Question About Lower Back Pain..

[JINKSTER]

Let me start off my giving you guys the stats here..

1. I've been back to shooting my compounds for close to a year.

2. I just started getting seriouse about trad/barebow with my Bob Lee TD Hunter recurve like 2 months ago. (basically gave up compounds so far)

3. I'm a 53 year old former marine with no major back injuries.

4. I'm a right handed shooter pulling 51#s at 27"s (measured & scaled)

5. I havent missed a night of recurve practice in the 2 months i've been doing such..typical daily evening practice sessions consist of anywhere's from 60-100 arrows shot.

Whats Happening: The muscle/area that connects the top of my butt to my lower back (on my lower right side) has been killing me..last friday i unloaded a clothes dryer out of the back of my PU Truck by myself..nothing dramatic seemed to happen there..just slid it down the tailgate edge..but last monday night i pounded like 150-200 arrows moving up to 15yds to purposefully "Shoot Myself To Fatigue" (and apparently beyond) and while my chest/shoulders and arms have been getting really pumped over the past couple months?..i'm trying to figure out..could it of been the "over-practice" session that strained a muscle in my lower back right side?..i'm 53 and it's hard to tell these days..and here i finally got 4 days off and was planning to shoot my butt off but promised myself i wouldnt shoot today to allow my lower back to heal but "not-shooting" is killing me..i want to badly..at the same tolken I dont wanna screw myself out of a beautiful day of practice if archery cant hurt the muscle in question here..sorry i typed so much and not sure if this is the correct forum but..looking for answers.

T.I.A. Bill.   :(

[xtrema312]

My bad back is not bothered by shooting, but a lot of bending and maybe twisting some pulling arrows could do it. I often shoot 100 arrows with no issue. Is your Target on the ground?

[Keefer]

Bill,
   You could of over practiced cause I have shot like that several times and a few days later had back problems and needed to rest up..Now I had my L5 S1 rebuilt so to speak with a pc.of my hip bone and a disk replacement and Hardware that is still there so I know what caused my pain and need to take it easy...I'm 48 years old and lets face it we like shooting so much it's sometimes hard to put the bow down...The best thing I can suggest is to see your Dr. and explain your pain and let them scan you to just make sure there isn't something going on down there...You could be starting to break down so to speak and Marine or not we ain't built to last forever in this life but for some the afterlife here we will get our new bodies that will never break down...So for now get it checked out cause I'm no Dr. but take care of your back...God Bless and thank you for your service...Keefers <><

[JINKSTER]

Originally posted by xtrema312:
My bad back is not bothered by shooting, but a lot of bending and maybe twisting some pulling arrows could do it. I often shoot 100 arrows with no issue. Is your Target on the ground?

no..target in on a target frame/house i built like 20 years ago..my hurricane bag is like waist high..arrows remove with ease..but did bury one low in the wood messing around with a new anchor last week..guess i could've strained myself pulling that one out.

[Stone Knife]

Shooting every night that much maybe part of your problem, I'm all for practice but the body needs it's rest also.

[Rob DiStefano]

unless you have a serious form issue, i doubt yer lower back pain is shooting related.  

find thee a good chiropractor, sir.  i've been seeing one weekly for too many decades, to care for a chronic lower back problem.  i also get massage therapy at least twice a month.  getting older demands more attention to the body if you wish to continue to pursue active outdoorsmanship.  

the sooner you get it attended to, the better.  i also recommend not masking the problem with any manner of drugs - it's false security and can easily lead to doing the wrong thing because you little or no pain, and make matters much worse.  been there, done that.  a costly stupid mistake.

[Fletcher]

One thing with practicing is to make sure you exercise the opposite side to balance the muscle strength on both sides of your back.

[JINKSTER]

Originally posted by Keefer:
Bill,
   You could of over practiced cause I have shot like that several times and a few days later had back problems and needed to rest up..Now I had my L5 S1 rebuilt so to speak with a pc.of my hip bone and a disk replacement and Hardware that is still there so I know what caused my pain and need to take it easy...I'm 48 years old and lets face it we like shooting so much it's sometimes hard to put the bow down...The best thing I can suggest is to see your Dr. and explain your pain and let them scan you to just make sure there isn't something going on down there...You could be starting to break down so to speak and Marine or not we ain't built to last forever in this life but for some the afterlife here we will get our new bodies that will never break down...So for now get it checked out cause I'm no Dr. but take care of your back...God Bless and thank you for your service...Keefers <><

Keefer..yep..i guess i'm just having trouble accepting the limitations of my age..hurt so bad that tues. and yesterday when i pulled into my work parking lot i prayed for strength to make it through the day..just dont wanna waste prayers if it's self inflicted..and you're very welcome..it was my honor.

[JINKSTER]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
the sooner you get it attended to, the better.  i also recommend not masking the problem with any manner of drugs - it's false security and can easily lead to doing the wrong thing because you little or no pain, and make matters much worse.  been there, done that.  a costly stupid mistake.

me too..got 17 teeth pulled in one sitting several years back..went to the street when the scripts ran out..went from a need to a want to a hafta have in a hurry..messed up bad..on jan. 27th i got 18months clean & sober..for the second time in my life..first time i went 16+ years..and archery was a big part of my recovery the first time as it is now. Thanks Rob.  

