Deal with lower back pain

[technobeast]

Hi friends.
For the last couple of weeks I've had some kind of lower back pain when I am seated. I have several possible reasons for this:
1.My job involves 9 hours of day sitting in front of PC and I continue at home.
2.My bed mattress - I got a new bed and mattress for the last couple of months, so this could be it.
3.Workouts - I've been training as many of you know (described in another thread) for climbing mount Elbrus later this year. And part of my workout includes back hyperextensions, squats.... this could be some reason too..

So, basically my question before visiting the doctor is: is there some way to basically relieve it, or get rid of it? It's not like a pain, more like a pressure, tiredness, etc. But it's not pleasant too. I need to find way to workout, train better because I'm running out of time to get prepared for the climb.
Thanks in advance
Alex

[wellbeing]

Alex, I'm sorry to hear about your back; from that list you posted, I can understand that it would be achey. From my own back experiences, I found paying attention to the pain (when is it? what kind of pain? persistent? intermittent? building? steady? what makes it worse? what makes it better? etc.) gives me a lot of clues about what's going on with my back and what I need to do to fix it. Although you said it was when you were seated, some more details might give you more insight.

For instance, if it was from bad posture while seated, you might find that when you first sit down, you're OK but then the longer you sit, the more your back "complains." If this is the case, being mindful of your posture (sitting up straight, stomach pulled in, supporting those fatigued back muscles) might be all you need. If this is the case, I know of a friend who had tucked a fork (tines pointed to the upper portion of her abdomen) under her waistband while she was sitting. If she slouched, the tines of the fork would poke her belly and remind her to sit up straight.

And, of course, taking short, frequent breaks from sitting would be helpful too. Even better, taking breaks and doing some simple stretches!

Some of the exercises that you're doing in preparation for your climb can be hard on the lower back, particularly back hyperextensions and squats. Form is really important in these exercises. Hopefully, you are training with someone who's knowledgable and very strict on the form. You may want to consider substituting other, more "back-friendly" exercises for the ones you're currently doing. (i.e., if the back hyperextension is the culprit, you can work the same muscles with the "superman" (or the "superman" on a Swiss ball); I know YouTube has videos of those.)

I think it's important to understand the message a pain is trying to give us before eliminating it, otherwise, the body tends to "up the ante" until we do get the message. Once you understand the dynamics of this message, you may want to see if an ice pack on the affected area will help. (People may suggest a heating pad but, as I understand it, while that may feel good in the short-term, it tends to increase inflammation in the affected areas--counter-productive to the body's own healing method.) Post here (or, of course, google it) if you have questions on how to properly apply an ice pack.

Please understand that I am NOT a medical professional; these are just from my own experiences with back issues. So feel free to accept or reject these friend-ly suggestions as you see fit. And, please, see a doctor immediately if you feel any kind of numbness.

I hope this is helpful.

[SmellyOrc]

Try hanging from a pull-up bar or something for a minute. No bent arms, no bent backs, legs straight if possible. You'll feel a nice stretch/pain in your lower back if you do it well. Do it a few times a day and then tell me how you feel.

[MasterD]

Buy pain-free at your pc by Pete Egoscue.

[technobeast]

I went to a doctor today and after some X-Rays I'm on injection for a couple of days. The good news is there are no herniated discs or discopathia. The bad are the injections and that the doctor told me that my spine curve was not OK in the lower back and I could be vulnerable to such conditions. Blah...
Thanks for the support, guys and girls.

[wellbeing]

Thanks for letting us know what the doctor said. Depending on how your spine curves (and the degree of curvature), yoga, Pilates and other exercises have been helpful in shaping and supporting people's spines.

Good luck in protecting yourself and getting ready for your climb!

[technobeast]

Originally Posted by wellbeing

Thanks for letting us know what the doctor said. Depending on how your spine curves (and the degree of curvature), yoga, Pilates and other exercises have been helpful in shaping and supporting people's spines.

Good luck in protecting yourself and getting ready for your climb!

Thanks for the good words 'wellbeing'! I'm somehow depressed now, because I only have 3 months to prepare myself ready and a pain to deal with. Not knowing what to do is hard. I've always thought that for this type of activity *mountain hiking* I have to have good physical preparation from weightlifting, running, bicycling and similar types of activities. Now this seems scary to me - what if I bring myself worse trauma than that.....

Alex

[Dharma]

By *mountain hiking* do you mean backpacking or mountaineering (ropes, ice axes, snow)?

I had a herniated disc last year and I backpack now. I hope to start rock climbing in the summer. It does heal.

A chiropractor might suggest a plan of action concerning your spine and some stretches/exercises to correct the curve and to also build strength in your core muscles.

[bobo]

Have you tried Mbt shoes? They worked wonders for my backpain. and you can use them in your everyday routine, but they will still get you a workout. google it and you will find out more about them.

[technobeast]

@Dharma - it's more of the second you state. I'm considering taking some yoga classes as wellbeing suggested. Added to the other activities....

@bobo - thanks for this suggestion, but I was hoping to help myself via more "natural" ways. MBT shoes look great and I will surely try them if the alternatives (yoga, chiropractors) do not work... thanks