Low back issues as you age

[S.Clancy]

Legs.......5 sets of 20 body weight squats and I can't walk for a week due to leg muscle pain. It simply never goes away. Each week is as painful and brutal as the next....hence why I don't train legs. It's completely debilitating and does not fade or improve over the weeks. TheraGun is a Torture Device. It's simply ZERO fun. I can run or walk on the treadmill, TheraGun or whatever. The lactic acid never leaves and my legs are extremely painful for 7 days. Does not leave me wanting to do it all over again once I can finally walk normally.

My recommendation would be dial in form with an empty bar so you are hitting good ROM, at or below parallel. Then, progress up, 5x5, each workout goes up by 10lbs. So, a simple progression would be 45lbs (bar) 5x5, 55lbs (bar+5 lb on each side) 5x5, etc. Faster progression is tough to maintain, most times people get too sore and quit.

Also, training legs with weights heavy enough to make you strong is difficult and you will be sore. There is no getting around this. My personal best is 5 reps @ 2x BW, that causes damage. Suck it up.

 

[Rich M]

Maybe doing the plank move might help.

I'm a lil older than you - had an accident and back pain for 7 yrs. Got better but will get sore if I do too much of this or that. Hate slowing down but that's a big part of why folks slow down, hurts too much otherwise...

Build up the strength gradually. You gotta crawl before walk, walk before run, etc.

 

[PlumberED]

My back is shot from literally a lifetime of plumbing. I just turned 60 in May and I have struggled with lower back pain most of my adult life and it has gotten progressively worse with age. A lot of good suggestions from everyone here, what has really helped me are leg stretches, walking and being very careful with lifting anything over 20 pounds. PT also helped, the exercises seemed a little infantile but they really did work, especially with stretching my legs.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Have a colonoscopy done and get your prostate checked.

 

[PlumberED]

Yikes. Ain’t getting old fun?

 

[Larry Bartlett]

I'm a disabled vet from several severe herniated discs and advanced degeneration. That all started in the early 90s for me, so I'm a 30-year veteran of chronic pain and adaption to a non-surgical condition. Today I'm also 52 and stronger than at anytime in my life.

1. Stop packing heavy loads on your back. Get a sled and/or make multiple trips with lighter loads. I'm still suggesting to stop packing heavy loads on your back. I stopped this 10 years ago and have much fewer blow outs of episodes and can drag 100-lb sled like I'm 25 y/o.

2. If you have a pot belly, lose it and strengthen your abs. The potbelly pulls on your spine and lower back muscles in ways you can't understand until you don't have one hanging over the belt. For over 25 years now I do 200-300 crunches (not full on situps) every day, which doesn't seem like a lot, but those 2,000 crunches every month become 100,000 crunches every 12 months and for 25 years that equals 2.5 million ab-focused exercises to my core. And in combo with winter skiing 100 miles every month, I'm always ready for what's next. Low intensity core strengthening exercises are the key, and consistent daily/weekly/monthly/yearly is now cyclic routines I won't give up.

3. Posture is critical especially when picking up things from the ground or putting on shoes or whatever. The smallest rare movements blow me out without warning. Then it's a week to 3 week recovery.

4. Firm mattresses help greatly.

5. Hydration is key to your energy, joint and cartilage health and improves dietary functions and nutritional absorption.

6. Keep your BMI in check. P/u a sack of flour and know that's what 5-lbs of body fat weighs. If you're 15-20 lbs over your ideal body weight...that's a huge contributor to pain in the back and knees.

Good luck brother. Small adaptations in what you offer your body start to collectively make you stronger and feel less pain.

 

[HornPorn]

Have a colonoscopy done and get your prostate checked.

What does this have to do with the OPs question?

 

[PlumberED]

What does this have to do with the OPs question?

Take his mind off his back for a little while! lol, who would feel back pain with all that other activity below the water line?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Quick question on your squats... Are you able to go below parallel? If not, that's one of the first things to work on... There are few, if any, world class lifters that only squat to parallel. The key reasons being, you get very limited transfer through the hips to activate the hamstrings and most importantly the glutes. Second, only squatting to or above parallel only engages the quads. Third, only squatting to or above parallel can exacerbate or cause knee issues as all of the strain is focus on the knee joint. High schools and idiots all over the country coach kids to squat incorrectly every day...

Always, always, squat as deep as you can, and the goal should be well below parallel. That goes for front and back squats. Check out your stance and make sure your feet are a little wider than shoulder-width with knees and toes pointing out slightly. It will take some trial and error to find the sweet spot. This will encourage you to get deeper with less discomfort and also do a better job engaging your hamstrings and glutes. Too narrow a starting position will encourage shallow squats and focus too much of the weight on your quads. Start light (bar) and work up once you are able to get below parallel. If the bar is too heavy use a piece of PVC pipe or a broom stick.

