Mobility Routines to Help Prevent Throwing Out Your Back

[@jerrywalker1338]

It's holy hell when you can't even breathe without catching getting a spasm in the back! It takes so much energy dealing with back spasms, your every waking minute is focused on living with spasm after spasm. This really loosened my back up, THANKS!!!

[@russellwaller393]

So a week after starting and using your fantastic “Threw Out Your Low Back at Home and Can’t Move?” Video I have started this more advanced passive and active stretch program. I have to say that when I first looked at it just after I got hurt I thought it will be a month before I can do that! Well it’s exactly a week and I can do everything in this video exactly the way you are doing it. The only reason I can is because I followed your previous video which gave me the confidence to keep moving forward. Very slow movements at first is the key and slowly but surely I realised how powerful and intuitive your programs are! You sir, have truly helped me tremendously and I cannot thank you enough. If I lived anywhere near you I would be calling for an appointment as you know exactly what you are doing and practice what you teach yourself which is clearly evident. The only thing I am struggling with is sitting down in a chair or the car for any length of time, even 5 minutes. If I do this then my back starts to twinge slightly. I can correct this quickly to prevent this progressing to a possible spasm or simply doing a shortened version of your initial “beginner” routine. Do you have any advice or could it be an idea for a future video. Again thank you so much!

[@integritychiropractic]

Hi Russell, thanks for the kind words. I think you have made pretty great progress for 1 week only. But don't expect to be a completely normal person yet. It takes consistent practice and application of these exercises/principles on a regular basis to get to where you want to be. It's not uncommon that I have worked with patients for several months on this issue before they feel like they can do anything without fear or pain, but the fact you are putting in the work is what is going to help get you there- but there are no fast solutions, especially if this is something you've been dealing with for a long time as well. As you are working to develop your mobility and control, it may be necessary that you need to take more breaks from sitting or stand more to avoid irritating things as the sitting is still interpreted as an offending movement by your body for now. It may also be helpful for you to go in and get care from someone near you as having hands on work can also help reduce pain and assist mobility gains which would augment what you're doing already but also see if there may be another element that is contributing to your pain that may need to be considered and managed such as a disc issue. But you're on the right track so far by addressing a big part of the issue which is neuromuscular.

[@russellwaller393]

Thank you again Dr. Wen. You are absolutely correct regarding no fast solutions when it comes to back pain or injury. Your mobility stretches and exercise techniques, however have increased my personal recovery times dramatically. For me, the eureka moment this time around after my “episode” was the mobility part which had been lacking in my previous recovery regimen. Something I now understand after following your routines. Previously I was terrified at the thought of rounding my back and so I was keeping my back straight which as you are well aware you cannot do continuously as it only causes more stress on your muscles and fatigue which circles back around into back spasms. In my case the mobilisation of my back into normal motions without having to constantly protect or worry about it has been instrumental in my speedy recovery thus far. I honestly cannot emphasise this more. First thing in the morning is dangerous for me and so I walk around gently doing bits and pieces for about 10-15 minutes to get my back used to supporting the weight of my torso (I’m lean so it’s just a little extra muscle weight from gym nothing excessive and all natural). This walk around and doing stuff let’s me know what state my back is in and which part of my back may be tensing up or wanting to. After this walk around I will do your 1st basic mobility exercises without the 10 minutes with the heat pad but I will lay flat and check my back for any of those tense muscles I felt earlier or others I did not feel and relax those that I find by gently rubbing them for a bit. After those exercises I will get on with stuff I need to do for an hour or so and may lay down for 5 or 10 minutes to relax my back and then I come back to the second part of your more advanced video the “Active exercises”. I will do this same set again after lunch and then much later the passive stretches (1st part of that video). Followed later by a gentle walk. I have not had any spasms and more importantly I have had no pain when getting out of bed in the morning when I go from sitting on the edge of the bed to standing which for me, makes me sweat just before doing that because it usually produces intense spasms which take a minute or two to back off. That situation thankfully has gone completely. I am now planning to start heading back to the gym and very very slowly and with very small weights begin getting my body used to those movements again. I should add that I had a three year run from the last time my back got hurt. Most of the time for me it’s first thing in the morning and at home. Again thank you so much Dr. Wen for all your help. Russ

[@integritychiropractic]

You're very welcome and glad to hear you're on the up and up!

