How I Managed My Own Back Pain Flare Up Last Week — Transcript

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1. 0:00So this week I'm going to be talking
2. 0:01about back pain, but from my own
3. 0:03personal experience. So obviously I work
4. 0:05with people with back pain every single
5. 0:06day. But I've actually got a bit of a
6. 0:08back history myself. And recently the
7. 0:10back pain has actually came back a
8. 0:11little bit. And I'd actually say it's
9. 0:12come back worse than it's ever been
10. 0:13before. So over the last 3 to 4 days, I
11. 0:15started noticing my back stiffen up a
12. 0:16little bit. Very similar to how it did
13. 0:18when it first ever become a problem. And
14. 0:20I'm still struggling quite a lot with it
15. 0:21at the moment. So this is the exact
16. 0:22strategy I've used over the last three
17. 0:24to five days to actually settle my pain,
18. 0:26learn a little bit around it, make sure
19. 0:28that I can work and train around it, and
20. 0:30more importantly teach you the key
21. 0:32skills you need to learn from this own
22. 0:33process myself that you can implement
23. 0:35for yourself. So the first step for me
24. 0:37was actually not rushing in to do any
25. 0:39particular exercises or trying to use a
26. 0:41lot of the drills that I use straight
27. 0:42away. The biggest thing I know I needed
28. 0:44to do was actually figure out what
29. 0:46positions I could tolerate, which I
30. 0:47couldn't. The first two days I actually
31. 0:50couldn't figure out if I liked bending
32. 0:52down or extending. Um, which is quite
33. 0:54unique. Traditionally, I don't like
34. 0:55extension just because of the injury I
35. 0:57had two and a half years ago. So, for
36. 0:59me, I was quite surprised that flexion
37. 1:01and bending down and putting my shoes
38. 1:02and socks on was actually as bad as it
39. 1:04had been and it's never been that bad
40. 1:05before. So, I used the first couple days
41. 1:07just to get a gauge of what I could
42. 1:08tolerate. So when I was trying to learn
43. 1:09what positions I could tolerate the four
44. 1:11movements we use in the clinic and also
45. 1:13I wanted to understand was bending down
46. 1:16extension
47. 1:17rotation and side to side. And today's
48. 1:20the first time I really felt comfortable
49. 1:21trying to go through all these motions.
50. 1:23So with that me touching my toes the
51. 1:25main thing I'm just trying to understand
52. 1:26and make sure I'm focusing on is
53. 1:27actually driving through my hips or
54. 1:28through my back. And even there I can
55. 1:30feel it really quickly. So what I'm
56. 1:32going to do is just go through the
57. 1:32drills the same way I always do and just
58. 1:34relax through it. Nice breath in through
59. 1:35the nose.
60. 1:37Nice big breath out.
61. 1:44And that actually feels really nice
62. 1:46today. Extension still feels really kind
63. 1:49of tight and pinchy. And the best way I
64. 1:51would describe my back pain, which a lot
65. 1:52of people and like yourselves might
66. 1:54experience, is just the stiffness around
67. 1:56here. I don't I'm very fortunate to not
68. 1:59have any referred pain down the leg. I'm
69. 2:00not getting any numbness or pins and
70. 2:02needles. I do feel as if the stiffness
71. 2:03here is stopping how I walk and feel
72. 2:05free. And that goes on to the first
73. 2:07thing I've really kept on top of is keep
74. 2:09my step count high and go for my walks
75. 2:11to keep me active because I haven't been
76. 2:13comfortable to go to the gym and go and
77. 2:14actually train the way I train. I've
78. 2:16just kept it really simple and I've just
79. 2:17kept my step count as my main form of
80. 2:19exercise. Then I want to just check my
81. 2:21extension.