Something lots of folks forget is lifting with appropriate shoes. Get a good pair of olympic lifting shoes, and your lifts will be far more efficient and effective. If you can afford it, try to find a pair of new or used Nike Romeleos 2. These are the best lifting shoes made, and even used ones are usually in excellent condition. If you can't find any Nike 2s in your size, skip the Nike 3s and look at a pair of Nike 4s. My daughters are both accomplished Olympic lifters, and have tried a few different brands of shoes. However, the Nikes are the best. If you can't afford or can't find your size in a Nike 2 or Nike 4, the next best is probably Adidas. Just make sure they're not crossfit or crosstraining shoes. They should be olympic lifting shoes with tall heels for stability in the bottom of your squats and deadlifts.

You don't need a referral to go to a chiro/PT in my experience. Just go in and tell them what you're struggling with and they'll do an evaluation/submit claims to your health insurance.

Where can you buy Romaleos these days? They seem harder to find thanthey were a few years back.

 

[dutch_henry]

First, kudos on being consistent with your workouts and being largely pain free at 52. That's winning.

It's really easy to neglect your lower back with workouts and my guess is that's what's may have happened over the years. There are so many stabilizer muscles that are hard to isolate and develop via compound movements like squats and deadlifts or oly lifts. They don't get the same degree of work. Plus, if your upper body carries more mass than average, your lower back and core has to contend with that. Then, if you spend a lot of your day sitting, sh*t can spiral.

The solutions I'm familiar with are pretty boring but effective. Plank. Side plank. Supermen. Pelvic tilts. Quadraped arm and leg raises. Preceded by warmup stretches and followed by cool down stretches. That's something you could be doing while you wait for a PT appointment, assuming you can manage them without acute pain/only regular muscle soreness.

You can go beyond those five basic exercises for sure. Yoga and Pilates are tremendous for the core. Actually, both helped my shooting and archery because of they way they strengthen stabilizer muscles and add flexibility. Both have helped injury "proof" my body.

For many years I followed a X-Fit + Rippetoe approach to strength and conditioning. Now at age 49 I've found it's more functional (for me) to reduce the frequency of those workouts and do more things I scoffed at for years, like yoga and Pilates. But if you love your routine and don't want to add in new modalities, even adding in a daily bodyweight, lower-back workout will do wonders.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Went to a Chiro for 5 appointments. Severe tendonitis on forearm. I shoot a ton of competitive archery. New bow and the vibe ate up my forearm nerves, tendons etc. He rubbed a modified butter knife on my arm for 2 minutes. Charged me a $40 co pay. Did nothing.

Not terribly interested in a Chiro. Snake oil.

But PT I do think is the route. As I said...no real "Pain". It's all or mostly muscle and muscle damage/atrophy or something muscle related.

RE: deep squats. I thought Knees over Toes is snake oil too. But what do I know. I've run from the squat rack and legs my whole life. Probably why I have back issues.

Think I can literally military press more than I can squat. Or close to it. I can completely destroy my chest and shoulders in a work out and be only moderately sore the next day. Could repeat the same workout 48 hours later with no pain.

Legs.......5 sets of 20 body weight squats and I can't walk for a week due to leg muscle pain. It simply never goes away. Each week is as painful and brutal as the next....hence why I don't train legs. It's completely debilitating and does not fade or improve over the weeks. TheraGun is a Torture Device. It's simply ZERO fun. I can run or walk on the treadmill, TheraGun or whatever. The lactic acid never leaves and my legs are extremely painful for 7 days. Does not leave me wanting to do it all over again once I can finally walk normally.

5 x 5 on squats will build strength without killing you at our age. The key at this point in our lives is to survive the workout so you can make the next one consistently. Get your butt below parallel and you will feel it in your hamstrings and glutes and begin correcting any imbalance with your quads.

I don’t do and wouldn’t recommend sets of 20 for anything. That’s a recipe for disaster. Use walking, biking, hiking, rucking, treadmill, etc…, for building stamina/endurance. Use lifting for building strength and power.

All the core moves, yoga, stretching, and Pilates guys recommended should be worked in as well. I mention planks because they provide a ton of bang for the buck and can be done anywhere.

Also, timing is important too. Don’t overdo stretching before a workout, instead get good and warmed up with a sweat going before you lift. However, after you lift spend significant time stretching the muscle groups while they’re warm to improve flexibility and encourage speedy recovery. If you’re not already, get on a decent multi-vitamin that has daily minimum of magnesium to improve recovery. I take Opti-Men from Optimum Nutrition and a baby aspirin every day with food.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Where can you buy Romaleos these days? They seem harder to find thanthey were a few years back.

