Low back issues as you age

[TheHammer]

Little things daily. I call them daily disciplines, no excuses. Thank god my back issues went away 5-6years ago once implementing them. Actually about everything is pain free. There is a lot of great information in here.
For me it’s simply:
-Spinal decompression, every morning I take a few seconds to decompress my spine.
-Mobility/stretching, quick series of stretches.
-Abdominal movement, the core is so important to holding everything together, especially the back.
* dead lifts& shoulder shrugs. I use kettlebells
-Body weight squats and lunges. You do not need weight. Just going through the motions with proper form is important.
-Free hang, hold your weight for 30seconds I do this mon, wed&fri.
This typically takes me 5-7minutes every morning. I also have a nightly routine as well. That takes about 4 minutes. 40pushups, 12 Superman’s, some quick stretches and planks. Then a prayer trying to be thankful daily.

Like many have emphasized extra mid body weight. Make sure that diet is at minimum halfway decent. And daily hydration needs are met.

Also look into if not already on a t booster. The majority of men in todays world, especially in the west are significantly low on t. I would recommend 1st phorm night t with a primal t at meals.

Good luck to you and anyone else struggling. Keep us posted. Hopefully many people can grow or improve their lives reading someone’s post on here.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

And here I was being smart *ss.

I know. It happens to me as well sometimes.

 

[BigNate]

I couldn't hardly get out of bed afew years ago. Crawled on the floor to put socks and boots on.

I started going to a Summit Chiropractic clinic, after trying several others. The difference was they took x-rays, and have some pt exercises to do at home. The biggest mobility improvement came from sitting on a half full bosu ball and stretching the back by arching the spine front and back, side to side, then twisting.
A lot has been said ahead of me that's true as far as waistline issues, lack of stretching and exercise, but if the bones are out of alignment and muscle around them are tight trying to protect them its not going to fix itself. The tight muscle will literally cause the bone to stay miss aligned because they have gotten used to holding things where they are to reduce pain.

Don't wait until you're on the floor. It's fixable.

 

[wnelson14]

I'm 37, so take this with whatever grain of salt you like. Any low back pain I have ever had was a direct result of weakness in my hips/glutes/hamstrings. Keeping those very strong, I'm talking 1.5 BW Squat, is the key to a healthy low back, IMO. The key is to get strong and minimize the risk of injury. I never do regular deadlifts anymore, but I do a lot of Romanian Deadlifts. I would really concentrate on different versions of squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts. Start low and progress up in weight.

Also, if you have a belly, losing that will help low back pain, it's simple physics. You having a big lever arm with weight out the front of your belt puts stress on and fatigues your low back.

This^^^ you need to strengthen core, hamstrings and glutes. I would add Bulgarian split squats and belt squats (if you have access to one) this has paid dividends on my lower back.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Having lifted weights nearly 40+ years of my life (still do3-4 days a week), training in college, playing collegiate sports etc., I would never recommend going super deep on squats later in life in your 40s and beyond (I wouldn't go deep and heavy beyond the age of 29 personally).

I never recommended deep and heavy. However going deep and using full range of motion when squatting is crucial to building leg strength and power, especially for someone that has hamstring and glute deficiencies. If he has a structural issue with his lumbar then maybe not a good idea, but it sounds like that is TBD. If not, if he’s gonna squat, he needs to get his butt down to activate the hamstrings and glutes. This will also improve his flexibility and range of motion from the floor (feet, ankles, knees) through his hips, not hurt it. Being middle-aged or older does not change this.

I also played sports year round in high school including football and folk, free, and Greco style wrestling and football in college blah, blah, blah…. I attribute most of my pain later in life to contact sports, poor coaching, and bad lifting technique in high school and college.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Checking in this AM as I am getting to work. Tons of great info. Thank you all so much for chiming in. I do strongly feel it's partially a stretching issue. Partially a mobility issue (due to no stretch) and partially due to underdeveloped....Core, Hams and Glutes.

I do NOT see any 5 sets of 5 in my future tho. I still ego lift the top half....because I am great at it and still trying to stay the Herd Bull at 52. TRT helps. Strong tendons really help as I've worked the top half for decades. Its' easy.

The bottom half.....not so much. I don't Ride a Chicken. But my leg strength is pathetic. Never work Abs or core. I fully grasp the concept of the Abs pulling in on the spine and working hand in hand so to speach Abs/Low back unit. I am way out of "round" so to speak.

I've run from it for years. Time to start like a Broad and do the Pink yoga pants stuff.

 

[GatorMike]

Simply hoping for some direction and guidance and maybe someone suffering similar.

