Hurt My Back Today...

[cerebus]

Well, earlier today I hurt my back pretty seriously. At first I thought it was just some overworking, but it's gotten worse, and now I'm on Ibuprofen and Black Mountain Shiraz to numb the pain (somewhat). I think it was from doing several rounds of squat-kicks without having warmed up properly beforehand.

Right now I'm in quite a bit of pain, and I'm worried that it might not be healed to a reasonable level by the time of the Lei Tai tourney. Not that it'll stop me from competeing. If I have to strap on a back brace and take a codeine tablet before stepping on the platform, well... I'll do what I hafta do.

But, in the interest of avoiding that, does anyone have any do-it-yourself back treatments that I might try?

[CaliG]

I don't normally recommend them but since you're going to compete you might want to look into visiting a chiropractor.

I had a roommate who was a chiropractor and when anyone had any type of problem he'd do adjustment on them and take the problem out.

I also hear that a lot of MMA fighters have their own chiropractors, which shouldn't come as a surprise when you consider a lot of those guys train 40 hours a week.

Jesse and I also have a friend who does CMA and is an acupunturist who lives pretty close to you. Do you remember Joe from the Sunday nights in Oakland. I'd definately check him out to help you deal with the pain.

[Mike Strong]

Ice, ( and Ibeprofin ) are your friends, ...

... all you need is to make the swelling go down, really, unless it's something structural.

Ice Ice Baby

[Darth Rock&Roll]

rest, and water before you sleep.

[Buddy]

And don't be a hero, Troy. If you have to miss it, miss it. Don't trade permanent injury for brief glory.

[Darthwing Teorist]

Try massage with Dit Da Jao from a Chinese medecine doctor.

I think that avoiding to sleep on your tummy and maybe on your side, may help heal faster.

Get well soon!

[DeusTrismegistus]

Find out what it is. If its a seriously pulled or strained muscle rest should be enough. If you have a disk out of place or something you need to get it fixed. My Dad has a disk in his upper back that pops out of place regularly, he goes to a chiropractor or has my kung fu teacher fix it occasionally.

[Father_Jon]

And for the love of God, don't take Codeine (or any painkiller/muscle relaxer) and fight. Trying to force doped up muscles to perform in high stress situations = BAD.

[bigphatwong]

Troy,
best advice I can give is to get you a copy of "Acu Yoga" by Michael Reed Gach (if you don't already have it that is). He combines shiatsu and yoga postures into a series of upper, middle and lower back exercises. Probably the best self-back-help book out there for your money...chock full of information.

G-Jo acupressure is really helpful with chronic pain too. The trigger point on the side of the hip was a godsend for my sciatica.

Beyond that I'd second Greg's advice and find a good chiro. It'll be worth it to prevent any long term tweakiness that can result from hard physical training.

[ashe]

look for the entries on recovery parts 1-4.

contrast showers work very well, especially on my back when i tweak it.

use 'em at ngiht and first thing AM, then soak it with a good jow during the day. i like to wrap it with some kind of brace (i have a thin neoprene one that works well) with a rag over the affected area, then soak the rag with jow and let it steep for a few hours.

[qiphlow]

dude, that sucks. i wish you a speedy recovery and VICTORY at the lei tai.

[cerebus]

Hey guys, thanks for the advice. Yeah, I was only kidding about the codeine.

If it doesn't look like the back is recovering fast enough, then I suppose I may drop out of the Lei Tai, though I've put in enough time, effort and money that doing so would be almost as painful to me as the physical injury .

I don't think it's a slipped disc. The pain has already gone down some during the night, though it still feels pretty fragile. My girlfriend is making an appointment with Piedmont Springs for us to go and soak in a hot tub later today, so hopefully that'll help.

I do also have a good friend who is a great chiropractor. She's the one who treated me after my motorcycle accident. If I think I need to see her, then of course I'll do so. I think I'll give it a couple of days and see how it feels, how quickly it seems to be recovering, before I make any big decisions.

Thanks again.
Troy

[meeks]

if I could give any advice about injuries - chiropractor's are an injured back's only friend. I have too many stories to tell about how much a good chiropractor has prevented me from needing muscle relaxants, pain killers, time away from work/training, and also prevented recurring injuries.

[cerebus]

Yeah, I know that a good chiropractor is worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately, it's looking like my back is in pretty seriously bad shape right now. I'm in quite alot of pain. I'm going to call my chiro tomorrow and make an appointment, but even if a chiro treatment helps, I might skip the Lei Tai. I'm in enough agony that I'd be REALLY worried about fucking things up again.

I don't know. I'm perhaps not thinking as clearly as I might if the chiro works. I'll wait til after the treatment and see how I feel. Pain sucks....

[fuga]

Sorry to hear about your back, Troy. Take it easy but keep the body moving in gentle ways so everything does not tighten up too much. I find it helpful sometimes to breath (gently) into the area where there is pain. It sounds like you are just going to have to give it time. It took me about two weeks or so until I was feeling comfortable after my back seized up in sparring.

-pete

ps - Get better or else we are going to have to get you a straw for your beer like Fong.