82. 2:24Doesn't feel great. I obviously don't
83. 2:26look comfortable going through it. I
84. 2:27don't get any pinch or sharp pain. But
85. 2:29it's a really key thing to learn here
86. 2:31that again you're going to have these
87. 2:33hesitencies and you're going to be a
88. 2:34little bit cautious with it. That for me
89. 2:35is more important than actually me
90. 2:37feeling nothing here. I know I'm a
91. 2:39little bit guarded here. So I know
92. 2:40sensitivity is at the forefront of my
93. 2:42problems at the moment. Not necessarily
94. 2:44structural. Once I figure out if
95. 2:46sensitivity is driving a lot of my
96. 2:47stiffness and my lack of progression,
97. 2:50then I know I can use my exercises to
98. 2:52actually drive in the most positive
99. 2:54direction of actually getting my
100. 2:55movement back, settling my pain and then
101. 2:57earning my confidence back up again. So
102. 2:59that gives me a lot of confidence to
103. 3:00know that sensitivity is probably
104. 3:01driving the stiffness now. Now again
105. 3:03looking at rotation,
106. 3:07feel absolutely fine going this way.
107. 3:11I feel a little bit of a pinch on my
108. 3:12right side. And again, right side is
109. 3:14where my history's been. That's where
110. 3:15I'm kind of feeling it the most now. And
111. 3:17then side to side
112. 3:20doesn't feel great, which again
113. 3:22shortening and closing that space is
114. 3:23exactly the same as what I'm feeling
115. 3:25here and here. And then as I lowered my
116. 3:28right, I don't have any issues with this
117. 3:30at all. This actually feels quite nice.
118. 3:31So again, me loading my right side, me
119. 3:33loading my right side doesn't cause me
120. 3:35an issue, but me asking those tissues to
121. 3:37let go. And from a sensitiv sensitivity
122. 3:39perspective, I can then trust, ah, this
123. 3:42again is a sensitivity problem. So let's
124. 3:43attack that for my first phase of rehab.
125. 3:46So if you've ever watched any of our
126. 3:47videos, you know I absolutely love this
127. 3:49exercise for that initial lower back
128. 3:51pain form of rehab. So straight off the
129. 3:54bat, I'm all I'm going to do is just
130. 3:55figure out what what feels comfortable.
131. 3:58Sometimes a pillow doesn't feel great if
132. 4:00I'm having to arch and bend into it. So,
133. 4:02I'm going to just get rid of the pillow
134. 4:03for this. Again, pinching can get that
135. 4:06bit of tightness and that pain, which I
136. 4:08don't often get, but today it doesn't
137. 4:09feel great. And that has no problem at
138. 4:12all. I don't mind rounding it. So, I'm
139. 4:14going to take my time with the
140. 4:15extension. Again, if you're having pain
141. 4:17extending your back, just find the
142. 4:18limit. Please don't force it. It's no
143. 4:20benefit to you. Just find I'm probably
144. 4:24just about there, just above neutral. My
145. 4:25aim is at the end of the exercise I can
146. 4:27load it and feel a lot better. So I'm
147. 4:29going to go a nice control breath in.
148. 4:33Not the best. I can feel myself exhale.
149. 4:35Exhaling outwards. So I'm going to do is
150. 4:37just find my sternum. Find my diaphragm.
151. 4:42That's better.
152. 4:51Find the diaphragm. Let's aim for three
153. 4:52to five seconds. Slowly in.
154. 4:58And then a long exhale out.
155. 5:08One more.
156. 5:25Now I've settled myself into it, relaxed
157. 5:27into it. Just recheck that position. I
158. 5:29can now extend and actually don't have
159. 5:31much pinch anymore. Just off the back of
160. 5:33three breaths, just calming my nerve
161. 5:35system down. It's always really cool for
162. 5:37me to feel that cuz it's always good for
163. 5:39me to see other guys respond well in the
164. 5:41clinic, but it's always nice for me to
165. 5:42feel that myself. And it's slowly adding
166. 5:45the breath in.
167. 6:02That's better. So, I quite like the
168. 6:06rounded reach for me. I just think
169. 6:07that's a bit comfortable than reaching
170. 6:09down. I also don't have the best neck,
171. 6:11so I don't want to stiffen my neck up
172. 6:13either. So, I want to just make sure I
173. 6:14feel really relaxed with that motion. I
174. 6:16want to just do one more rep. Slow
175. 6:17breath in.
176. 6:34Okay, great. I feel much better in
177. 6:37extension there, which is really cool to
178. 6:38see. That's always really rewarding.
179. 6:41So, that drill was really helpful for me
180. 6:43there to actually feel that extension
181. 6:45not feeling super great with the first
182. 6:46rep. And then as I breathed into it and
183. 6:48relaxed into it, the rep got so much
184. 6:50more comfortable for me to go into
185. 6:52extension. So, I'm going to just try it
186. 6:53again in standing. I can still feel it.
