10 Myths About Lower Back Pain (LBP)

VonMeister

Duke status
Apr 26, 2013
20,251
6,976
113
JOE BIDENS RAPE FINGER
Never had lower back issues until a little over a year ago. Was sitting on my surfboard after spending about 6 hours in the water for about the third day in a row that day and while sitting I turned and felt a little pop or click. No real pain at that moment but I started tightening up right away. The next day I had a 3 hour drive followed by a 4 hour flight and another hour and a half drive. When I got home I could hardly walk. It took about 8 weeks for that to go away but it did.

Fast forward to about a month ago. A couple of times I've felt that little click pop I mentioned above when turning. I started waking up in the morning with my lower back sore and locked up. By 9:00 in the morning I feel fine but every morning lately I wake up stiff and sore.

Wonder if my workout routine is part of the issue. Probably going to buy a new mattress in hopes that provides some relief. I'm overdue anyway.

I do quite a bit of this at the gym and wonder if this is part of the issue.

Your mattress and your workout aren't causing pain. Posture as a source of lower back pain has been endlessly debunked and the positions in the graphics you posted are perfectly normal and healthy positions for the lumbar spine to be in.

Many times click, pops, stingers, random pain is nothing to be concerned with and will go away on its own. What makes it troublesome is that we immediately associate this pain with something being wrong and then begin to reduce activity and range of motion and "baby" our backs. This is just a mental cue to be in pain and build that pain highway from the nerves which are responsible for the generally benign signal and your brain which is reading it a pain and causing anxiety. See above with the poster still feeling the same old pain signals after surgery. Your brain has learned that stressor and isn't going to let go if it until you decide to let it go.

Be active and don't fret doing things that have your body in perfectly normal positions. Getting old is going to have some aches and pains along the way and they will always resolve themselves in due time. If you're in pain be as active as pain allows and keep a positive outlook. it will do wonders for you.
 
Last edited:

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,148
16,168
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
Your mattress and your workout aren't causing pain. Posture as a source of lower back pain has been endlessly debunked and the positions in the graphics you posted are perfectly normal and healthy positions for the lumbar spine to be in.

Many times click, pops, stingers, random pain is nothing to be concerned with and will go away on its own. What makes it troublesome is that we immediately associate this pain with something being wrong and then begin to reduce activity and range of motion and "baby" our backs. This is just a mental cue to be in pain and build that pain highway from the nerves which are responsible for the generally benign signal and your brain which is reading it a pain and causing anxiety. See above with the poster still feeling the same old pain signals after surgery. Your brain has learned that stressor and isn't going to let go if it until you decide to let it go.

Be active and don't fret doing things that have your body in perfectly normal positions. Getting old is going to have some aches and pains along the way and they will always resolve themselves in due time. If you're in pain be as active as pain allows and keep a positive outlook. it will do wonders for you.
The other thing I've noticed is that if I'm on my feet for an extended period of time my lower back will start screaming at me. If I sit down its fine.
 

VonMeister

Duke status
Apr 26, 2013
20,251
6,976
113
JOE BIDENS RAPE FINGER
The other thing I've noticed is that if I'm on my feet for an extended period of time my lower back will start screaming at me. If I sit down its fine.
I think that's the case for everyone. Being generally static and on your feet for a period of time can get uncomfortable. I wouldn't consider it an indicator of anything being wrong. In the olden days keeping people in static positions, like sitting upright in a chair was a method of torture.

All the noise about safety or posture or invisible adhesions or whatever nonsense influencers and charlatans are peddling today is just creating the conditions for stress and pain if you are conditioned to receive these messages.

Being more optimistic about the bodies resilience and ability to adapt to just about anything is the best first aid you'll ever receive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PRCD and tacos

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,123
10,245
113
33.8N - 118.4W
Revisiting this thread. What a long trip it's been. I would say my back is 80% better (than after my 2019 "non specific" injury). I still have chronic soreness- I wake up every morning with a 3 on the pain scale (discomfort that can be ignored). I still can't surf my shortboards as well as pre-injury, and when I do, in the evening the pain is definitely up a notch.

What got me questioning again was that I've been working on a surfboard that requires a lot of detail work. So I'm bent over, cantilevered over the board, for long periods of time and the pain accumulates and increases to where I have to stop and do extensions for a couple minutes before continuing.

It made me question back strength vs endurance. It does not take a a lot of strength to bend over the board but doing it for a long time begins to hurt. Are there back endurance vs strength exercises? Also paddling does not take a lot of back strength , but in that extended position for a long time...

I've read there is an interference effect between endurance and strength, but is there a way to address back endurance? Low weight lots of reps?
 
  • Like
Reactions: slipped_disc

Bob Dobbalina

Miki Dora status
Feb 23, 2016
4,261
4,654
113
Revisiting this thread. What a long trip it's been. I would say my back is 80% better (than after my 2019 "non specific" injury). I still have chronic soreness- I wake up every morning with a 3 on the pain scale (discomfort that can be ignored). I still can't surf my shortboards as well as pre-injury, and when I do, in the evening the pain is definitely up a notch.

Since mine, I still have pain/discomfort. It's certainly better when I'm really on top of a fitness program which has evaporated after my son arrived. I'm not, not walking or having uncontrollable muscle spasms, or anything post surgery. A doctor would say I'm living a normal life. But there are certainly some lingering issues.

