Lower Back/Hip/Thigh Problem

N

nipponbiki

New Member
Well I am ready to come back from a long lay off, but I am a little worried how to start and if I should do any rehab or something before starting. I stopped lifting because I was too busy/tired from my studies for one thing, and the other is that I thought I needed to give my lower back a rest.

But, the problem still persists after nearly 6 months of no training. I thought maybe I was trying to do a little more weight than I should have been doing for deads and pendlays.

The problem is this. My lower back itself doesn't hurt, but always feels stiff, especially when I first wake up in the morning. It is difficult to explain exactly where, but where I have real pain is a bit to the right of my lower spine, just above the tailbone, I think. It is tender to touch. Sometimes there is no pain and just tingles a bit.

Twice in the last 6 months, I bent over to pick something up or change the DVD in the player, and when I stood up, I felt something and then I could barely bend for about a week.

I am pretty sure this is related, I also have some kind of balance problem. My body always seems to be leaning to the left in some way. If I am sitting, I feel my weight more on my right ass cheek than my left. If I am lying down, it feels like my right ass is slight elevated compared to the left. When I stand up straight, it seems my torso (and therefore entire upper body) is rotated slightly to the left.

Anybody have any idea what my problem is? How to correct it? Should I not start lifting again until it is corrected? The thing is, I have a feeling I have been this way most of my life, but am just now realizing it because maybe it is a little worse than it usual was.

Before getting back into lifting, I thought I should do something to kinda get my body back in balance, so I have been doing Billy's Bootcamp and yoga. It seems to help with some things, but the basic imbalance problem I seem to have is not improving.

Hope somebody can help me out.
Thanks
 
<div>
(nipponbiki @ Nov. 19 2007,08:20)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">It is difficult to explain exactly where, but where I have real pain is a bit to the right of my lower spine, just above the tailbone, I think. It is tender to touch. Sometimes there is no pain and just tingles a bit.

Anybody have any idea what my problem is? How to correct it?</div>
I have had a similar problem with low back / hip pain.

You may have a stressed gluteus medius or gluteus miminus (or both). Try a deep tissue massage; it may help.
 
If you're doing yoga I'd say you're getting your stretching in, but I wonder if you're getting the right stretch for the problem, whatever it is.
It could be so many things, including a circulation problem in the area.
If you could find an honest chiropractor without an agenda...like your wallet...oh, what was I thinking?
Exersize helps with back problems and has done wonders for mine by strengthening the abs and erectors. But I feel those squats! I'll say even mild exersize is better than no exersize, providing you have no major problem.
From your description, it sounds like a misaligned spine. But we ALL have that. Just in different degrees, to differing effects. It amuses me that a chiropractor will show you how &quot;abnormal&quot; you are - not telling you that there isn't a perfectly straight spine out there, and many people have &quot;slipped&quot; or &quot;herniated&quot; discs with no pain whatsoever for all their lives...
Wish I had a better answer for ya; I'll be quiet now and sit in the corner.
 
Thanks for the replies

No, it is not a form problem. I am very strict about it, but I did think I was going just a little too heavy. However, like I said before, I haven't lifted for about 5 months now.

Would there be any way for me to determine if I have a pinched nerve or disc problem without going to a doctor? Anyway to treat this by myself?

I get the impression that noone is against me starting to lift again, right? If that is the case, I want to start doing that and see how things go.

Here in Japan, chiropractors are much different. They actually don't like to make adjustments unless it's really necessary. The are kind of like specialized messagists, mixed with Chinese-style techniques, and chiropractic technique, but thereapudic message instead of something that feels good (it's actually kinda painful). At any rate, no matter the profession, Japanese are extremely professional and take their jobs very seriously.
 
