Playing and Back Problems?

I can't advise you medically...but I can relate.

I have misaligned, fused L4-5 that are narrowing as I get older.. generally background ache, sometimes sciatic type sharp pain.

I take Alieve and play as long as I can. As it wears off, I make stance adjustments...and then my neck hurts like I slept wrong on it.

Sometimes to relieve the back pain, I will put more supporting weight on the bridge arm and hand...that creates it's own issues.


Not as much fun as it used to be...but I'm fitting in just fine at the Senior center.

Sorry to hear of your back problems. You are a young man..I hope you find a way to keep playing.

take care

Why even entertain the idea of putting the cues down for good?
If you can play a good 2 hours and enjoy it, why not just take that for what it is and enjoy those two hours?

I enjoy shooting as much as I can with my back issues. If gets way to uncomfortable to play I stop. Soon I'll be 42 and be 3 years into dealing with my issue. Silly sledding accident where I broke all the ribs on my right side, destabilizing my thoracic back and herniating disks around t8, t9 and facet, and nerve root issues t6, t7, t8, t9 with pain that radiates around and though my chest as well. Mostly it feels like a I have been impaled, run straight through from the middle of my back right between my shoulder blades and out through my sternum, aside from my ribs almost always feeling like they are broke. (think sciatica pain but in my chest) I've gone to the ER twice thinking I was having a heart attack and turned out to be the nerve root issues... Medication helps, but not always.

I LOVE PLAYING THIS GAME! I wont stop. I'll take whatever play I can get. I entered a lil tourney last night and it was one of the nights where I couldnt swing it because of the back thing. I just chalked it up to being one of those nights and went home 2 n out. I am actually looking to head out right now to bang some around for a bit.

Dont give it up if you like it. Just get what you can out of it.

I feel your pain. I'm 46 and have a torn disc. I had stopped working out with hopes it would heal a little but that wasn't the case. My best advice, don't be a couch potato. Start exercising and especially stretching. Google videos for lower back/SI joint stretches and do those. Get a foam roller and use it daily. Doing both of those has worked wonders. I still get sore so I rely on Aleve to help keep the pain down.
Just woke up after an 18 hour pool tournament yesterday. If you know you will be in a long session be sure to get off your feet, stretch throughout the day, or even go lay down in your car if possible.

Good luck

Not a DR...

I have sciatica and nothing bothers it more than pool. I've done the following. They all help a little bit, but it's never completely gone.

1. Get healthy. Lose any extra weight. I personally eat a Paleolithic diet for four years now and am now 10% body fat.

2. Get stronger. Weight train. I personally belong to a Crossfit gym for 4 years now.

3. Do lots of yoga. The instructors there know so much that other disciplines do not.

4. Make your table higher if you have a home table. Mine is 6" higher and it definetly helps.

Good luck.

I feel your pain.

I had to take almost 12 months off playing, couldn't practice due to 3 damaged discs from a car rear ending me. I still have good and bad days and can't play for too long. I also need to wear certain footwear to play, as shoes really make it worse.

When people used to complain about having a bad back, i now know what it's like and how it really affects your life.

Good luck with getting back to playing.

iusedtoberich said:

Not a DR...

I have sciatica and nothing bothers it more than pool. I've done the following. They all help a little bit, but it's never completely gone.

1. Get healthy. Lose any extra weight. I personally eat a Paleolithic diet for four years now and am now 10% body fat.

2. Get stronger. Weight train. I personally belong to a Crossfit gym for 4 years now.

3. Do lots of yoga. The instructors there know so much that other disciplines do not.

4. Make your table higher if you have a home table. Mine is 6" higher and it definetly helps.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

I find once i lost weight and trained it helped me a ton, even more so than all the chiro i was having.

PhoenixVA said:

I was just curious, do any of you play with back problems? If so, do you do anything different or adjust anything, such as stance?

The reason I ask is I have back problems. I have a bulging disc, which took quite awhile to get back in halfway decent shape, but even now, I still can't do the things I used to do. And after playing about two hours, my back is done, and that means so am I.

Any recommendations anyone can offer? I'd still like to play, but I am seriously considering putting the old cues out to pasture. Pretty sad, too, considering I don't feel old anywhere in my body except my back, and I'm 40 years old.

Click to expand...

Without seeing how you stand now, try bending your knees more, and your back at the waist less. And raise your head above the cue a little higher. It's all adjustments that's will mess up your game until you adjust to them, but your back will thank you. I used to be able to play 12-16 hours like it was 3, but now I can only play for 5-6 hours and at the end it feels like I played for 20.
Chuck

I'm sorry to say I don't have a cure for you. My doctor told me when I got older I would have lower back pain. Foolishly I didn't ask him why and now is has passed away.

