Tightness/pain in the lower back: how to release tension?

[jaja]

Hi everybody, it's been a while since my last post.

As a number of you know, I suffer from APT and I'm trying my best to fix it through stretching (HF, mainly) and physical exercise. As a result of this condition, I've always had a good amount of tension in my lumbar region, but most of the time it didn't bother me much, so I've never talked about it. Now things have changed and I'm a little worried.

I often feel tightness during daily activities, so much that I have the urge of massaging it or bending over — an action that always triggers a stretch sensation. The discomfort is really close to the spine, even on top of it, so I guess the muscle involved are the transversospinales; I've tried this stretch and also a floor version I can't seem to find anymore and, although I get a nice intense feeling, it doesn't fix the issue.

What really worries me is that I feel discomfort when I press on the spine, around the L2 vertebra, and the first thing crossing my mind is the risk of herniating a disc while lifting weights. I pay close attention to my form and got reassured about it by various people on Twitter and Instragram, but I'm still worried for the health of my spine. I'm also doing a standing practice which, sometimes, manage to relax and distend my lumbar region, which is nice, but overall the tightness is always there.

Suggestions?

[dannyg]

17 hours ago, jaja said:

As a number of you know, I suffer from APT

I apologise but I am not familiar with the condition - what does it manifest as?

 

Usually a disc herniation causes little local pain, and plenty of referred pain. 

 

I urge you to read some of the posts about pain and pain science in the forum. It helps to view the spine as inherently 'strong', and that often pain is about sensitivity rather than tissue damage. In fact, worry about the spine can increase the pain experienced (even if there is no damage). 

 

One of the best things you can do is to remember that your spine is strong. And that tissue responds to loading, and that strengthening the spine is probably a good idea. 

 

How is your thoracic spine and hip mobility/health? 

 

I have lots of thoughts about this, but will refrain from writing too much!

[jaja]

10 hours ago, dannyg said:

I apologise but I am not familiar with the condition - what does it manifest as?

The Anterior Pelvic Tilt manifests as an accentuated lordosis, usually caused by really tight hip flexors and weak abdomen/glutes. Usually it comes in bundle with a forward head posture (which, of course, I have too).

10 hours ago, dannyg said:

Usually a disc herniation causes little local pain, and plenty of referred pain.

I'm 100% sure I don't have a disc herniation, at the moment, and I'd like a lot to stay on this course. 

10 hours ago, dannyg said:

How is your thoracic spine and hip mobility/health? 

Mobility is a issue for me, in general. My thoracic mobility is not terrible, but it's not optimal either; hips are getting better thanks to HF stretches, but piriformis and adductors need a lot of work.

 

Ask away, I'll give as much details as possible!

[Kit_L]

On 3/14/2018 at 12:31 AM, jaja said:

The Anterior Pelvic Tilt manifests as an accentuated lordosis, usually caused by really tight hip flexors and weak abdomen/glutes.

No. When a well-aligned human being walks around in a relaxed way, the abs are doing zero work—this means that abdominal strength, or lack thereof per se, does not cause the APT. It is hip flexors. Tight hip flexors > APT > switched off glutes in standing/walking positions > weak abs.

For the umpteenth time, get someone to help you stretch your hip flexors properly, and see/feel what happens. You will not believe it.

[jaja]

I really needed to re-discover this thread, thanks.

I'm currently facing an issue I don't really know how to tackle. Earlier in this thread I regarded my thoracic mobility as “not terrible”, which is probably true, but apparently I need more ROM to safely perform an overhead press. Right now I've the entirety of the thoracic spine in my awareness — not talking about pain, more a “sensation/slight discomfort”. What worries me though is that I feel a really strong sensation when pressing the lower portion of my T12 (sliding the finger upward from L1). I'm really confident the problem is the OHP because I occasionally feel a “pinching sensation” in that spot. It's worth mentioning that I have a mild scoliosis in the spinal section immediately above it.

I've no “pain” in that spot while resting or doing ordinary activities (except when I wake up in the morning), which is comforting…but still I feel there's something off in my back. I'm currently following Emmet's instructions in these videos, hoping to improve my mobility, it's too early to know if they're helpful, though.

Exercise-wise, I'm looking for alternatives to the OHP, or maybe cues to a better form. Speaking of which… @Kit_L, I know you used to be an Oly lifter and you said in other occasions you've never had a good thoracic extension. Do you have any suggestion on the OHP?

I'm trying not to nocebo myself, but I have to admit I'm quite paranoid about my spine. I know how to tinker with muscle-related injuries, but this is a completely new territory for me. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[Kit_L]

On 7/8/2018 at 5:01 AM, jaja said:

but apparently I need more ROM to safely perform an overhead press.

