Backpain & Recovery

A topical discussion today given that Sundays Paddle Boarding left me immobile today due to back pain.  I knew I had strained muscle in my back but it was not until I woke up at 2am in pain that I realized the extent of it.  It seems I needed to experience it to share with you my thoughts with a little bit of authority.

Background

I am no stranger to back pain, first experiencing it in 2004 after lifting a heavy object when I herniated a disc in my lower back.  I recovered from that experience after a spinal injection and Physical Therapy.  I did not think any more of it until 2011 whilst recovering from a knee injury (another story) I stood up and felt a sharp sensation in my back, I was concerned but after a visit from the doctor I was assured it would likely clear up in a couple of days and it did.  Only about 3 weeks later I made a small movement and again the sharp sensation only this time it did not recover but got worse and worse.  I will not lie to you when I say it was the worst pain I have ever experienced and even prescribed narcotic pain killers did not help much.  If you have ever experienced nerve pain you will know what I am talking about, if you have not I wish with my whole heart that you never have to.

I learnt a great deal from the last injury of which the most important and most scary was that the specialists don't really know a whole lot about the back.  Outside of the spinal injection the next options are surgical.  The answer I received is that the lower back is the prime site for injury especially as we get older given our lifestyle and the fulcrum point of pressure for the body due to the fact we stand on two feet.  I can tell you it shakes your confidence when you are looking for solutions and the answers are not exact. 

Thankfully I recovered following the spinal injections and I attribute a lot of my post injection recovery to spending time strengthening my back muscles or what I have come to understand as my posterior chain and learning to move correctly.  Put simply bending from the hips and not the lower back which most of us spend our lives doing.

An interesting fact that I found out was that during the MRI for the latest herniation they found no evidence of the early herniation from 2004.  The human body is a marvelous biological machine and we should never forget that.

Strength Matters

Regardless of the type of exercise you do or don't do I have come to realize that keeping my back muscles strong is very important.  The muscles stabilize the nerves and keep them from being pinched or knocked which would seem to be the cause of most radiated pain often in the buttocks and down the leg sometimes referred to as sciatica.  

To strengthen my back I practice the techniques outlined in DR Eric Goodman and Peter Parks book "Foundation, Redefine your core, conquer back pain, and move with confidence".  It provides both an overview of the causes and techniques.  I have found it to be so successful for me that I have signed up to attend a certified training course to get deeper and understand more.  BTW I am not a fitness instructor or in the fitness industry, I just have a passion for the outdoors and for living a long, healthy and fit life.

What Happened to Me and What am I doing about it.

On Sunday I paddled for 2 hours, about 1 hour into the journey I felt a slight discomfort in my hip.  This was the first indication that I was getting muscle fatigue.  It is important to listen to our bodies as they will tell us what is going on.  If however you are like me ignoring the message leads to consequences.  I believe it was compounded by the motion of the board as I had to deal with a fair amount of boat wake which was working my legs and lower body hard.  When I get muscle pain now I am very cautious as it is the muscles that are protecting the nerves and ligaments, when they are fatigued it is then really easy to go beyond a muscle pain and do something far more damaging.  Active rest is the path I have taken for this injury, that is to say small and gentle movement combined with heat and icing to bring down inflammation.  I also drink a lot of water as water also helps with inflammation.  It is going to be slow but tonight it feels a whole lot better than it did at 2am.  I use the foundation techniques to help work the muscles without putting strain on them.  Once the pain subsides I will resume my regular back strengthening to ensure I maintain a strong back especially since Paddle Boarding puts such a demand on the lower body.

If you are interested in the book here is a link to there site: http://foundationtraining.com/

Here are a couple of pictures taken today to show both the founder and the chest lift techniques that have worked particularly well for me.  I should also point out that the techniques have also considerably improved my posture as well as strength.

Rest Saturday SUP Sunday

Saturday was  a rest day, although I can tell you how important rest is to any exercise or training program I myself need to get better at it.  I kept looking a the weather and thinking of all the things I could be doing instead of resting.  Still I stayed true and benefitted from it.

Sunday I met up with new friends Nate and Melissa for a Paddle Board on Lake Union.  Mine is still not ready so we rented them from Urban Surf near Gas Works park.  It was a fair price with easy access to the water.

Nate is keen to participate in local racing and although my mind say's "Yes" I wanted to see how my body would hold up to my longest paddle board so far in week 3 of regular exercise.  The conclusion, I have some work to do and the little voice is screaming "don't rush things Matthew".  It was a great time on the water but I did develop a pain in my right lower back which feels muscle related.  Heat, a massage from my wonderful wife and a few painkillers for good measure and we will see how it settles down.  I am no stranger to back pain and will post about my experiences this week.  In the mean time here are some pictures of the ride - Great time and looking forward to more to come.