-I still have pain around my pelvis/hips that's entirely separate and "nervey" than any actual hip impingement. It kinda burns and tingles and radiates around the front and back of my pelvis when I surf or do hinging excercises. Typically when paddling and all those micro movements of balancing while prone it'll fire up. Warm ups help to an extent.
-On land, there's more of a distinct "muscley" pain between my lower abdomen and my right hip abductor that fires up when moving my right leg.
-Getting to my feet is certainly more difficult than before. I'm certainly not as nimble. Some days are better than others and a warm up helps a lot. Late or steep drops are tough, but so are very flat ones.... I have to push through some pain to go from prone to pulling my feet under me. I can mimic the painful "pulling sensation" on land by rounding my mid back and tilting my head down. Feels like my nerves are a string that gets "caught" and pulls anywhere from the inside of my left ankle, to the front of my right calf, to my hips, or lower back.

Wild stuff man.
 
  • Like
Reactions: slipped_disc

slipped_disc

Billy Hamilton status
Jun 27, 2019
1,454
2,185
113
I've read there is an interference effect between endurance and strength, but is there a way to address back endurance? Low weight lots of reps?
I’ve noticed that back endurance is really importance for pain management myself. One thing that helps me: static holds on a back extension machine. Three minute holds. A yoga ball can work pretty well too if you’re able to hook your heels on anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: One-Off

VonMeister

Duke status
Apr 26, 2013
20,251
6,976
113
JOE BIDENS RAPE FINGER
Revisiting this thread. What a long trip it's been. I would say my back is 80% better (than after my 2019 "non specific" injury). I still have chronic soreness- I wake up every morning with a 3 on the pain scale (discomfort that can be ignored). I still can't surf my shortboards as well as pre-injury, and when I do, in the evening the pain is definitely up a notch.

What got me questioning again was that I've been working on a surfboard that requires a lot of detail work. So I'm bent over, cantilevered over the board, for long periods of time and the pain accumulates and increases to where I have to stop and do extensions for a couple minutes before continuing.

It made me question back strength vs endurance. It does not take a a lot of strength to bend over the board but doing it for a long time begins to hurt. Are there back endurance vs strength exercises? Also paddling does not take a lot of back strength , but in that extended position for a long time...

I've read there is an interference effect between endurance and strength, but is there a way to address back endurance? Low weight lots of reps?
If you deadlift you could add a day of pause deadlifts (pause the bar 1-2 inches off the floor for sets of 8-10. Keep the weight reasonable light and focus in bar velocity post pause. You're last 2-3 sets should have a noticeable reduction in bar speed but not so much that it's a grind.

Keep in mind that it's not reasonable to train or perform any athletic endeavor pain free, especially as we age. You just need to accept that a reasonable amount of discomfort is going to exist from time to time and it's perfectly safe and perfectly normal to train and be active through it. If something causes the pain to increase beyond reasonable, adjust and keep moving/ training.

Nathan Florence just did a video on his Jaws beatdown this week, and how he is recovering from a fractured vertebrae. He's fairly close to spot on. He PRE-HABBED by being on a strength program for the last few years and continued to do modified training after being diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae. He gets into some sponsor supplement bullshit at the end but it's a good video and worth a watch.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,123
10,245
113
33.8N - 118.4W
If you deadlift you could add a day of pause deadlifts (pause the bar 1-2 inches off the floor for sets of 8-10. Keep the weight reasonable light and focus in bar velocity post pause. You're last 2-3 sets should have a noticeable reduction in bar speed but not so much that it's a grind.

Keep in mind that it's not reasonable to train or perform any athletic endeavor pain free, especially as we age. You just need to accept that a reasonable amount of discomfort is going to exist from time to time and it's perfectly safe and perfectly normal to train and be active through it. If something causes the pain to increase beyond reasonable, adjust and keep moving/ training.

Nathan Florence just did a video on his Jaws beatdown this week, and how he is recovering from a fractured vertebrae. He's fairly close to spot on. He PRE-HABBED by being on a strength program for the last few years and continued to do modified training after being diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae. He gets into some sponsor supplement bullshit at the end but it's a good video and worth a watch.
Pause is going up?

Post strength training DOMS very negatively affects my surf performance. Otherwise I only notice back pain when trying to ride my shortboard. Shoulder/neck pain is a constant no matter what I ride and it accumulates if I surf multiple days in a row which I've been a lot the past couple months. Going to have to research shoulder strength....

Nathan must be one of those gifted athletes that repsonds well to training. And he's in his twenties...
 

VonMeister

Duke status
Apr 26, 2013
20,251
6,976
113
JOE BIDENS RAPE FINGER
Pause is going up?

Post strength training DOMS very negatively affects my surf performance. Otherwise I only notice back pain when trying to ride my shortboard. Shoulder/neck pain is a constant no matter what I ride and it accumulates if I surf multiple days in a row which I've been a lot the past couple months. Going to have to research shoulder strength....

Nathan must be one of those gifted athletes that repsonds well to training. And he's in his twenties...
Yes...pause an inch or two off the floor on the way up.

Not everyone is going to respond to training the same way or be able to train at the same level....but we all respond to training and the injury prevention and recovery training provides is better than any alternative.

If you're struggling with DOMS you either are training way too infrequently, not sleeping enough, not eating enough or some combination of all three.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tacos