187. 6:55I can still feel it a little bit tight
188. 6:56there, which is completely normal, but
189. 6:57I'm going to just check my extension.
190. 7:00And even I have a little bit of that
191. 7:02subconscious trust that I can lean into
192. 7:06a bit more. Still feel a bit pinchy, but
193. 7:08nowhere near as bad as it was a second
194. 7:10ago. And then flexion.
195. 7:13Much better. Again, just check rotation.
196. 7:17Still feel a bit pinchy there. So, I'm
197. 7:18going to target rotation in the next
198. 7:20exercise.
199. 7:22And I still feel a little bit better
200. 7:23with side flexion as well, which is
201. 7:25probably why I'm still feeling it is a
202. 7:26little bit cuz this drill is obviously
203. 7:27very forward and backwards. Let's try a
204. 7:29few drills that incorporate rotation and
205. 7:32side to side as well. So, now I'm going
206. 7:34to target rotation and side to side a
207. 7:36little bit. I feel confident to do it.
208. 7:38If for you, you don't feel super
209. 7:39comfortable trying some of these ex
210. 7:41exercises, the exercise I would stick to
211. 7:43would be the pelvic tilt. And I would
212. 7:44just target that for day one until you
213. 7:46feel a lot more confident and a lot more
214. 7:47comfortable with the drill. Now, if
215. 7:48you've done this one before and you feel
216. 7:49comfortable with it and you feel as if
217. 7:51side to side in standing gave you a bit
218. 7:52of confidence that, okay, you can lean
219. 7:54into it a bit more, then this is what I
220. 7:55would opt for. So, what I'm going to do,
221. 7:57this is going to target very much my
222. 7:58right hip flexor, but also I'm going to
223. 8:00target the right side of my obliques and
224. 8:03my lower back as well. All I'm going to
225. 8:05focus on is really nicely just leaning
226. 8:07slightly into it so I get a really nice
227. 8:09stretch here. Again, extension is a
228. 8:11position I'm a bit uncomfortable with,
229. 8:12but me leaning and stretching this is
230. 8:14going to be really really good because
231. 8:15I've not been able to do it for the last
232. 8:173 to 5 days. All I'm going to do is put
233. 8:18my hand on my rib cage, arm overhead,
234. 8:20nice and relaxed, nice big breath in
235. 8:22through the nose, controlled.
236. 8:25Feel the diaphragm working. Exhale.
237. 8:34And then if I can and I feel comfortable
238. 8:36too.
239. 8:38Nice big breath in. I'm going to go for
240. 8:39another rep.
241. 8:44That feels so good. That feels really
242. 8:45nice. It feels really nice here. It
243. 8:47feels really nice here. I'm going slowly
244. 8:49come back in. Now I'm going to go
245. 8:50straight into a rotational drill.
246. 8:52Rotation traditionally has always felt
247. 8:53really nice for me. If I'm squatting or
248. 8:55deadlifting, I'll always involve an
249. 8:57element of rotation, especially if I'm a
250. 8:58bit stiff here. So, I'm going to just
251. 9:00keep the same position. What I'm going
252. 9:02to do is just get comfortable
253. 9:04with just rocking forward and backward
254. 9:06really slowly. Just again finding my
255. 9:08limit.
256. 9:10And again, traditionally rotation to my
257. 9:12left doesn't feel great. This feels
258. 9:14pretty good. When this can lengthen, my
259. 9:15nervous system feels a lot more control
260. 9:17and relaxed and I can lean into it a bit
261. 9:19more. Nice big exhale.
262. 9:26when you've been in pain, it feels
263. 9:28really good to get some movements back
264. 9:29in that you've not been able to do for
265. 9:31the last couple of days. So again, still
266. 9:33feel it a little bit, but just going to
267. 9:34go through my motions again.
268. 9:37That feels really nice and I feel as if
269. 9:39I can really get there now. Again, this
270. 9:41is the position I feel the most
271. 9:42comfortable with, so I'm happy to try
272. 9:43it.
273. 9:47That feels really good. I'm even happy
274. 9:49to just give myself a bit of a reach
275. 9:51overhead, just get the rib cage elevated
276. 9:53as well.