Friday Bike Ride and Takout

After work we took advantage of the nice weather and went for an early evening bike ride on quiet roads.  We found a local produce farm which we may start using for locally grown produce.

 

After a great ride we went out for a healthy takeout in Benny our 1985 VW Vanagon.  Cooked Chicken and a salad bowl from Wholefoods eaten by Lake Washington.  Then a walk along the lake with the dogs before heading home to share the adventure with you.

 

Mountain Biking on the 4th

OK so I had intended to take a day off from Blogging but I found myself sitting on the deck enjoying the weather after my first mountain bike ride in 2 years and thought I would share the adventure.

The morning started a little slow as yesterday I planned to get up early for a road bike ride, but like all well laid plan's it felt so good in bed this morning that I might have, kind of on purpose, turned the alarm off.  I was woken by my wonderful wife and treated to breakfast in bed.  Oh I am a lucky man.  Then after a little mapping and planning I thought it might be good to breakout the mountain bike.  At which point Sarah reminded me of last weeks ride.  All done by 10am but I was wasted for the entire day, I am sure I am not the only one this happens too but Sarah it seems did not appreciate a semi comatose husband.  Can't say I blame her.  I Promised to not over do it and settled on a ride to Soaring Eagle Park then on to Duthie Hill then back again to Soaring Eagle park.

My bike is a 2011 Scott Genius Full Carbon with a Three Stage Lockout on the handlebars that allows me to move from 6" of travel to 4" to a full lockout.  This was one of the features that really drew me to the bike and I love it especially when transitioning from track to road.  Before this I rode a Specialized rock hopper hard tail and the transition from hard tail to full suspension has been sweet.

As I tell anyone who asks me I feel grateful and frustrated with living in the Pacific Northwest as the winters are hard especially if you are not fit enough to get to the mountains, but on days like today that is furthest from my mind.  In the summer the Pacific Northwest is beautiful and the local mountain bike trails are awesome for any level, and they change with the weather so rides are always changing.  Today the conditions where dry and fast.

 Leaving the house I will admit to not feeling overly spritely with aches from Yoga and believe it or not from being taught how to throw an American football yesterday for the first time (I'm English so it has never come up).  The nobly tires and the small wheels felt like I was glued to the road and crawling along but that all changed when I reached Soaring Eagle park.

Once in the park the bike came alive on  the twisting single track, lockout disengaged and the suspension allowing me to absorb the terrain with ease.  I had forgotten just how much fun single track is. Before I knew it I was out of Soaring Eagle park and on my way to Duthie Hill.

(Side bar:  Comment for bragging rights if you recognize the Jersey and can remember the Tour and the rider)

Duthie Hill was busy but you can always get away from people if like me your passion is cross country.   I started out hitting  "Boot Camp", where it was cool to see families with the children. I rode behind for a bit then they let me pass and I was able to rip it up after another rider ahead of me Wahooo.  I then went straight into "Moving On" and had the circuit to myself, coming out of "Moving On" my legs started to remind me that I had not done this for a while and maybe I should think about heading home.  Listening to my body, I proceed straight to "Step it up" remembering there was an exit at the bottom.  Ripping down hill was so much fun.  At the top I stopped to take a picture of this little jump.  I am still leery of the more technical stuff and today I avoided it all as I just don't bounce as well as I used to.

At the bottom I missed the exit, "Darn it" but I was having so much fun that I thought heck I can finish "Step It Up" and head home.

Leaving Duthie behind I made my way back to Soaring Eagle park by road.  It amazed me again how the characteristics changed as soon as I transitioned to road, it might also have had something to do with a lack of power in the legs.  No of course not.  Back at Soaring Eagle I had a blast again heading through the park.  Stopping at a map at the same time as some hikers which on reflection I now realize I was a little rude too, if your out there sorry, I just could not breath let alone take my ear buds out and have a conversation, note to self "must do better next time".  On the last stretch of the ride I hit what looked like mud but was in fact a cunningly disguised man trap for unsuspecting mountain bikers as no sooner did I hit it than I found my self flying through the air and landing softly in the brambles, got to love brambles they are soooo good for the complexion.   No harm done an no one to film me and post it on youtube for a life of embarrassment, I headed out of the park and homeward bound. 

Yes I ended up doing a little more than I expected, 19 miles and 1400ft of gain and yes my thigh's did feel like someone was poking them with hot irons when I got home, but no I am not comatose, just a little tired.

