I had soft tissue damage on my back from my car accident a few years ago. The pain was excruciating. I am not talking about the ache on your back after a day of weeding in your garden. I am talking about 12 OTC ibuprofen pills popping a day type of pain that last for months. I always thought I understand back pain when other people about it. But I never really understood it until I cannot sleep even after taking Vicodon.
The thing about back pain is that sometimes it can occur without being directly related to an accident. My younger brother developed severed back problems four years ago where he had to take 3 weeks off from work. He did not exercise and worked 12 hours days for months, sitting on that office chair, because they were short staffed.
I still have periodic flare-ups, usually after sitting for 3 hours or more, but after some icing (a flexible ice blanket such as Cryopak is better than a bag of peas) and stretching, I am usually fine the next day. My brother, on the other hand, will have flare-ups that last for days. What causes this difference in recovery time? Exercise. Regular maintenance exercise, focusing on strengthening my core and stretching my legs.
The difference that exercise can make
Research shows that muscles start to atrophy when you stopping moving. More than 2 days of inactivity can make already weaken muscles weaker, stiff, and more prone to re-injury. Whereas, exercise builds strength and enhances blood flow to the discs, joints, and muscles, hence speeding up healing process. You can refer to this article for further information.
The back pain attributed to desk jockeys are often caused by hours of immobility, causing tightness on the hamstrings, piriformis, psoas major, hip flexors, or gluteus muscles.
My brother’s method vs. mine
My brother does not exercise unless his back starts aching. Then he would go for walks, does his stretching, and bears the pain for a few days until it goes away.
I work out regularly. Cardio mainly consists of walking or biking, nothing with too much impact. I strength trained, focusing mostly on my back and abs. I stretch every day for 5-10 minutes focusing on my leg muscles. My favorite stretches are pigeon pose (you need to work up to this one), the warrior post, the triangle pose, the shin cradle, and back and inner thigh of leg stretch.
Once a week I squeeze in one yoga session in my workout routine. I like to workout at home with dvds. A beginner yoga dvd I recommend is Beyond Basic Yoga for Dummies
Another good one is Sara Ivanhoe’s 20 Minute Yoga Makeover: Sculpted Buns & Thighs
What you do every day for your back as a preventative measure is just as important as what you do when you are injured. But at least with preventative measure you do not have to suffer through it. Even if you do not workout regularly, stretching regularly will help. Feel free to comment or send me an email if what you are doing is giving you success with managing your back pain.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by.
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