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QUESTION:
I've been having this low back pain for the past few months when I sit in a
slouched position and I move my head down (eg. to look at the front of my
shirt). It wasn't really bothering me (although I felt it) and today, while
playing RB, I suddenly get the same pain on both sides of my lower back. I
think the problem was that I was playing at a slippery court and my feet
slipped while trying to kill the ball. I'm pretty sure it's a muscle spam
but I don't really want to go to the doctor.
What would you recommend? I'm thinking about using some Celebrex but I don't
know for how long?
ANSWER:
I certainly cannot diagnose what ails you but here's my two cents.
My back is fine- I only get back pain when my shoes have become
over-worn, so check your shoes. Slippery court could very well be
a/the culprit.
I take some Viox sometimes for my knee pain- its a wonder drug. (I
have taken Celebrex but it didn't exactly agree with me but that's
probably the exception.)
My wife on the other hand (plays rball also), was suffering back pain
and the doctors here were more than happy to oblige her surgically.
She sought out a second opinion from a neurologist; he suggested a
booklet from the McKenzie Institute which is a regimen of back
stretching exercises. It's full of descriptions and diagrams and its
written in layman's terms.
The booklet is great, the exercises are easy; she never had the
surgery and is totally pain free.
I would recommend excercise and stretching. There is a great
kinesiologist in solana beach, just north of san diego, named brian dorfman.
www.briandorfman.com. he trains world class triathletes. clients include
ely callaway, who at 82 was able to begin to play golf again without neck and
shoulder pain.
IANAD, but doesn't sound like a muscle spasm to me. About the only adverse
effects I get from racquetball are two-fold:
1) Generalized soreness in my lower body 4 to 12 hours after playing (but
the 'good' kind, where you are just knowing that you got a workout - no
acute pain, just gluts, hamstrings, thighs, calves a bit stiff), and
2) At night (12 or so hours after playing), I sometimes have what *I*
consider back spasms, but maybe they are just micro cramps in little
muscles of lower back (?). I usually can notice it, but continue to sleep
through it, and semi-consciously stretch or change position in order to
alleviate. Sometimes they come in waves, but it is never debilitating or
causes lack of mobility or pain during next day.
Trust me, when you get a back spasm, you will know it. There will be
no doubt in your mind as every muscle in your back tightens. It feels like a
charlie horse times about 50.
I used to have back pain, and it resulted from a combination of
less-than-perfect form and lack of stetching. I started doing Pilates
about 8 months ago, and haven't had pain since then.
But do Celebrex and Viox bring permanent pain relief or is it a temporary
solution? Since I've never had back pain before and I've been playing RB for
over 10 yrs., I really want to get rid of it and not cover it up.
I used to get back all the time after I played and a doctor friend of
mine suggested that I do streching exercises to loosen my hamstrings.
Since you do a lot of bending while playing, if your hamstrings aren't
loose, all the force of bending is transferred to your lower back
area. Once I started the hamstring streching, the lower back pain
went away!
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