Back Injury Recovery Time Question

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

Hey guys, so 2 Saturdays ago I had an intense training session with the Miami Hotbox team and felt perfectly fine the rest of that day, just normal soreness, and then when I woke up Sunday morning I couldn't get out of bed. My lower back on the left side was throbbing with pain. The only relief was laying flat on my back or on my right side, but when I sat up or stood up it would hurt.

So I went to an orthopedist that Monday and got Xrays which showed it wasn't nerve damage and it wasn't spine related, so the doc said it was most likely muscular. It wasn't sharp pain or anything like that, it was more a dull pain deep underneath the skin. So he gave me a strong anti-inflammatory and said to just take it easy until it heals. Naturally my first question was "when can I go back to training???" and the doc said once I feel 100% I can get back on the mats.

Anyway, it's been almost 2 weeks now and it's been gradually getting better, and yesterday I was basically pain free, and today again I'm pain free. So even though I'd consider myself at least 95% better, probably close to 100%, I'm nervous to go back to training because I don't want to re-injure myself. I'm also DIEING to get back on the mats because my training was going SO WELL until the injury, and I was already forced out of the June 25th tournament that our team KILLED IT at. So I really want to train with the hotbox on Saturday but I'm not sure if it's smart.

If anyone has experience with this type of injury, I'd love to hear some opinions. Do you think I should train Saturday? Should I wait a few more days to make sure I'm 100% for real? Should I try jogging or something before I go right back to jits? I've been stretching for the past few days and my back has been able to handle that just fine. Thanks for the help! 10th Planet for life! :-)

[Charlene]

I've had 2 back injuries, I was out for at least 6 months each time. Not sure if we had the same injury but mine were both muscle and spine related. I couldn't even sit up without feeling pain in my lower back.

If you feel fine, maybe go train but take it easy. Just feel lucky that you feel good in only 2 weeks! Yoga did wonders for me, definitely try some restorative yoga.

btw, I grew up in Pembroke Pines, close to you!

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

I've had 2 back injuries, I was out for at least 6 months each time. Not sure if we had the same injury but mine were both muscle and spine related. I couldn't even sit up without feeling pain in my lower back.

If you feel fine, maybe go train but take it easy. Just feel lucky that you feel good in only 2 weeks! Yoga did wonders for me, definitely try some restorative yoga.

btw, I grew up in Pembroke Pines, close to you!

Thanks for your response Charlene! I do feel very lucky that it's only taken 2 weeks for me to have recovered, for the most part. But I will say that 2 weeks without jiu jitsu has felt like a LIFETIME! If I had to take 6 months off I'd probably kill myself!

Do you happen to have a link to a good website for basic restorative yoga poses? I've been stretching but just my normal static stretch routine.

Do you ever come back down to Pembroke to visit? If you do you should definitely stop by my place to train, or stop by the Miami hotbox if you're willing to drive south a bit!

[Brian Morency]

This threads is right up my ally. I felt a POP in my lower right back which was muscle related. I was bed ridden for a week with massive back spasms. I couldn't sit up or walk much. Fell down a few times too. Let it heal for about 2 months. Then from the muscles being weak I injured my spine. Now having to deal with a pinched nerve L5 S1 of back. It comes & goes with pain so I'm taking it easy at least for the next 3 months but doing lower back exercises to keep the muscles strong & supportive. The nerve damage is horrible.
I recommend still watching to learn while healing & participating a little with technique but listen to your body. Don't push it or you'll regret it. Trust me. Let it Heal for another weak or 2. Then start very light back lower back workouts. look up the big ball stuff. It looks stupid but it works. Don't go overboard. Here is some stuff from Rener Gracie http://www.youtube.com/user/GracieAc.../0/1mru33xLcDE

[Rick Weise]

Hey partner up with me this weekend, I'll take care of ya buddy... LOL! But seriously, my advice would be, go on Saturday, warm up, do technique and then if you're still feeling OK do some light rolling. Just make sure your partner knows, and that you go at a very relaxed pace (like under <50% or so), obviously stop immediately if any pain occurs.

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

This threads is right up my ally. I felt a POP in my lower right back which was muscle related. I was bed ridden for a week with massive back spasms. I couldn't sit up or walk much. Fell down a few times too. Let it heal for about 2 months. Then from the muscles being weak I injured my spine. Now having to deal with a pinched nerve L5 S1 of back. It comes & goes with pain so I'm taking it easy at least for the next 3 months but doing lower back exercises to keep the muscles strong & supportive. The nerve damage is horrible.
I recommend still watching to learn while healing & participating a little with technique but listen to your body. Don't push it or you'll regret it. Trust me. Let it Heal for another weak or 2. Then start very light back lower back workouts. look up the big ball stuff. It looks stupid but it works. Don't go overboard. Here is some stuff from Rener Gracie

Thanks Brian, I hope you're feeling better! I appreciate the advice, I'll try those big ball exercises for sure.

Hey partner up with me this weekend, I'll take care of ya buddy... LOL! But seriously, my advice would be, go on Saturday, warm up, do technique and then if you're still feeling OK do some light rolling. Just make sure your partner knows, and that you go at a very relaxed pace (like under <50% or so), obviously stop immediately if any pain occurs.

Hey Rick, I'll definitely be there on Saturday, and I will at the very least warm up and drill some tech. I guess I'll see how I feel when it comes to rolling, but hey if you or someone else wants to go super light like 20% rolling I'll probably be able to handle that. Thanks for the advice!

[Enrique "Kiko"]

Charlene, I also grew up in Pembroke Pines! Small world. What high school did you go to?

Gumby, the "go to" super safe tester would be in the swimming pool in my opinion. You can really test your range of motion while solo in any position you think you need to test in the water. Make sure to go full range of motion in multiple angles with the muscle/s you think are injured. The water can give you some resistance to the ROM angles which you can control. Good luck brother.

[Karim Graham]

ive only injured my back once, i was goofign around with buddies, i think i slipped a disc or something, i passed out and could barely move when i came too. it took about a year till i was 100% back injuries are strange, could be fine really quickly or could take ages. why dont you train really light for a little while and see how that feels, if its too much, take some more time off. if its okay then gradually increase intensity over time until your back to normal. best of luck buddy

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

Thanks for the support Kiko, and you too karim, my injury wasnt noticable when it occurred like yours was. That's part of what has pissed me off about it because I felt fine in training saturday and fine all night, i was actually hangin out with tyler and brandon all night saturday night totally fine, then sunday morning bam out of no where im a cripple

[Omar Ochoa]

I had the same thing happen twice. I felt fine after training, and next day I couldn't even get up. 1st time on my lower back and the second on my upper back/shoulder/neck area. 1st time took about 2 and a half weeks to heal with just anti-inflammatory pills. Second time took a week to heal with anti-inflammatory + yoga. I've been stretching and using a foam roller on my back after every class as well as yoga at home and it hasn't happened since.