My first time on this forum. I have been lifting free weights for a number of years now but have only had two injuries so far. The only one which has plagued me is the back injury. I was doing "good morning lifts". Apparently incorrectly as it turned out. My lower back spasmed brutally and I spent two weeks hobbling about. That was a year ago and still have bad lower back pain since. I have not done this particular set for some time so as not to do more damage.

The doc says that it is deep tissue damage. No info beyond that. He isn't very forthcoming with details. DOH! His only answer was phsiotherapy)sp?) and that can get expensive. No health coverage. (Sucks!)

The pain is just along the hip bones and massage seems to help a bit. I also use a very strong horse liniment to ease the pain too.

I WAS doing the lifts to strengthen and tone my hams, upper thighs and buttocks. Did I do wrong? What else can I do to work that area with free weights?

Sorry for the long winded letter but I am anxious to tone that particular area as I am not just a female worried about good legs, buns, etc. but am serious about my entire body fitness.

I power walk 4 - 6 k every other day and try to do yoga regularly.

Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. I cannot afford a gym membership so I just do it all at home with free weights.

Cheers, AJ

p.s. I am in good shape overall and at the age of 45 have not had any serious injuries that I am aware of. I have been in two fairly serious car crashes but no back injuries detected at the time.

p.p.s. exrays done a month ago revealed no disc injuries.

p.p.p.s. I do squats regularly, very carefully. Is that OK?

Hi AJ,

Sorry, I can't answer your questions. They are way over my knowledge level. But I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forum.

Just a suggestion, but you might want to post this in the General Exercise forum. I think there is a lot more traffic there and more people will see it.

Arnie

Thanks Arnie, I appreciate your speedy reply. I just posted my ??? on the General Exercise Forum.

What sort of body conditioning are you into by the way? I meet so few others who are serious about their fitness.

Cheers, AJ

Hi AJ,

I'm an on again off again weightlifter. About fifteen years ago I started working out at a gym and did it religiously for about a year. Then I started to slack off and after that I'd show up for a little while, then not show up for a long time.

About four months ago I started to do the Body For Life program. It is outlined in a book by the same title, wrote by Bill Phillips. It is a three-month program of weightlifting, nutrition, and cardio. In the past four months I'm happy to say I haven't missed a day. I'm real happy about that. I'm really enjoying it and seeing some good results.

I hope you get some answers to your questions. It's tough to know how to work around injuries. But there are a lot of knowledgeable people here.

Arnie

Hi AJ

About 1 1/2 years ago, I had several spasms in my lower back which affected my facet joints, the QL (Quadratus Lumborum ) muscles and the psoas muscle. It was so bad that I was getting nauseous and I had to spend my waking hours laying on the floor with my knees bent. I got better but it took a lot of work.

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to see a physiotherapist and an amazing massage therapist who did "active release". The physiotherapist made me work on strengthening my postural muscles and the transversu abdominin muscles of the abs. Ab work, lower back exercises, tons of stretching (at least twice/day) and proprioception work were what I had to work on. I didn't touch a weight. All my work was done using a fitball, a mat and a balance board. Let me tell you, it was no easy feat.
I could give you a list of my exercises, but then you'd have to figure out the form. Instead, probably the closest thing that I have found to my physiotherapy was a book called Pilates on the Ball by Colleen Craig. She also has a video, which combines the fitball with pilates. www.pilatesontheball.com is the website, but you may be able to find it elsewhere. Don't let the look of the fitball fool you. When I saw the fitball, I thought "what kind of stupid thing is this" and then about 2 minutes later, I looked like a complete imbecile..... It can be quite challenging. It's also a great tool to help you stretch.

The other thing I found really helpful was taking magnesium. To this day, I also make sure I sleep with a pillow under my knees so as not to compress the facet joints.

I've been doing deadlifts and I haven't had any trouble. No spasms. My psoas muscles get a bit tight from them, but I use my fitball to stretch it out nicely.

I really sympathize with your pain. It's no fun! Hopefully this helps you a little and you find some way to get better.

Wanda

Thanks Wanda for your reply. I have heard very good things about Pilates. Karen Kain (ballerina) was an excellent spokesperson for it.

I will do some reseach on it and perhaps get one of the big goofy balls. It actually looks like fun.

Your dedication to fitness shines through. Keep on keeping on.

All my best, AJ

Hey Arnie, Wow you post replies quickly. Thank you. This is a great place to ask ???? You are right. Lots of help here.

Thanks again, Cheers, AJ

Hi AJ,

Nice to see you in here. I'm on week 4 of my first BFL challenge and I love it! Just wanted to "weigh in" on that fitball: I use one at the Y on my ab training days and I've never seen such great results before. Along with the stretching you can do on one, it is marvelous to use for ab training. Wanda's right - it's very challenging and totally isolates your abs so you can't cheat or pull on your neck or use your hip flexors.

badgoat

Hey Arnie, You are a riot. I just love your cartoons. Where do you get them. They remind me of the "Far Side" comics. VERRRRYYYY funny!! A great lift for the day.

I haven't tried the fit ball or whatever it is called here. It looks challenging. I just remember goofing around with big beach balls as a kid and they were great fun. And tough to stay on. I should get one. Lots of people are talking about how good they are for strengthing the back.

I will look into it.

I really appreciate your replies. You sound so dedicated to your body and wellnes. Are you diabetic by any chance. Just curious...

Cheers, AJ