The best advice you have been told is to lose any extra weight you may have, or lose most of it. Three years ago I lost 43 pounds and I felt 20 years younger. Foolishly I stopped exercising and gained it all back. Now I'm in the process of losing it all again. I ride a bike up hills and push myself pretty hard. I've had both knees replaced so I can't run like I used to.

Good luck to you my friend. You will be amazed by how much better you feel if you lose some weight.

I just shattered my lower lumbar #1, removed it and put a tube in and fuse t12 to ll2
Back in Oct 2013. I'm learning all over again from walking to bending.
I just took some pool lesson on stance, on stroke speed, tangent angles and helped me to go back to basics.

For healing lots of planking, basic tai chi and water aerobics . I start physical therapy #2 in a couple days should be called boot camp..lol

Craig

Try this

Highly recommended:

PAIN FREE by Pete Egoscue

Under $20 in paperback; worth it

I had a customer 3yrs ago tell me about that book he swears by it..

I hurt my back about 28 years ago and it is a very hard thing to deal with at times. I have had 2 surg.'s and am in and out of rehab all the time. I know and have done pretty much everything out there to help it. I have good days and bad as anyone with back trouble has. Now at 55 I just play to have fun. If I go to play in a tournament I know going in that at any time i might have to quit or look like I have never held a pool stick. It is what it is and until some one has been through this there is no way they can understand it. I played in a tournament this weekend and when I got near the end mine was hurting so bad I could hardly get out of the chair. I ended up 5th in a very strong field for our area but I had fun and beat some good players to get that far. I use a lot of Icy Hot and Biofreeze. If you can ice it some while playing. It does help to a point. My advice is to just enjoy it as much as you can and have fun. Best of luck

Chuck Fields said:

Without seeing how you stand now, try bending your knees more, and your back at the waist less. And raise your head above the cue a little higher. It's all adjustments that's will mess up your game until you adjust to them, but your back will thank you. I used to be able to play 12-16 hours like it was 3, but now I can only play for 5-6 hours and at the end it feels like I played for 20.
Chuck

Click to expand...

Good advice. I use the same techniques.

I saw a recent photo of my shooting and I was surprised how much my knees were bent. I knew it helped my back from hurting, but I wanted to "fix" myself immediately. I fought that urge.

The bent knees SOMETIMES makes me miss as my upper body sways a bit, but at least I can play pretty well most times. I seem to have control of the swaying most times.

Don't grow old....but then you can't play at all.

fwiw,

Jeff Livingston

I injured my back more than a decade before I got into playing pool. I have problems with four discs in the lumbar region of my spine, and four more in the cervical part. (five of the eight are herniated, the other three are bulging). I can't stand for long periods of time without my back starting to hurt, so I sit down when my opponent is shooting if my back is bothering me.

Several people mentioned the importance of losing weight. That definitely helps! I was in good shape when I got hurt, but over the years, as I got older, I put on weight and it was tough on my back. When I made a point of losing weight, it helped my back a lot.

I play till I have to stop, and if I suffer for a couple of days , I at least had some fun!

I have a compression injury from a weight lifting accident in my 20s... As long as I do my stretches and use my truback I am not too bad off but I do still carry my brace in my car... It seems to help the muscles keep everything in line and I don't deal with pain from the muscles getting fatigued.....

I had a back "episode" a few years back that is pretty much completely healed now, so not as serious as many on here. I played some pool while on powerful medication and it was a weird experience. I couldn't focus for any longer than a few seconds before my concentration drifted away. Had to shoot fast n' loose. I'm a drugs lightweight you might say:wink:. Still I understand why some might play better on drugs. I had zero nerves and no tension in my arm. Don't think my stroke has ever been that smooth.

I haven't had any problems since, but I'm relatively young still. I've lost weight. I work out, though not with weights anymore. I don't do the extremely low, square on snooker stance as much at the pool table, anymore but I've made a compromise that gets me low enough.
If you can't bend low enough, you can always play carom (short sessions).

I feel your pain too. Had to quit for more than 3 years because my back rheumatism.
Some advices that might help.

Pool is one side sport. Try play every time 15 minutes or more left handed. It will get your muscles more balanced and keep your body straighter.

Exercise. Stomach muscles help to keep your back better. Pushups and sit ups help. You can do as little is ridiculous. 5 pushups and 15 situps 4 times a week help a lot already. Pushups train your back muscles too. Just do not let your body get any curve to your back when you doing some. Keep back totally straight.

Play both knees bended. Don't care official stance because you need stance what help your back. I did this also and my game went up. Sometimes I get back on snooker kinda stance if my back not hurting any.

Massage once in a month and your whole life is getting better. Find good professional for that and stick with him\her.

Have more but can't remember now...