I think your guys have something going for them sweetheart! Ours are mostly just into money and an easy job. It sounds like if you could afford it, it would be worth the doctor visit, but I see you're a student.
I'd keep lifting, but scale back a bit and see how things progress. You either get better or worse. If you think you were getting too heavy for where you are, you probably are right. I just took 2 months off myself for work purposes and I'm much weaker now, so I work with what I have and let it come back naturally.
 
I would definitely go and see a sports physio. You may have a degree of scoliosis. It is more common in females than males. (Not sure if your avatar is you or your girlfriend? - although I think Quad has decided
biggrin.gif
). Don't get worried about it though as if it was really serious you would already know about it. As Quad said, nearly everybody has some degree of spinal irregularity. One of the most powerful lifters ever had severe scoliosis.

I ruptured a lower lumbar vertebral disc some years ago which used to give me all sorts of trouble. It would exert pressure on my spinal chord. Sometimes I got just a tingling sensation and other times I wouldn't be able to stand up at all and it would take a few weeks for the pain to fully subside. It was often something really simple that would trigger it, like bending over or twisting. Ageing helps the condition because the discs get tougher and become less likely to rupture.
 
Hmm. That one I didn't know, but it may explain a few things.

I'll say what everyone is thinking: that's one cute kid.
Now that we have that out of the way, back to the discussion...
biggrin.gif
 
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(nipponbiki @ Nov. 19 2007,08:20)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Twice in the last 6 months, I bent over to pick something up or change the DVD in the player, and when I stood up, I felt something and then I could barely bend for about a week.</div>
Even with no weight at all, you hurt your back. The problem is your technique.
 
Actually, I have been pondering about this for some time now, and I am really starting to wonder if this all started when I gave gymnastics a try in high school. I had never done it before, and just wanted to start learning how to do it, but the instructor pushed me into trying to actually get good enough in a few months to compete on the high school team. So, I tried really hard to learn 5 years of gymnastics in 6 months. And I am a lefty, both left-handed and left-footed. I remember that when trying to learn back handsprings and backflips, I always tended to land on my left leg first. I wonder if all that smashing my left leg into myself started this.

Anyway, I did try to go to a normal doctor once, he just took an X-ray and said everything was fine. I don't know if sports physicians are so readily available here, but I will see if I can find one.

And just to clarify, no, that girl is not me. I am not a student, as in a college student. When I said I was studying, I meant I am working full time and preparing for and taking certification test after certification test. About 12 more or so to go, so I will be like this for the next few years.

She is not my girlfriend either, how unfortunately!!! She is a very famous Japanese actress, which in Japan means that they appear in everything from movies, TV shows, dramas, commercials, print ads, etc. Her name is Konishi Manami. And she is not the kid you may be thinking, she is 30 now. My wife is extremely jealous because of how much I used to react to seeing her when I first starting living here, I have just never seen anyone with this kind of face in the US before, you know what I mean! Man, I would just stop breathing and freeze for a minute the first few times I saw her on TV and stuff.

Anyway, thanks guys.
 
I had a problem with the lower back for a few years. I fixed it by using it properly. By lifting objects with the correct technique. I used to bend at the waist. Now I flex the legs. The legs are the motors, the entire back is the lever. As with any lever, the more rigid it is, the better it can transmit force from one end to the other. Beware, rigid does not mean stiff. It means flexed.


Observe these athletes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpA47OUohpM
http://www.youtube.com/user/madaozeki

Note the back is straight. The lower back is slightly arched or concave. Beware, straight does not mean vertical. I should say aligned because the spine is not normally straight like an arrow. Instead when it's aligned, it forms a sinuous line on profile. Nevertheless, when we say straight, we mean aligned. As opposed to misaligned or crooked or rounded or convex.


Flexibility in the hamstrings.

If you have difficulty flexing the legs to squat, perhaps the hamstrings need stretching. To do this: Squat, grab toes with fingers, make back as straight as you can, push buttocks as high as it will go, hold for 30 seconds. Squat back down before standing back up. Do this 3 times a week. Expect a major improvement in flexibility in about 3 weeks.
 
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