Lower Back Injury
It has been 3 weeks since I pulled the muscle in my lower back on the left side. Took 2 weeks off to recover and now am back in the gym. I have stayed away from the free weights and have focused on circuit training. What is the typical recovery time for a pulled/strained back muscle? I am being cautious as to not reinjure myself.
July 14, 2008 at 2:40 am
Yo man it appears that you have the exact condition as me so i’d like to share with you my experience on the journey to recovery. I injured my back more than 6 mths ago due to poor form in concentration curls and i couldn’t sit or stand straight and everyday movements like brushing my teeth while bending over the sink and wearing jeans would torture the hell out of me.
This went on for 3mths and i absolutely had no idea how to make the injury go away and out of desperation i accepted the fact that i may have to live with it forever. i had 7 X-rays for my lower back which showed nothing wrong and all the painkillers administered to me were useless in treating my condition.
It wasn’t until much later(3mths later) that i realised what i was doing wrong. Firstly, i continued doing freeweights despite my injury which made it worse(although i eliminated concentration curls in my regime altogether). Secondly, my usual sitting positions made it worse. Thirdly, i did not know there were affordable products readily available in the market to help my condition.
After i realised my mistakes, my back pain subsided tremendously within the next 3 mths and now i can lead a normal life doing all my favourite sports like MMA, bodybuilding and running. You should avoid freeweights altogether for the first few mths esp exercises like deadlifts and concentration curls can destroy you. Do only machine bench presses and pull ups which put no stress on your lower back. NO squats or military presses. Resume freeweights ONLY when your back pain has totally subsided.
Also you must wear a back support all the way till you can sit or stand with no pain at all(i wore mine for 2mths 24/7). This is crucial in helping me recover because it helps me maintain a correct posture while sitting and standing and helps take away some stress on my lower back while i lift stuff or bend down. It also helps retain warmth and speeds up recovery. A good, concealable waist support i wear under my shirt is the Waist Toning belt from BodySculpture.
At night when i sleep, i wear an infra-red ray emitting waistbelt to aid in my recovery. i was skeptical at first but this is the most important factor in helping me recover. It retains warmth in my injured area, improves blood circulation and speeds up healing. You will definitely feel huge improvements. (i wore the Ebene bio-ray waist belt)
Finally, avoid all exercises or sitting positions which can aggravate the pain. If you feel pain sitting in a certain position , try to find another position which doesn’t trigger the pain and always sit in that position. 2 mths later you will find that sitting in that position won’t cause as much pain or the pain is totally eliminated.
When i feel soreness in my lower back due to sitting or standing too long, i love to stretch it by sitting down, extending one leg while putting the other leg over it to form a figure 4 and hugging it close to my chest and stretch sideways to the back. Repeat for the other side. You should hear popping sounds. I find this stretch extremely helpful and beneficial in relieving the tension and stress in my lower back.
I continued my regime for 3 mths now and my back pain is totally gone for good. I no longer require wearing a back support but i still wear my infra-red belt to sleep every night and have since avoided freeweights and the only freeweight exercises i do are barbell curls and rows.
Build up your lower back and abdominal strength with sit-ups and back arches only after you have fully recovered to prevent re-injury. I hope that my experience is useful to you and good luck
July 25, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks for the advice. It took a few months to recover. Now I am extra careful when I use free weights. Most people don’t realize how quick an injury can occur with only minimal movement.