Injured back doing sit-ups, need advice

MuchPain

I injured my back very badly a few years ago doing situps. I had my legs bent and my feet held by a cabinet for leverage. I was trying to reach a certain number when I got a sudden sharp shooting pain in my lower back. I should have stopped then but I said no, I'll stop when I've reached my goal. So I tried to do another and I experienced absolutely excruiciating pain. I don't know what I did but I could hardly walk after it with the pain going right down from my lower back through my legs. It begins around the sacro-illiac joint and from what I've read the symptoms seem like sciatia.

I've had alot of physiotherapy and I've been taking anti-inflammatories and painkillers since then. But I've never had a satisfactory diagnosis and i don't want to accept that I'm going to be like this forever. I've had x-rays but nothing showed up. It's five years on now and sometimes I can hardly walk. Without the medication I'd be immbolized, running is totally out of the question, and I honestly believe with the way it's progressing I could be in wheelchair by the time I'm 30 (I'm almost 25 now).
So I'm wondering/hoping that someone reading this can advise me on what could be wrong, that is, what kind of injury could the situps have caused?
Does anyone know of someone with expertise in this area who could help me get to the bottom of this. Or what type of medical practicioner would it be beneficial for me to see?

Any help would be much appreciated.

pwd

Physiotherapist best. Oesteopaths and chiropractors also deal with this sort of thing but chiropractors don't have any medical qualification, and I'm not sure that oesteopaths necessarily do either.

Jak

*This needs to be prefixed with - Back injuries are difficult to deal with when someone meets you in person, let alone on a message board, so this is more experience than advice*

Well, it is about 7 years since I injured my back deadlifting.

In the 18months afterwards I went from Doctor(s) to Physio(s) to a Chiropractor to Sport Rehab.

The problem with my back was that specific weight training would pressure the lower back and I would feel a gradual tightening there which would then mean I could not tie my shoelaces or move terribly suddenly. I found that walking etc eased the pain, and that on a daily basis the pain got worse during inactivity - sitting down etc. It would just tighten up.

Now I accept the diagnosis for my problem as an issue with the coccyx or more specifically the coccyx sheath. It took forever and a day to find someone who could give any diagnosis as scans etc. show little and the truth is that back injuries are still a nightmare for medics to deal with, as they simply can't assess the problem often. In my case it seems I have damaged this sheath, and when it is pressured and compressed, it can get inflamed and also it takes time to stretch back out (think accordion). Only now, several years later am I getting back to training with free squats and deadlifts, and even still it is at a much lower weight than in the past. It is a very fine line between effort and injury in this case, and often I am unable to up the weight not because of my legs but out of worry for my back.

Anyhows what 'works' for me ...

Chiropractor: One session let me walk out feeling much better and capable of tieing my laces - however, subsequent sessions did nothing to improve my situation. Initially it was very beneficial.

Doctors: Anti-Inflammatories were essential. In order to get my back back to normal I would need to use AI's to reduce inflammation so that I could stretch. Stretching was the key, and without AI's I couldn't stretch. Other than that, doctors just told me to give up the training and any crazy sports.

Physios: Have been to maybe 6 physio's - varied results and diagnosis. Mostly they are just educating you for how to look after yourself. They teach you what to do. What they do in the clinic is not half of the treatment. It's what you take home and do.

Rehab: Proper sports rehab to develop the lower back in on Merrion Square. Helped the situation, nice mix of weights, stretching, massage etc.

Personal: I have a few thoughts on other things to consider -

Generally, I think you need good muscle and weight balance throughout your body. Through weight training I am a heavy person, my core has to deal with a lot of this, so it needs a lot of work too. If your injury is 'fresh' this is no good, but use AI's and stretching and when able, gently bring yourself back to training with focus on the core. It will take a long time, but little by little the more you work the core the more support it can give you.

Similarly, I believe flexibility and stretching are the answer to all but major trauma back issues. I am actually looking into adding a Pilates class to my weekly routine for this purpose. Simply because, although I add stretching and core work to most of my routines, I feel I need an entire session dedicated to it. Pilates might be a good way, I'll see.

JAK.

TheMasterG

Sounds pretty bad dude. I'm sending you a PM with details of a guy in Lucan who, if anyone can help, he can. He's a fully qualifed Physiotherapist, Oesteopath, Chiropractor, Sports Medicine and more, 30+ years experience.

Can't rate this guy enough, good luck.

G

roberteboot

TheMasterG wrote:

Sounds pretty bad dude. I'm sending you a PM with details of a guy in Lucan who, if anyone can help, he can. He's a fully qualifed Physiotherapist, Oesteopath, Chiropractor, Sports Medicine and more, 30+ years experience.

Can't rate this guy enough, good luck.

G

Not to say that this guy wont do the job im sure hes excellent but these people are definately just about as good as you can get. They have alot of experience dealing with back injuries and were of great help to me.They have a very impressive set up with alot of specialist machines which they use for treatment etc.

http://www.dbcireland.ie/asclb.html

N8

TheMasterG wrote:

Sounds pretty bad dude. I'm sending you a PM with details of a guy in Lucan who, if anyone can help, he can. He's a fully qualifed Physiotherapist, Oesteopath, Chiropractor, Sports Medicine and more, 30+ years experience.

Can't rate this guy enough, good luck.

G

funny that there are no qualified chiropractors in Lucan and given physiotherapy is a five year full time course, proper osteopathy is at least a four year full time course and chiropractic is a five year full time masters degree course, not sure about sports medicine but it must have a full education and this guy has thirty years plus experience, this guy must be methusalah!!

D-Generate

If you are getting a chiropracter at no point let them touch you above the shoulders. No one without a proper medical qualification should be attempting manipulation above the shoulders.