Chronic Lower Back Pain Solutions??? page

[Redskins Hail]

Hi everyone,
I have been doing Primal Blueprint for about 4 months, and have been doing Crossfit style workouts for over 6 months. I really enjoy Primal and Crossfit. I am 5'11, 180lbs, 27 years old, and have played sports such as basketball and soccer all of my life. However, I have been having chronic lower back pain for over 3 months now. I workout every weekday, with a warmup of stretching, timed sit ups for a minute, and 74 push ups without resting. I will then do whatever the crossfit workout of the day is or crossfit workout, that I create myself. Unfortunately, I now have lower back pain when running and especially notice it during my situps and push ups. I have never had any back issues or injures, and even got my back X-Rayed recently that showed no injuries. I would greatly appreciate any advice on how to stop/cure my lowering back pain.

[Apex Predator]

Stop doing situps, first. See if that helps.

Love the SN, btw.

[Martha]

This book is wonderful. There is a short set of exercises to do before you even get out of bed. When i do them, the whole day goes better.

Amazon.com: Breathworks for Your Back (9780380790449): Nancy Swayzee: Books

[WildGrok]

Buy this book in Amazon, "8 steps for a pain free back" by Esther Gokhale. Just check the reviews. It solved my back pain problem.

[Analog6]

Swimming as part of your routine - my back pain is totally gone.

[cavedog]

McKenzie exercises- Robin McKenzie, 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, or check youtube. The docs wanted to schedule my surgery ASAP. 2 years later I am running, lifting, and am pain free. So simple, so easy, so effective.

Good luck!

[patski]

Buy a longboard.

I'm serious! My back pain post-accident is almost completely gone. I went out yesterday for over an hour and I feel great today! No pain.

I'd also quit with the sit-ups.

[WildGrok]

Buy this book "8 steps for a pain free back" by Esther Gokhale. Read some of the amazon reviews. Mark had her come to the PrimalCon (search Marks site for Esther Gokhale)

[dragonmamma]

I second the recommendation to stop the sit-ups. No reason to do them; they're a shitty core exercise and put excess strain on the back. Check out this article: Top 5 Exercises to build Six Pack Abs without sit-ups

[Fiji]

If you have had an x-ray done, I imagine you have seen a doctor for your chronic back pain. However, an x-ray will only show bone fractures, it does not show the state of soft tissues so you really need to have an MRI to see if you have any issues with your discs like a herniated disc. If the pain continues, I suggest you go see a specialist, specifically an orthopedic doctor and have an MRI done to confirm. If you are still able to move around and do crossfit type exercises, I take it the pain is not debilitating which is a good thing, but you have to be careful not to aggravate the situation.

I am not sure crossfit type exercises are the best for back pain as the pace may lead you to compromise proper form. You should really make sure your exercises are done with proper form. Assuming you have a lower back issue, sit-ups are not the best. When doing any kind of bending, make sure you are doing so from the hips and not with the lower back. Heat packs before bed help alleviate the pain. There's a lot to be said for giving the back some rest as well.