[JINKSTER]

Originally posted by Fletcher:
One thing with practicing is to make sure you exercise the opposite side to balance the muscle strength on both sides of your back.

good idea...maybe at my age i need to do some stretching exercises before any intensive archery practice..thanks.  

[Doc Nock]

I'd vote that you pulled something doing the dryer...doesn't take much sometimes!

I'd also guess there is some aggravation from the persistent shooting.

Rob keeps in good shape. I've had low back all too many years...turned out to be as expected, arthritis and bone spurs everywhere... then went to building up and pushing in on the spine around vertabrae.  Big surgery past March.

You, hopefully, have strained a muscle. Get PT or chiropractic treatment and get back to being happy and pain-free.  

Continuing to do what you're doing will likely result in continuing to have the problem you have!!

[Bud B.]

Having chronic backpain for years due to degenerating discs I have learned to deal with it as best as possible. I started mountain biking a few years ago and it strengthened my core without doing all the situps and crunches. That alone has done more for me than anything.

I am careful how I turn, lift, stand, sleep, etc.

Sleep on your side with knees tucked up and a pillow between to align your legs with your spine while you sleep. That has helped too.

Wearing my gear at work around my waist has not been good to me. (LEO)

Getting old stinks. Some of us just get there in body a little quicker than our actual numbers. SInce mountain biking I have not been "down in my back" like I had been in previous years.

I'm 46.

[postman]

59 years old and never had lower back pain until 2 weeks ago, stepped off stand to ground and felt sharp pain go from lower back to left leg and just about had to crawl to get out of woods. Had MRI yesterday so I guess I will find out what damage I did next week. All I know is that was some of the worst pain I think I have ever experienced, back feels better now but still have left leg hurting when I stand up.

[Berube]

I am 58 and do warm up exercises before shooting
and it help me much.

[JINKSTER]

Well folks?..for the last few years i'd been writting this off as "wallet syndrome"..maybe a touch of siatica..playing my own doctor..well?..the past month the pains been increasing..taking my wallet out didnt help..figured i just lounge around and wear comfy clothes through my 4 days off thanksgiving holidays and?..it got worse..standing hurts..sit down and it gets worse..lay down to sleep?...forgehdaboutit...i was exhausted..sleep didnt happen until my body would just collapse into what would most times turn out to be an hour or two worth of horrific nightmares then awake to pain again..well today?..as i stood in the shower in disbelief of how much i was hurting and getting nausious just thinking about the days work ahead?..i was like..no way..i aint gonna make it..so i called in and i finally took some of ya'lls advice and called the best chiro in town..one i used years ago after a bad sportbike accident..and he was running a special..$39.95..consulted for about 15 minutes..he took 4 X-Rays..then spent 10 minutes getting adjustments on the rack and 10 minutes on the massage table..it's gonna take more than one visit to get squared away but..i feel 100% better already..lower spine had a twist..he's working it out..good news?..as long as it doesnt cause me pain to do so?.i can shoot my bow..matter fact he encouraged it to keep me moving and limber..thanks folks!  

[Doc Nock]

Glad to hear you've found some relief.  Hopefully, that is all it is!

Once you get the vertabrae out of whack, things seldom go into alignment on their own.

Do those off-side exercises someone suggested. Balance in all things!  

Prayers continue

[Rookie@51]

Praise the Lord. God is good all the time. Working in this oilfield has taken it's toll on me at times. I feel all the years some mornings when I get out of bed. Of course there were other things that have added to the list of moans and groans as well. I never figured I would live this long and now that I have I see where a little more BALANCE would have helped out. LOL!. Just remember that If God brought you to it He will bring you thru it as well. Thank you for sharing this with us and I will keep lifting you up until.......Dusty

[xtrema312]

Great news. I figured it was not the shooting if not bending to pill arrows or maybe leaning way forward canting a lot. I have had 3 back surgeries with the last about one year ago mid December for L5 S1 fusion. I shot the day before I went in and not long after. As long as there was no bending, twisting or more than my weight restriction for lifting, the doc was ok with it after my first check. He wanted me walking a lot and it was winter. I put in miles walking to and from the target shooting one arrow. I have been using the shooting mornings for some years to loosen me up. It help my low back.

[arrow flynn]

been going to a chiropractor for 40 yrs . its good therapy . inactivity and sitting tightens your hamstring muscles and when you bend over then instead oof your hipchain muscles firing first your back hinges at l 4 and you got problems .i have aslight degree of scoliosis .so my problem was a little different .the cure is romanian deadlifts .start with the bar google rt form .consult your doc first progressively add wt when you can do 3 sets of 10 with 225 .you got a bullet proof back .docs just want to give vicoden .use your bodies adaptive ability . jack la lanne had same problem.

[Flt Rck Shtr]

I'm 41 and and worked on an oil rig since I was 13 yrs. old. Feel like I'm 71 some days ! Needless to say I visit the Back Cracker as I call him, quite often ! I'm with Rob on this one, don't ever get started on painkillers or muscle relaxers, just gives you a false sense of security that your back really doesn't hurt that bad. I've done this many times as a quick fix just to get back to work as I'm self employed and ended up really messing it up badly and causing myself to be down even longer. Not a good thing when you're self employed !! Hope things continue to get better for you.
     Prayers sent,
                  James