Very likely. I was never a good Olympic lifter, which is why I know a bit about correcting problems! Personally, unless the OHP feels solid and safe, and you are not doing what 99% of people who do this lift do (which is to lean back from the lumbar spine), doing wall handstands seems like a MUCH better alternative. As well, just doing WHS in both forms (chest to wall, back to wall) will develop better thoracic extension, teach you how to balance in time, and much else that's good besides. From a body building perspective, WHS, and partial, then complete, pushups are one of the all-time best deltoid and triceps exercises. WHS are the only "shoulder" exercises I do.

But now talking about the Oly lifts,  and in particular the snatch; this clip following shows how to catch the weight overhead when you have only limited thoracic extension:

Some famous lifters use this technique today. I never used it for the OHP, because we always did Push Presses (start in front squat hold position; initiate the movement from the hips, lock out, then lower to front squat hold position for next rep; a far better movement IMHO), and never the OHP. As I mentioned, WHS are a better/safer/more functional alternative.

[jaja]

Tank you @Kit_L! I've asked advice to Fred and now I've something to work with. Handstands are something I've always wanted to learn, maybe this setback I'm experiencing is the signal I needed. If you have some trusted resources to learn from scratch, please share ??

As far as “pain” goes, is time the best treatment?

[Kit_L]

@jaja: http://www.yuri-mar.com/products/balancing-the-equationpdf-ebook

6 hours ago, jaja said:

As far as “pain” goes, is time the best treatment?

That is too general a question to answer. Can you be more specific, please?

And if Yuri comes to your area, do a workshop with him; he is brilliant at what he does.

[Pat (pogo69)]

2 hours ago, Kit_L said:

And if Yuri comes to your area, do a workshop with him; he is brilliant at what he does.

+1

[jaja]

On 7/10/2018 at 12:15 AM, Kit_L said:

That is too general a question to answer. Can you be more specific, please?

I think I wanna be reassured I won't wreck my spine, but I know you can't grant me that.

You made a couple of videos about injuries (with Emmet and Yuri), but if I recall correctly the main focus was on muscles. What kind of strengthening and explorations can I do with my spine? I fear herniated discs and I want to prevent them.

[Nathan]

50 minutes ago, jaja said:

I fear herniated discs

I think the best thing you can do is stop fearing herniated discs  Realistically speaking, it doesn't matter if you have herniated discs or not as long as your spine is fully functional. That said, stay hydrated, move your spine in many directions/ways daily, and use proper form when loading it with heavy weights. And stop fearing so many what-ifs! 

[jaja]

Sorry, I've a troubled relationship with fear.

[Nathan]

Of course - we all do! Well, most of us  No worries. Just acknowledge it. And then ask yourself (explore) whether it is real. Realizing it isn't is usually enough to make it disappear. (Not necessarily forever.)

You might find this blog interesting. I did not actually read it all, as I simply did a quick search for information about asymptomatic herniated discs, but it seems pretty legit from a quick scan. Of note:

Quote

• Herniated Discs are not necessarily painful --- in fact much of the time they are "asymptomatic".
• Many studies reveal that the majority of Herniated Discs are asymptomatic (they cause no pain).
• Surgery is not needed to fix most cases of Herniated Discs.
• Spinal Surgery frequently means poor outcomes for Herniated Discs.
• Herniated Discs do not typically get "more herniated" with time (however, they do end up degenerating).

Et cetera, et cetera. In other words, if you are not currently suffering from pain (and possibly even if you are), worrying about it/fearing it is almost surely doing more harm than good. What you do with that knowledge is where the gold lies 

[Kit_L]

On 7/20/2018 at 4:00 AM, jaja said:

Sorry, I've a troubled relationship with fear.

That is clear, and recognising this is step one. But unless you find a way of moving forward from this state, it will remain. 

In my view, the principle that Bob is pointing to here is gold—direct confrontation of this state will be truly uncomfortable, but that discomfort is the necessary adjunct to growth, and almost is never spoken about. This discomfort is downplayed, wrongly in my view.

The short story is that growth hurts, without fail. Look at this clearly, take a deep breath, and dive in.

[jaja]

I had a Physiotherapists check my spine. Apparently I had a slight misalignment, probably due to excessive tightness in my right psoas. He said I shouldn't worry too much about it, but probably it'd be best to stay clean of the OHP.

Yeah, I know, I need a heavy partner.

He also told me to stretch the hell out of my calves, because they're too tight.

[Igor]

What I discovered for myself is that calves become tense, knotted, and tight when glutes are passive and not engaged. Tight calves is a problem for a sitting for a long time which is why I'm interested in this. Recently I started working on glutes activation and I noticed huge difference in everything,