Back hurting

Check What You're Sitting On and Sleeping On

Here's my story. For the last five years I have had occasional bouts of severe lower back pain. The attacks were very debilitating. I could hardly walk much less play pool. It would take about 10 days of rest to get back to normal. I had X-rays and, yes, I had a disc problem. The doctor prescribed exercises meant for the back. I learned them but didn't do them - they were too boring and I'm too lazy, I guess.

But my back is much better now. I haven't had an attack like that for about a year now. What did it? A new chair.

I would go to the attached garage to smoke, and the chair I used there was some old Wal-Mart garden chair that kept breaking under my bulk and my wife kept repairing. It wasn't comfortable, and finally I said enough and got myself a new chair. I still get stiff and have minor aches, but nothing like before. I get down low in my pool stance. No problem.

Also, avoid lifting heavy stuff and stretching into unusual positions. Part of my "recovery" is learning that I'm not the man I used to be.
 
Back exercises

Here's a link to our web page. http://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-EXER.htm. You'll probably find some other good information here as well. I would recommend starting with a Physical Therapist or Chiropracter to help develop a correct exercise program. Talk to them, and show them your pool stance. Weight loss is also going to play a big role. When you bend forward you move the center of gravity foward on the spine with a lot of stress on the spine and back muscles. The more forward weight the more stress. Of course you could always shoot like M. Fats and stand straight up.
If you P.M. me what part of the country you're in I may know a spine specialist in your area, but I think your best bet is starting with the therapist.
Best of Luck
Paul
 
I'm about to start physical therapy for my back so I'm going to be interested to see what they say & how much of it has been mentioned here.

The funny thing with mine is that playing pool isn't a problem. Racking, however is a pain, especially when you get that rack that just won't sit. The angle I'm stood at then just sets my back off. Of course, if I won more racks that would be less of a problem!
 
Back pain can occur for many different reasons, and each may be treated differently. While one thing may have worked for someone on here, it may not work for you, and may actually cause more harm. If your pain is bad enough to limit your daily activities, then it is probably time to seek medical attention. I work as an orthopedic physical therapist, and have treated thousands of people with low back pain. There really is not a cookbook approach that you should follow. Answering your question requires a lot more knowledge about your situation. When does it hurt? What activities specifically increase it, and what positions or things can you do to decrease it when it occurs. Where is the pain located in your back, and does it travel from there at all? Did it happen from an injury, or was it a slow onset? Knowing these things would help to better answer the question. In all reality though, it is not possible to completely answer the question without evaluating someone. Each person that comes into my clinic gets a 45" to 1 hour evaluation before we begin any treatments.
I would be happy to help as much as I can though if you give me some more info!
 
strength training & stretching

wolfcookie said:
can anybody tell me any exercise that might help my lower back.hell im getting on up there and it seems that the last year it takes less games before it really starts to hurting..I know theres got to be some fat boys out ther that get down on there cue as much as i do..After 41 years of playing its hard to change my stance,and really dont wont to.I know somebody gona say loss a100 but theres got to be another way...
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Stretching is critical for any sport & even good health. Do yoga rather than ballistic stretching. Trapbar deadlifts are safer than straight bar deadlifts & work the spinus erector muscles as well as the lower back. The spine gets lose with age. Its easy to pile on the plates, so don't go overboard. Seated rows are also good & resemble many of the exercises prescribed by physical therapists with rubber bands. Trapbar or dumbell shrugs will work the upper back & prevent uneven development. Again, resist the temptation to pile on huge weight.

Don't get talked into surgery. If you do therapy, Alexander therapy is better than chiropractors. The latter provide quick temporary fixes & often do more harm than good.
 
One thing I can tell you that will help your back more than anything is stretching. If you're holding a spare tire thinning up your middle would be a lot of help as well.

You'd be surprised as to the amount of things that can cause back pain. You can start at your feet and work your way up to stress.

I suggest waking up every day a lil early for work and stretching. You don't have to force it. Just sit on the floor and reach for your toes very slowly and release and repeat for about 5 minutes. Then do the same standing up for 5 minutes. Quite a few back pain issues come down to flexibility and the loss of it due to aging.
 
Hate to say it; lose weight, and tighten core abdominal muscles.

After 15 years of back pain, everything boiled down to - you can never get rid of the pain; it's all about "Pain Management". So I managed my pain for years and years with pills & rest & heat & ice & stretching. I spent years of doing almost nothing for fear of making my back pain worse.

Finally, I got so sick of avoiding pain and doing nothing, I started to exercise, working through the additional pain. I used a low-impact elliptical, and while doing my cardio, every 10 seconds I'd tighten and hold my abdominal muscles (no sit-ups) then relax for 10 seconds, repeat. Try that for 20 - 30 minutes a day.

Eventually, I lost the weight, and by back pain is now at the lowest it's ever been in many years. It sucks as a cure while you're doing it, but once you get there, you realize it was the best thing you could have done.

I can now play pool for many hours straight, where as before, I could only do maybe a half hour or so at a time.
 
Ive dealt with low back pain and I would suggest much of what has already been said here. Strecthing, diet changes, and making sure you have something comfortable to sleep on. If the pain always comes back its time to see a chiropractor as they treat the cause of the pain and not the effects of the injury.
 
There is some good advice here, and lots of bad advice also. Do yourself a favor and have your individual back evaluated by someone that can help you. You really can hurt it more by doing the wrong things! While everyone here means well, this is a pool website, not one of medical professionals. What worked for them, may hurt you.
 
Where is Fatboy with advise when you need him. This is his field of expertise from what I hear.
 
Black-Balled said:
Racking the balls also strains my back. Bending the knees helps a bit but I still feel it.
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I did a lot of racking again last night. Fortunately it was a loser breaks tourney!:thumbup:
 
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