[@russellwaller393]

Dr. Wen you mention that you don’t include all the stretches / exercises that you do on your own which is probably more advanced. A video on what you actually do would be fantastic for when I am fully recovered and I am able to do everything. I think this would go a long way to preventing this kind of injury in the future. It would great if your would consider adding this to your video’s sometime in the future. Thank you again, my recovery keeps going in leaps and bounds. Second day back at gym at about 70% of normal. I could not have managed this without your help!

[@Blackstrapmolas]

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and expertise. Your video on fixing a thrown out back has made a measurable improvement on my life. I have gone back to your videos over a number of years and am always impressed with their efficacy. I wish you nothing but the best.

[@integritychiropractic]

Thank you. Was primarily trying to spread some good will and hope during the pandemic when things were much quieter. Very happy to see the positive impact these videos have had on thousands now.

[@karlafoster1935]

thank you. Excellent helpful video

[@morris1345]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@patricemoccio-turner452]

Very helpful videos, thanks!

[@natsyoutube]

I learned so much and i loved the speed of first the slow and then the fast routine 👍 My back feels so much better already, thank you very much 😘

[@integritychiropractic]

You're very welcome!

[@OwnUtah]

Please make your videos… you have some fantastic content 🎉

[@integritychiropractic]

Thank you very much! Have a young baby at home now which has been keeping me quite busy on my off time 😅

[@MikeRepluk]

Great video. How many times per week can we cycle this program?

[@integritychiropractic]

2-3 times a week should suffice. The active stretches I do pretty much as a warm for any pre-exercise usually.

[@MikeRepluk]

@@integritychiropractic thanks doc

[@janetyape3345]

Thank you☺️

[@raj884]

Pls advise who shud be doing these exercises, as in who can do these exercises ? If yes, then how many times in a week ? Can these exercises be done if you currently are in pain ?

[@integritychiropractic]

All that was covered in the video...

[@raj884]

Thanx for a wuick reply, pls tell where are you located, i wud want to meet you, i m from india-mumbai.

[@1c2h3i4v5a6s]

Are these exercises good for people with mild dehydrated dics? I threw out my back about 4 weeks ago and I want to do whatever I can not to have that experience ever again, Im 35 years old and I work in law service, I see that you don't recommend doing the active stretches in the morning but I go to work around 7am, what would you suggest? Thank you in advance

[@integritychiropractic]

Many people experience mild disc dessication as we age as its a natural part of the wear and tear process although depending on what you do physically can speed that up. That said, whatever the form of degeneration is present, we want to try to preserve function, mobility, and control. In your case if that is all is present, then I don't see a problem but you should proceed slowly and check in with your specialist too if needed. When I say first thing in the morning, it can be relative as you may be getting up at 3 or 4AM. The other alternative is to do it after work.

[@1c2h3i4v5a6s]

@@integritychiropractic thank you for the reply, the diagnosis they gave me was mild spondylosis and mild degenerative narrowing of the intenertebral disc spaces at L4-5 and L5-S1. I'm going to keep doing these stretches and hopefully I get back my confidence because right now I'm doing everything very carefully because I feel like it can happen again at any time

[@Nicholasrasmusen]

So I just recently threw out my back and it happened the morning after doing some of these stretches. Im pretty inflexible, so is it possible I overdid it with 1-2 minute holds?

[@integritychiropractic]

As a general rule, I usually advise patients to not do stretching first thing in the morning because we all tend to be more stiff upon waking, especially so if you are already inflexible. It is typically the most common time that patients throw out their backs as well. If you only have time in the morning I would say its good to move around a bit, get hydrated and warmed up from the morning routine- Use a little heat to help if needed. However, I always prefer do it at the end of the day to avoid this potential issue.