Here's to the next out doors adventure and hope to see you out there someday soon :)

Surviving Social Events

I hope you are getting ready for a great 4th July.  Today I went a BBQ with the team I work with and it reminded me how difficult social gatherings can be for those of us who have chosen a different eating lifestyle.  Depending upon where you are in the journey social events present three big challenges:

1.  You can't control the food.
2.  You might want the food and feel an emotion to having to make the choice.
3.  Social pressure to be part of the event that manifest's from ourselves and others.

Here's how we might justify participation

1. I deserve to live and treat myself.
2. It can't be that bad if everyone is doing it.
3. Other (you know them as well a I do)

If you are like me and have a condition that flares up if you eat the wrong thing then these events are doubly risky as participating can result is consequences later.  If you don't have any reactions, then the risk of "why not" is ever present.

At the end of the day it is your body and I have to remind myself I am not on a journey to convert others but to live a long, healthy and active life.  Let others choose there path and remind yourself to stay true to yours.

Tips:

1. Can you influence the food and introduce a healthy option, if so do it.
2. Select food you are sure is within your eating lifestyle.
3. Take your own and explain to others you have specific dietary needs.
4. Remind yourself that you might think you want it but do you really and is the cost worth it.
5. Look around you, do others represent how you want to look or feel.

Today at the team BBQ I took my own food and enjoyed a healthy lunch with good company.

Sending you a PowerUp to be Strong and Proud of what you are accomplishing and to wish you a wonderful and safe 4th.

If I feel rested tomorrow I will hit Bike in the morning to enjoy the wonderful weather we are having.

 

Yoga and Me

Yoga, my first impression years ago was why would I need it, not to mention that in the very first class I went to, I was the only man and at the end of the class everyone laid down and blew off.  Seriously messed up was my impression, especially given the fact that back then all I wanted to do was ride my bike fast and other stuff just got in the way.  Cross Training "Hello", but back in my early twenties I didn't care about cross training, I was invincible.  That was a mistake I wish I had not made.  As I have been taught about my body through basically breaking it, the more I have understood how everything is connected and the need and importance of balance.  I have tried Yoga at different times but it was not until I injured my back for the second time that I chose to introduce it as a regular part of life.  I am now using a combination of Yoga and Foundation Training to help work on strength and flexibility both of which are critical for a healthy balanced life not to mention for improving in our chosen sports.

Foundation Training, was pivotal in my back recovery and is the basis of my back strengthening routine today.  I believe in it so much that it has inspired me to signup for their certified instructor training just so that I can understand it at a deeper level.  I am now in the process of reading the material and I will share more about Foundation training in future posts.

Hot Yoga Today (It is important to find a good instructor as done wrong you can hurt yourself)
P.S Don't let your instructor take pictures as the poses last longer and hurt more - Thanks Salima :0)

 

Daisy showing me how to do a "Down Dog" Properly

Tool for Inspiring Movement

I don't know about you but I have always envied people who seem to have motivation and consistency nailed.  If your one of those people may be you could share your secrets.  If you are like me and find it hard to stay consistent then read on.

I have always loved technology and used devices to help me increase performance in sport such as cycle speedometers and heart rate monitors but I never considered just plain movement.  I was introduced by accident when I won a Nike+ wrist band.   When I won it I can't say I was overly excited and I was really not sure what I would use it for.

Then I got it and it dawned on me that this was not a performance device in the sense that it measured anything particularly accurately and gave no consideration to intensity, but a movement device for letting me know just how sedate I was on a daily basis (and was I sedate).  When this realization hit me I knew how important the device was for helping me stay both motivated and consistent.

How it work, it takes an arbitrary number that is uniform across everyone regardless of fitness level and counts every time you move via a built in motion detector.  By itself the number or count is meaningless however when you compare your daily counts a pattern appears.  You can then set a daily goal that stretch's you as much as you want to be stretched.

This allows you to compete against yourself and hold yourself accountable to your goal.  The net result for me was a transition from walking the dogs with Sarah may be once a week to walking with them almost everyday as I needed the movement to hit my goal.  If I cannot walk in the morning, I will take time at lunch to go for a walk or other activity and if I have not got enough points when I get home the device motivates me to get out and meet my goal.

This is the device I have (it is also sold in black)

There are other similar devices such as the FitBit and Jawbone so you can take your pick.  The message is not what device but what it helps you do - which is move more often.

If you are interested in my experience with the Nike+ let me know as it does have it's plus's and minuses but overall I am very happy with the benefit and value it delivers.

Good luck in your movement Journey.  My girls below appreciate it :0) and Sarah is happy to have me on more walks, the benefits just keep adding up.