277. 9:55That feels much better.
278. 10:01Don't really feel too much there. Feels
279. 10:04a bit funny there. Just feel it
280. 10:05slightly. So, I think what I'm thinking
281. 10:06is there. I want this hip to be happy to
282. 10:08take load. Now, I can move a lot better,
283. 10:10but traditionally your muscles aren't
284. 10:12going to be super happy to kick in when
285. 10:13there's been a bit of a threat. So,
286. 10:15exercise three is going to be a lot more
287. 10:16targeted around muscle activation in a
288. 10:18second.
289. 10:20And that doesn't feel as bad as it did a
290. 10:22second ago. Feels
291. 10:26much better. Still a bit pinchy, but
292. 10:28again, you might be able to see kind of
293. 10:31the speed, and you can see how I feel a
294. 10:33lot more comfortable the more reps I do.
295. 10:36This is really good. This is the most
296. 10:37I've moved in three days. So, I'm really
297. 10:38liking this. I think what this video is
298. 10:41really helpful with for people is like
299. 10:43the pain I've had hasn't been any
300. 10:45different to what most people might
301. 10:46experience. But hopefully you can see in
302. 10:49my confidence that I do know this will
303. 10:50settle. I know because I see it every
304. 10:52day. Secondly, I've been here a little
305. 10:53bit before. Despite this being the worst
306. 10:55I have felt in two and a half years,
307. 10:57this definitely goes to show as well
308. 10:59that sometimes it does take a little bit
309. 11:01longer. Those flare-ups could be
310. 11:02slightly different. The last one I had
311. 11:03before this was maybe 6 months ago. Felt
312. 11:05it slightly going into a deadlift. Just
313. 11:07stopped the motion. Was in a bit of pain
314. 11:09for the rest of the afternoon into
315. 11:10evening and then I had no issues the
316. 11:12next day. This time again, not really
317. 11:14sure where the pain came from. Was
318. 11:16deadlifting the day before, but at the
319. 11:18end of the day, this is the worst I felt
320. 11:19in a half. This feels pretty good.
321. 11:22Don't be afraid to try simple exercise
322. 11:24like this to build confidence. If I'm
323. 11:25doing it, there's no reason you can't.
324. 11:30Keep my feet together. I'm going to just
325. 11:32hold
326. 11:38nicely.
327. 11:39It's pretty hard.
328. 11:51And so even off the back of just one set
329. 11:53of mini bandic clams on each side and
330. 11:55the glute bridges there, which again is
331. 11:57the most I have done in three days, just
332. 11:59walking from the camera and back around,
333. 12:01I don't get that pinch that I was having
334. 12:02with the pelvic tilts and the stretches
335. 12:04here. So again, activation of muscles
336. 12:06around are really key. If people say
337. 12:08don't use benny bands, ignore them.
338. 12:11Simple. Does the job. I'm going to
339. 12:12retest my movements. That feels night
340. 12:15and day.
341. 12:18Oh, that feels so much better. Don't get
342. 12:20any pinch at all.
343. 12:26So much better. Again, slight awareness
344. 12:29of it, but so much better. You might
345. 12:31hear in in a consultation or in a
346. 12:32session, you're going to have a little
347. 12:34bit reminder cuz that sensitivity does
348. 12:35doesn't just drop. It stays. nervous
349. 12:38system is doing its job. It's completely
350. 12:39normal to experience some lingering pain
351. 12:41even after the first 45 or 60 minutes of
352. 12:43doing something, but I've only been
353. 12:45doing work for maybe 10 15 minutes.
354. 12:46We'll go through this demonstration and
355. 12:48I'm already feeling a lot more confident
356. 12:49in the day. So again, keep it simple.
