Blew my back out

[ChrisCawthray]

Rest up as much you. Sorry to hear about the pain!

I had bad back problems in my early 20s from horrible drumming posture. I was basically leaning over to the left all the time (my ears were heading towards my hihat...), and all the muscles on one side of my spine seized up, pushing my back "out" at the slightest provocation (sometimes even walking down a flight of stairs). I did ultrasound and massage, but found the best way to fix it was with a rowing machine. It got all the muscles moving again and my back gradually got better and I haven't had a serious back problem in a decade (I also don't use the rowing machine anymore).

I also recommend the backrest stool, I have one and use it for any long gigs (weddings, corporates, etc.). They are a drag to carry around (mine is a Pearl Roadster, and I don't even know how to collapse the backrest... it's a great seat though, with a triangular back pad that seems to hit all the right spots...).

Oddly enough, my throne is the most expensive part of my gigging kit! LOL

[littlegrooves]

Does not sound like a disc issue. You will not be 30% better after a chiropractor if you herniated your disc, and you wouldn't get progressively worse after the incident-- you'd be screwed pretty instantly. Therefore, it is likely muscular. I've have had the exact same thing happen to me: felt a weird ping in the back-- concerning, but no biggie; tried to stretch it out the next day and ended up in bed for an entire weekend.

Depending on where in your back you injured it, it could be rotated disc(s). For example, if your L-vertibrae are screwed up, it could very likely be that your hamstrings are tight and are torquing your back unevenly. May you perhaps have less-than-ideal flexibility? This hamstring-related back injury is especially likely if you were learning over.

When you injure your deep core muscles (i.e. multifidus), these muscles, which are supposed to proactively stabilize your back become less proactive, thus putting more strain on your larger (re: less deep) back muscles to stabilize your spine since the deeper muscles aren't pulling their weight. The initial injury to the deep core muscles (multifidus) is something that you may not even notice. However, once this starts occurring, it cascades until they are functionally compromised and your larger back muscles are doing the work. When you torque your back nice and good, this is when you'll end up acutely straining your lower back muscles to the point of being immobilized for the better part of a day or two.

I've never found a quick fix for this, and I frankly don't think any exist. The only thing that I have found to help is a good physical therapist who will diagnose your issue and give you plenty of exercises to do. But, just like a drum teacher, they can only teach you what to practice-- the rest is up to you. From there, you just need to put in hours of pain-in-the-ass, annoying PT exercises that will get you on the straight and narrow (no pun).

Note that this injury may get progressively "better", as in it will feel better over time; however, it is an illusion! Until you fix the underlying cause, it will come back again and again. I tried to cut corners, tricking myself into thinking it was all better (because I hate PT exercises); woe to me for thinking this!

My very (unfortunately) experienced $0.02.

And for the love of God please do not do any deadlifts or squats until you are certain that you have isolated and fixed your problem!!! Jesus...

[chris perra]

The Chiro's explanation was first herniated.. then bulging disk.. which is similar but bulging isn't the disk has slipped completely out..

I think I really did the damage bending over to strap my feet into my Inversion table. because after that I barely could walk and after sitting for a bit on the computer that was the beginning of the insanity..

I definitely mushed the disk bruising it.. and the spasming out I was getting was from the muscles freaking out to protect the damaged disk..
The Chiro's adjustment realigned my bones so they weren't pushing on the disk thus the 30% improvement plus all the spasms ended..

I'm sure there's a point where a chiro can't adjust you but at that pint you'd probably be immobile. Luckily I wasn't that bad I didn't have any numbness, problems breathing or any of the major things that can go wrong with back injuries..

You're totally right regarding core strength an that's what needs to be done to fix it long term..
Nothing like losing a week of you life to motivate you into actually exercising... haha debilitating pain is a great motivator.

[Paul Marangoni]

The Chiro's explanation was first herniated.. then bulging disk.. which is similar but bulging isn't the disk has slipped completely out..

Discs don't "slip out". They're firmly attached to the vertebrae. Think of a disc as a jelly donut. A herniated disc means the outer cover of the donut has burst and some of the jelly has escaped. Then pieces of the covering can rub against nerves. Surgery is probably your only option here.

With a bulging disc, the donut is enlarged on one side, and compressed on the other. The bulging side can touch nerves, causing pain. But by doing certain stretches and physical manipulations, you can cause the jelly donut to get itself back into shape.

[chris perra]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM01274

You're right Paul.. the way the chiro described it with the little sketelon was the squishy stuff was sticking out one side of the vertebrae.. so to me it looked like it slipped out...

[chris perra]

I went to my chiro today asked him for clarification of what I had and at what point a chiro can't handle it..

I had a bulging disk....a herniated disk has fluid leaking and a disk sequestration is when a portion of the disk breaks off..

He said after 70% herniation he would be worried about treating through chiropractic.. What that mean I don"t know.. 70% of the fluid has leaked?. 70% of the disk has ruptured?.. and sequestration is out of the question

He also said the pain you feel from a bulging and herniated can be the same. however the symptoms of nerve tingling and numbness ect separate it from bulging to herniated.. The treatment of bulging and herniated disks from a chiro are the same.. depending on the severity of the herniation..

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bulging-disk/AN00272

Alot of different names for the same thing.

[Steve Holmes]

Chris, thanks for sharing all of this. I hope you find relief man!

[Paul Marangoni]

How many years has man been walking upright? Why haven't our backs evolved to handle the abuse we put them through? Maybe drummers aren't procreating enough...

[sejuba]

And for the love of God please do not do any deadlifts or squats until you are certain that you have isolated and fixed your problem!!! Jesus...

Wuut?? Man up, brother !! I´m kidding. You´re totally right. I meant it as a long term thing after you get cleared by your doctor.

I started deadlifting about a month ago and after the second or third time I did it, when I woke up the next day my lower back AND my abs were sore (in a good way). It takes some time to master the exercise, so if you ever attempt it PLEASE be careful. Anyway, I had spent a lot of time trying to fix my posture by working on the wrong areas... I´m hooked to this thing now. It is awesome!!

Anyway, I just wanna add that women deadlifting heavy ass weights looks very sexy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gujO4xYSAdo

take care man

[Rhythmatist]

I would be asking advice from doctors and trainers...not drummers. We all have some kind of back issue, some worse than others but that doesn't qualify any of us as experts, unless someone happens to have gone to med school.