 1 step forward, one step back. You have to address all 3 components of the kinetic chain if you want to make permanent changes.....i.e skeletal(adjustments), muscular(massage, foam roll, stretch etc), and the nervous system(strength and stability). Once you acquire new joint mobility and muscular flexibility, you must incorporate the new "program" into the nervous system or there really is no correction. To paraphrase a quote I once read, " loosen it up with WD-40, but make it stick with duct tape"

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

I assume you are consistent with your foam rolling and stretching? Are you following that with stability and strength work? If not, it could be a case of 1 step forward, one step back. You have to address all 3 components of the kinetic chain if you want to make permanent changes.....i.e skeletal(adjustments), muscular(massage, foam roll, stretch etc), and the nervous system(strength and stability). Once you acquire new joint mobility and muscular flexibility, you must incorporate the new "program" into the nervous system or there really is no correction. To paraphrase a quote I once read, " loosen it up with WD-40, but make it stick with duct tape"

I honestly hadn't been consistant with stretching and foam rolling. I have been lately, but I went through a period where I failed to really put time into stretching. I used to stretch all the time, it was a prime component of my exercise routine, and then I got busy, lost time, and that is what disappeared. I have really been putting time into it again, and I do think that is definitely helping.

As far as stability exercises. What kind are you referring to? This may not be something I am doing. But I also am not sure what you mean by that, so Im assuming I don't.

[clc315]

I honestly hadn't been consistant with stretching and foam rolling. I have been lately, but I went through a period where I failed to really put time into stretching. I used to stretch all the time, it was a prime component of my exercise routine, and then I got busy, lost time, and that is what disappeared. I have really been putting time into it again, and I do think that is definitely helping.

As far as stability exercises. What kind are you referring to? This may not be something I am doing. But I also am not sure what you mean by that, so Im assuming I don't.

Exercises such as single leg squats, one leg deadlifts, eccentric leg curls on slideboard/sliders. This could be a time where someone could incoporate slightly unstable surfaces i.e. airex pad, dyna disc etc.

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

Exercises such as single leg squats, one leg deadlifts, eccentric leg curls on slideboard/sliders. This could be a time where someone could incoporate slightly unstable surfaces i.e. airex pad, dyna disc etc.

Oh ok. I do do a little of that. I do bulgarian split squats, and on occasion do single leg leg press, or squats (not too regularly though). I do things like planks, or where I am in plank, bring my feet in (butt goes in the air), not sure what it is called with a stability ball.

Ill try to incorporate more of those things. I do have ALOT of flexibility in my hips also. Which I sometimes wonder if that isnt some of the issue. So I havent or dont always have alot of stability in that area.

[clc315]

While the exercises you listed are good, they probably won't hit the glute/hip complex as a stabilizer as much as the ones I listed. Regarding planks, I'm assuming you're not sticking your "butt in the air"....think straight line through the body while getting "long" throughout the spine.

How are you assessing your hip flexibility? Lack of stability and pelvic control can also be an issue.

[Little1]

:bbump2::bbump2:

Sorry to bump this old thread but your pain in lower back/ hip area sounds exactly what I am experiencing (last 5 months) and was wondering how yours is, or if you had some good results ect :)