Aa
My nagging lower back problem... :-(
I just registered to see if someone has a suggestion on my rather problematic lower back.
What I experience is not exactly a pain, and it is not on a spine but the muscle on both side of the lower spine, above the hip bone. It is a stiffness and general "nagging feeling" as if it needs to be loosened or "popped" good. It tires easily when I am on the same position on foot for some stretch of time, and when I am trying to get up in the morning it is not the sleepiness that is the problem, but the lower back which feels like glued on the bed and reluctant to support anything in a vertical position. (again, I do not feel a pain, just lack of energy and strength in that area)
My lower back has been always rather stiff and I have felt this problem more or less all of my life, but it seems to have intensified itself lately.
I do Body Pump 2 - 3 times a week, and when we do the squat routine my back start getting tired toward the end of the song, despite the fact that I never liked squatting and I only use very light weight (2,5kg on each side of the barbell).
Aside from the lower back stiffness I am extremely fit physically and I spend about 10-12 hours a week in a gym doing fairly intense exercises (weight training including body pump, fitboxe, body combat, spinning, aerobic dancing) without any problem (aside from the above mentioned squat routine).
Problem maybe on a back routine during the body pump class which include some clean and press movement. I have a bad habit of arching my back when I lift weights over head. When I do this sort of exercise on free weights I always use a back support but in a body pump class this is not possible. Even though I use fairly light weight for the body pump routine (7,5kg on both side of the barbell) I have been doing this program for over a year and it has been just for this past few weeks that my back got worsened and I can't think of any thing else that may have caused it.
Should I lay off body pump for a while (or at least skip the squat and back routine)?, is there any exercise routine to loosen and strengthen my lower back? Do I need to take any kind of medication?
If someone could provide me with some explanation on my condition and any suggestion on how to deal with it, I would immensely appreciate it.
TIA
Licia from Rome
What I experience is not exactly a pain, and it is not on a spine but the muscle on both side of the lower spine, above the hip bone. It is a stiffness and general "nagging feeling" as if it needs to be loosened or "popped" good. It tires easily when I am on the same position on foot for some stretch of time, and when I am trying to get up in the morning it is not the sleepiness that is the problem, but the lower back which feels like glued on the bed and reluctant to support anything in a vertical position. (again, I do not feel a pain, just lack of energy and strength in that area)
My lower back has been always rather stiff and I have felt this problem more or less all of my life, but it seems to have intensified itself lately.
I do Body Pump 2 - 3 times a week, and when we do the squat routine my back start getting tired toward the end of the song, despite the fact that I never liked squatting and I only use very light weight (2,5kg on each side of the barbell).
Aside from the lower back stiffness I am extremely fit physically and I spend about 10-12 hours a week in a gym doing fairly intense exercises (weight training including body pump, fitboxe, body combat, spinning, aerobic dancing) without any problem (aside from the above mentioned squat routine).
Problem maybe on a back routine during the body pump class which include some clean and press movement. I have a bad habit of arching my back when I lift weights over head. When I do this sort of exercise on free weights I always use a back support but in a body pump class this is not possible. Even though I use fairly light weight for the body pump routine (7,5kg on both side of the barbell) I have been doing this program for over a year and it has been just for this past few weeks that my back got worsened and I can't think of any thing else that may have caused it.
Should I lay off body pump for a while (or at least skip the squat and back routine)?, is there any exercise routine to loosen and strengthen my lower back? Do I need to take any kind of medication?
If someone could provide me with some explanation on my condition and any suggestion on how to deal with it, I would immensely appreciate it.
TIA
Licia from Rome
strengthening is the opposite of stretching/loosening. It sounds to me like tightness in the Quadratus muscle--- common. the answer is stretching/massage. it may take a while
Thanks so much for your suggestion!! I always suspected a weakness of my lower back, however I never encountered any effective routines. Right now, I am concentrating on stretching and loosening my lower back muscles which feel very tight, and as soon as it feels a little better (it's coming around slowly since I laid off for now any lifting routine that may stress my lower back), I will give your exercises a try. Thanks again!
It sounds like you need to strengthen your lower back muscles. The best one out there is what I call the "freefall". You lay on your stomach and stretch all limbs outward like an "X". Slowly you raise the legs, arms, and head upward away from the floor and balance on the stomach, like your are in a skydiving freefall and hold. Work up slowly from a second or two up to no more than one minute and slowly relax. Do this slowly to build up the muscles. Don't do too many too soon. Slow is the key. Start with one and gradually move up to whatever you like. Another good one is to lie on the stomach stretch out arms over head and grip something that isn't going to move. It can be flat or on an incline. Stretch legs straight outward, too and slowly lift away from the floor. Use whatever you are gripping for leverage. Lift until the lower body is off the floor, the back is arching and you are balancing on the stomach the chest and upper pelvis is on the floor. Don't overdo with the arching. Hold for a second to a half minute and repeat. Again do this slowly. Good luck.
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