357. 12:51Learn about what you can do over the
358. 12:53first 24 hours. I've been having
359. 12:54paracetamol and ibuprofen every four
360. 12:56hours just to settle the pain, just to
361. 12:58help with the travel and what I was
362. 12:59doing over the weekend. And then when I
363. 13:01got into the clinic today and felt a lot
364. 13:02better to be able to exercise and just
365. 13:05try a couple of things I have not been
366. 13:06able to do over the last three days,
367. 13:08went for a walk this morning and after
368. 13:10an hour drive got straight onto this and
369. 13:12I'm feeling a lot better. Even for me
370. 13:14who work with people with back pain
371. 13:15every single day when my back goes I'll
372. 13:17have the exact same little bit of a
373. 13:18panic, the exact same reaction. That's
374. 13:20completely human. But for you now
375. 13:23knowing the insights of how to get a
376. 13:26good idea of what this back pain is
377. 13:27going to be. Learn for the first couple
378. 13:29of 24 hours. The first couple of days
379. 13:31are your way of gauging what can you do
380. 13:33and what can't you tolerate. Don't push
381. 13:34it. Respect the boundaries. Listen to
382. 13:36your body. And once you start getting
383. 13:38those symptoms settling a little bit.
384. 13:40Start bringing in really simple basic
385. 13:43exercises that are absolutely minimal
386. 13:45and actually have a lot of powerful
387. 13:47effect of one giving you confidence but
388. 13:49then also giving your nervous system an
389. 13:50idea that we're good. We're safe. We're
390. 13:53going to get better. We're going to move
391. 13:54in a better direction this week. So,
392. 13:56it's the day after yesterday's um
393. 13:58initial assessment where I was going
394. 14:00through the motions, going through the
395. 14:01initial rehab exercise I was using. And
396. 14:03today, I'm feeling significantly better.
397. 14:05This morning, I still felt a little bit
398. 14:06of symptoms just on my right side, which
399. 14:08is very different to what I was
400. 14:09experiencing over the last 3 to 5 days.
401. 14:11In terms of how yesterday went, after I
402. 14:13did the exercises, after I obviously had
403. 14:15a few meetings, sat down, had a full day
404. 14:17of clinic, the main symptoms I was
405. 14:19experiencing were tightness very much in
406. 14:20my lower back muscles, which was very
407. 14:22different to what I was experiencing
408. 14:23over the last 3 to 5 days. For me,
409. 14:25that's usually a really positive sign
410. 14:27because once you see pain and stiffness,
411. 14:29just start moving a little bit. You
412. 14:30start knowing that your nervous system
413. 14:32is starting to understand what's safe
414. 14:33and what isn't. And I think that was a
415. 14:35really positive sign for me to know,
416. 14:36okay, cool, it's moved away from the
417. 14:38stiff, painful sight right in my pelvis,
418. 14:41which was really limiting comfort in
419. 14:43sitting, comfort in walking, comfort in
420. 14:45demonstrating exercises. Um, and then so
421. 14:48for those symptoms to move was was quite
422. 14:49a positive sign in my mind. When it then
423. 14:51came into today, woke up, had a really
424. 14:53good sleep. Symptoms feel really good
425. 14:55today. I don't actually feel any pain or
426. 14:57tightness in my lower back. I don't feel
427. 14:58anything across my lower back, which is
428. 15:00the first time in any 3 to 5 days I've
429. 15:02experienced that. And from a movement
430. 15:04perspective, again, going through the
431. 15:05four main movement checks, I feel really
432. 15:07comfortable going into flexion, really
433. 15:10comfortable going into extension, and I
434. 15:12don't really have any concerns rotating,
435. 15:14which yesterday displayed some slight
436. 15:16pain. And exactly the same again today.
437. 15:18I don't have any issues there. And side
438. 15:21to side, I don't have any issues there.
439. 15:23So, just finished the clinical day for
440. 15:25today. And actually wanted to just
441. 15:26update on how my back's been. And it's
442. 15:28been night and day from where it was
443. 15:30last Thursday to how it was today.
444. 15:33Today, like I said, on the initial
445. 15:35morning movement assessment, I felt as
446. 15:38if it was actually moving in the best
447. 15:39direction. Didn't have any stiffness or
448. 15:40any pain at all. And even through a
449. 15:42whole kind of 8 hour day, I've had no
450. 15:44symptoms at all today. Hope you actually
451. 15:45enjoyed the video. Hope you enjoy this
452. 15:46type of series. If uh hopefully I never
453. 15:48have another back issue again to do
454. 15:50another video, these very these
455. 15:51demonstrations. But hopefully you can
456. 15:52see a nice insight in terms of my mind
457. 15:54kind of process with it. one to kind of
458. 15:56respect the fact it's completely normal.