Upper Back pain after exercise

[amz]

Hi!

Whenever i stretch my back i feel pain in my upper back and on my lower ribs but mostly left rib. My doctor took X-Ray of my back and said that i have severe muscle spams. She gave me medicines but they are not working and giving me other problems like stomach upset. I don't want to take medicines any more. Is it possible to treat my back with exercise either strength or stretching? If yes then what kind of exercises should i do? I have seen Mr. Kurz DVDs but unable to decide what kind of exercises should i choose to strengthen my back and what should me the sequence.

Can anybody help?

Thanks!

[elskbrev]

Amz

The first question I would ask is what you did before getting the muscle spasm. Is there some new exercise in your routine that may have caused it?

Cindy

[amz]

My back problem is old but if i do leg raises and back stretches, the pain increases. That's why i don't want to do dynamic stretches at the moment and focus of strength.

Thanks!

[elskbrev]

amz,

I know someone whose “back problem is old,” who can’t figure out why his upper back spasms occasionally, even though he works out regularly and is very fit.

One day, he demonstrated for me something he does with bands involving standing with bands behind him, starting low and pulling the bands quickly up over and around in front of him while lunging quickly forward—works all sorts of muscles in the legs, back and arms and sort of looks like a palm tree in a hurricane. That’s what he calls it. He does a similar exercise with bands just pulling them horizontally, left to right, back and forth.

My opinion? It is these plyometric exercises of his that may lead to his back spasms, even though he has outstanding general core strength. The plyometric twisting motion can “pinpoint” specific muscles that connect near the spine, and when they are tight, they will pull and tug at the little vertebrae, causing the spasm. Once the muscles have relaxed, either through recovery or use of muscle relaxers, the spasm and pain subside.

If you were to simply hold a bar behind you, at shoulders or lower, and twist quickly left to right, back and forth, that is plyometric.

Such plyometrics are likely to stitch the lower back muscles, if (a) you do not have sufficient core strength (back, abs, hips), or (b) you have imbalance in strength of the various core muscles. These are not bad exercises, in fact they’re great, just don’t over do them. Plyometrics are something you work up to after gaining sufficient strength through lower impact or slower controlled motion exercises.

When overworked muscles get tight around the spine, they pull and tug at the little vertebrae, causing pain until the muscles relax. There’s nothing a chiropractor can do for you while the muscles are in spasm, even if you need an adjustment, because the “misalignment” he may see in X-ray during spasm is temporary.

Sometimes, seeing a chiropractor/kinesiologist is the best thing you can do. If you play hard, sometimes things need adjusting. On the other hand, and this may not apply to you at all, a great book for persons with chronic, “unresolvable” back pain is Healing Back Pain, by John Sarno, wherein he talks about tension myositis syndrome.

I’m sorry I haven’t answered your question more specifically. You asked,

Is it possible to treat my back with exercise either strength or stretching? If yes then what kind of exercises should i do?

One of my favorite websites for finding exercises for treatment of injuries is The University of Michigan Health System Sports Medicine Health Topics, at http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_index.htm . Also, a good reference is http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html . I would highly recommend the Pilates Roll-up for you as shown at: http://www.videojug.com/film/pilates-roll-up .

I hope this is helpful for you. Time for me to get off my soapbox and get in a workout before lunch.

Best regards,

Cindy

[amz]

Yes! Thanks very much for your help. I would definitely follow your advice.

Thanks!