Nike 2s for guys with average sized feet have become unicorns. If you have tiny or giant feet they can still be found at Rogue, APS, and a few other stores. However, sizes from say 9-12 are really tough. There are usually a few used pairs on eBay but expect to pay up to $200 for them. Nike built the best lifting shoe and they last so long that people didn’t have to replace them very often, so they got rid of a great design and replaced with crap (Nike 3). The Nike 4 goes back to the original Nike 2 design, but they use a mesh material instead of 100% leather. My daughter wore out her Nike 2s and has been satisfied with a pair of the 4s.

 

[EdP]

I think before I did anything, I would want some images taken to see if there is something actually wrong. The cures of today for back issues are much better than on the past. Get it diagnosed first, then work for a solution.

This. What works for one will cripple another. Start with information (MRI) and recommendations from a spine specialist. PT done right for the specific issue can make a huge difference. Just trying this or that exercise recommendation is a dangerous approach. Proceed from a base of knowledge.

 

[TaperPin]

Have a colonoscopy done and get your prostate checked.

Doesn’t the IRS do that every year? Feels like it. At least they should buy us a drink first.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Doesn’t the IRS do that every year? Feels like it. At least they should buy us a drink first.

 

[TaperPin]

I’m mid 50s and as a wood worker/carpenter the wear and tear usually takes guys out before retirement, me included. About 4 years ago I could feel the downward trend - two years ago I noticed physical tasks were naturally being done differently to cheat away from soreness/weakness and subconsciously my range of motion was going down. One year ago I tapped out from full time work and as soon as our house is remodeled I’m headed into something new. Osteoarthritis, or wear and tear, or whatever you call it does strange things to people slowly so we don’t always see it.

I lucked into a sports medicine guy who also elk hunts and backpacks - he could relate to any ache or pain I’ve ever had and does a great job of going over options and what the odds are of different things happening down the road, and when he needs to refer me to a different specialist. I feel lucky since a lot of docs don’t get it or aren’t good at it. The guy the nurses and PTs recommend is who I’d try to track down.

 

[Leverwalker]

I’ve hurt my back a few times. I got into a decent PT and learned some stuff that helped. None of it is fun or traditional gym movements. It’s mostly “chick shit”. Glute bridges, core work, yoga stuff. I hate doing it, but it’s helped. If you aren’t in pain, it’s likely addressable with improving core strength and working on flexibility/mobility.

Agree with JFK and some others have said - core and flexibility is hugely important. I think too many guys think of back strength in isolation, not realizing in a lot of ways the back and abs, hips are a "system" in balance, and when one area is relatively weak, it can really hammer other areas.

Along with a bunch of other crap I've got some decent degeneration and arthritis, with some neural entrapment, in my lumbar. Years ago I had a PT testing me, and the simple act of leaning forward and having to hold it brought on such massive pain I broke out in a sweat and my BP popped to stroke range - trip in an ambu to hospital. It's always hurt, even walking. The pain will never go away, but I have to say, doing a full yoga set daily, along with Mountain Tough - and its heavy emphasis on, yes, chick sets - those ass sets, abductor stuff, burn like hell - have really helped my lower back. Engaging the core on everything, not just core-specific exercises, has also proven to be a boon, as has their pretty intense emphasis on leg and back strength. Never thought I'd be hitting heavy deadlifts again in a million years.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

What does this have to do with the OPs question?

A colon that is injured, infected, irritable, or swollen causes dexterity issue. Not to mention back pain. Both could be causing the OP’s issues.

A swollen prostate can do the same.

 

[PlumberED]

A colon that is injured, infected, irritable, or swollen causes dexterity issue. Not to mention back pain. Both could be causing the OP’s issues.

A swollen prostate can do the same.

And here I was being smart *ss.

 

[Tbonespop]

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'm still super active and had to have hip replacement a few years ago (when I was 49 - which should give an indication as to how active of a life I've had). If you are having back issues and want to strengthen your legs 9which is a good idea), I would get on a pilates reformer and do high rep, low resistance mini squats. When recovering from my hip replacement surgery (after the first 6 weeks), I was initially doing about 300 reps a day of mini squats on the reformer. My legs and knees never felt better and stronger than anytime in my life, including when I was repping 400 lb squats in college for sports. I got to the point where I was doing ~1000 mini squats a day with just body weight only. But you need to balance the quad work with hamstring work to keep the leg muscles balanced out. I like very light weight stiff legged dead lifts - which also helps the back. Again, super light weight, high reps. Having lifted heavy weights, squatting deep, and focusing on building muscle bulk for so many years, if I could go back in time and change things, I would have stopped that in my late 20s and started going lighter weight, higher reps once I hit 30 and beyond. My shoulders and knees would be thanking me now. After my hip surgery and doing the exercises I did during recovery, my back feels fantastic. I'm in my early 50s now, ride and race Motocross, downhill MTB, hunt, hike, lift (light weights), etc. Back feels great. I'm also a big advocate for pilates. A good pilates instructor will help with the back pain and weak legs.