I'm over 52. My lower back is shit. But it doesn't "hurt". I don't have pain. Don't have limbs tingle or numbness or fire in extremities.

I simply have no "power". The muscle seem to pump up soooo quickly and they're exhausted with one "rep". Running a chainsaw leaning forward kicks my ass. Front squats bar up front...kicks my ass. Any Xfit type workout...I'm done.

I took a buck yesterday. Just under two miles. All 4 quarters, neck meat, straps, lopped head. Rifle. Tripod. Snivel gear etc. 100lbs? Like it's a "benchmark"...like "I want to shoot at 1000 yards". 980 isn't the same. Doesn't matter if it was 80 or 110. It was heavy.

Hip flexors and ass cheeks more than anything. Then the steep decent sucked for knees. But holy shit was my lower back smoked.

So overall, I stay pretty fit. Work out several times per week. Have for 33+ years. Chest, shoulders, arms...SUPER strong. But my lower back really inhibits me from doing much worth a shit for legs.

Even doing air squats or just the bar. Back fails before legs.

Where do I start? Of course a medical professional. But in my opinion....backs are the most subjective and impossible to diagnose things. Horror stories of fusions, nerve burns etc.

Anyone else just seem to have complete atrophy of lower back muscles??

as a USMC vet with substantial back issues, I can tell you the best way to help your lower back is through doing ab work. I have also been to cryotherapy and red light therapies which help tremendously....but good old fashioned ab work is by far the best way to help your lower back or SI joint issues.

 

[justinspicher]

After reading this I am glad that I never got into the heavy lifting thing. Having lower back issues sounds horrible. I have always focused on mobility, still do. Being able to lift a ton of shit is pointless if you can’t move the next day.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

^^^^ But we are Men. With thick necks and curled lips and scabby knuckles. It's what we do

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Checking in this AM as I am getting to work. Tons of great info. Thank you all so much for chiming in. I do strongly feel it's partially a stretching issue. Partially a mobility issue (due to no stretch) and partially due to underdeveloped....Core, Hams and Glutes.

I do NOT see any 5 sets of 5 in my future tho. I still ego lift the top half....because I am great at it and still trying to stay the Herd Bull at 52. TRT helps. Strong tendons really help as I've worked the top half for decades. Its' easy.

The bottom half.....not so much. I don't Ride a Chicken. But my leg strength is pathetic. Never work Abs or core. I fully grasp the concept of the Abs pulling in on the spine and working hand in hand so to speach Abs/Low back unit. I am way out of "round" so to speak.

I've run from it for years. Time to start like a Broad and do the Pink yoga pants stuff.

 

[4doutfitter]

you might have spinal stenosis OP. MRI would be in order for education sake then try to get nonoperative solutions. Im 58 and have same issue and am a doc

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Mrs stated an MRI is where we start as well. I have stellar insurance. Impossible to get in and started with Family Practice is seems. I had my initinal a year ago. Was on my rx list. But never followed up. My fault. Feels like Canada waiting to get in.

 

[LostArra]

After reading this I am glad that I never got into the heavy lifting thing. .

Define "heavy".

 

[justinspicher]

Define "heavy".

Anything over my body weight.

 

[LostArra]

Anything over my body weight.

Just to clarify: weights added to a barbell equal to your body weight?

 

[SWOHTR]

I haven't much to add other than a well-balanced strength and conditioning program works wonders. Wendler's 5/3/1 Forever book is a great place to start.

 

[bigv]

I'm 50. Bad back..degeneration, also broke some bones in vertebrae 10 yrs ago. Bad arthritis. Many hit on good ideas. Hydration is huge, stretch hamstrings, ice is your friend. Get inflammation out. Have you heard of dry needling? I think that's name. Couple coworkers swear by it. Cured a few of their muscle issues.a local PT does it. Kinda like acupuncture. Slide small needle in bad spot then somehow connect electricity to it. I guess it eliminates muscles issues on the spot. Haven't tried it yet but it's changed their lives.

 

[gbflyer]

Yep. Been under the knife once and 3 epidurals. I’d exercise more but every time I get on the floor to do crunches the damned dog won’t let me alone.

 

[justinspicher]

Just to clarify: weights added to a barbell equal to your body weight?

I use to squat with weight, barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell. Now I don’t use any weight and just do my own body weight, work on full range of motion and do high reps. I probably stopped using a barbell about 2016, and I quit using any additional weight two years ago. My body feels much better these days and I am more mobile and faster in the mountains. I average 100 reps of some form of squat per day. About the only think that goes on my back with weight is my pack and I try not to carry much in that either.

 

[IBen]

You know how bas rutten has that little arm because of nerve issues? Maybe that is happening to you