The View from Sports Center

The Worst Time To Stretch Your Lower Back

 

Aging and Getting Older Quiz

Aging and getting older are different things. Aging is inevitable. You can't change it. Getting older is the result of how well you handle aging. Yes, as you age, you have to work a little harder at some things to keep your self as youthful as possible. How are you doing? Answer these questions.

• Do you find it more difficult to stand tall and straight?
• Do you find it more difficult to turn your head right and left while, for example, backing up your car?
• Do you get stiff someplace in your body while sitting through a movie?
• Do you struggle to stand on one leg to put on a shoe?
• Do you find climbing a flight of stairs more difficult and are you moderately out of breath?
• Do you struggle lifting 20-40 lb objects?
• Is your walking speed slower than it used to be?
• Could you run to get out of the way of someone or something?

So, did you have any that were YES? The good news is that you can change a lot of your Yes's into No's through training.

DK

For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .

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Did you know I have another blog? If you enjoy the science and art of getting and staying fit, you might enjoy Exercise:ology.

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Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"? You can read a sample and order it here.

Get Comfy with Comfrey Root?

A new study shows that applying an ointment with comfrey root extract to the lower back reduced acute low back pain by 95%.* And, just to be sure that it wasn't the massage that did the trick, people who received an ointment without the comfrey root also improved about 40%. So, the comfrey root appears to relieve acute low back pain better than just massaging a ordinary moisturizer on your back.

But, what exactly is "acute" low back pain? I'll bet that most people don't know or they take the word "acute" to mean "intense". The National Institutes of Health defines acute low back pain as lasting "a few days to a few weeks." Sorry to be picky, but is a few weeks three? four? six?

Here's my interpretation. Acute low back pain lasts less than one month. Sub-acute low back pain lasts up to three months and anything over three months is chronic.

If you have acute low back pain of less than one month, comfrey root ointment might be worth a try rather than something like Advil, Motrin, etc. But, if you don't feel better within two weeks, get some help. When acute low back pain turns chronic, everything gets more difficult.

DK

* Efficacy and safety of comfrey root extract ointment in the treatment of acute upper or lower back pain: results of a double blind randomised placebo controlled multicentre trial Online First Br J Sports Med 2009; doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.058677

For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .

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New to the View? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top left hand corner of my blog and then share this blog with your friends.

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Did you know I have another blog? If you enjoy the science and art of getting and staying fit, you might enjoy Exercise:ology.

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Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"? You can read a sample and order it here.

Question from a Reader: What's a Good Bed for a Bad Back?

Dear Doug,

 

Thanks for your blog and the detailing of your recovery from a herniated disc. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your wisdom, your blogs are very helpful, interesting and informative.

I have a question. Can you point me in the right direction of a bed or mattress that provides adequate support and spinal alignment for someone who has had a lumbar disc injury?

 

Thanks-

Cade

---

Cade -

Thank you for your note and I hope if the someone who had surgery was you, that you're recovering steadily and feeling better.

As for beds, there is very little science that supports one bed over another. One study conducted in Spain in 2003 showed that people who slept on a medium-firm mattress had less pain in the morning and during the day than people who slept on a firm mattress*.

There are at least three things to consider when it comes to sleep and back pain. One is the flexibility of your spine. If your spine is relatively inflexible, then during the night the positions your body assumes may place excessive force on the soft tissues and create high strain rates. Anytime you apply load to joints near the end of their available range you run the risk of excessive tissue strain. For example, try placing your hand on a firm surface, palm up, press down until your wrist is fully flexed and then just stay there. You'll get the idea of how stress at the end of range can create pain.

The second thing to consider is how easily your spine fatigues during the day. The culprit for most spine fatigue is sitting, standing, or being too still for too long. Healthy joints can withstand substantial loads and still maintain tissue homeostasis. But, weakened joints, from injury, disuse, surgery, disease, are more easily overloaded although you may not experience symptoms from the overload at the time of the overload since it can take up to 24 hours for post-traumatic cytokine to be produced (cytokines are proteins that help regulate inflammatory processes). So, for example, if you sit for a few more hours than usual one day, you may find your self in bed with lower back pain that night or the next morning even though you had little to no pain during the sitting event.

The third thing to consider is how well you support your legs and arms in the sleeping position (assuming you sleep on your side). When you sleep on your side, most people find the upper leg and arm will fall forward of the body. This creates torque on the spine and over the course of a few hours can strain tissue. I usually suggest a firm, large pillow either between the legs or under the upper leg (if you prefer the leg to be in front of your body) and a pillow under the upper arm. This will reduce the twisting effect, at least for some time, and make sleeping more comfortable.

One last thought before I make specific suggestions on beds, there is a new device that supports the spine called the Klass Vaki KBS200 that is supposed to hug your spine and support it during sleep. It has been studied and shown to reduce muscle activity and pain. I've not tried it but am planning on testing it. I'll let you know what happens and my opinions on it once I have used it.

So, my suggestions: Tempur-Pedic or Select Comfort Sleep Number. Here's why. The Tempur-Pedic is a high density foam that will both support your spine and conform to it. Some people just love it. Others feel it is too firm. Most companies that sell the Tempur-Pedic will allow you to return it within a certain time frame if you don't like it.

The Sleep Number is an air-based system that allows you to determine the degree of firmness that seems best for you. I think having some control over the firmness is helpful physically and there is a subtle mental boost as well.

Sleep well.

DK

*Kovacs, F. M., V. Abraira, et al. (2003). "Effect of firmness of mattress on chronic non-specific low-back pain: randomised, double-blind, controlled, multicentre trial." Lancet 362(9396): 1599-604.

Is a Fact the Truth?

Fact: You have $5000 in the bank.
Fact: You spend $6000 each month.
Truth: You're broke.

Fact: You have $5000 in the bank.
Fact: You spend $2000 each month.
Truth: You're not broke (and you might even be rich).

Facts are not the truth but they can be true statements. Truth is determined in the context of facts. Just because you have $5000 in the bank doesn't mean you're rich (and if you want to add a few zeros to the example, it comes out the same). The amount of money you have is just a number; a fact. 

The truth of injuries is a lot like the truth of your bank account. When you take more out of your body than you put back in, you can end up broke (and broken).

Fact: Your knee is swollen.
Fact: Your knee hurts when you walk.
Truth: You're knee is broke.

How much simpler life would be if all we had to do was handle facts.

"I need to make more money. Put more money in the bank then I'll be fine."
"I'll ice my knee and my knee will be fine."

But, life is not a bunch of facts. Life is truth. Life is how you deal with the facts and figure out what the facts mean and what to do about them.

Jesus never said, "And the facts shall set you free." He said, "And, the truth shall set you free."

Look at the facts, know the facts, and but find and accept the truth.

DK

For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .

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New to the View? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top left hand corner of my blog and then share this blog with your friends.

**

Did you know I have another blog? If you enjoy the science and art of getting and staying fit, you might enjoy Exercise:ology.

**

Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"? You can read a sample and order it here.

What's Success?

"Hey, I wanna' play this for you," said Ross.

He walked over to his iPhone, picked it up and retrieved a voice mail.

"This is from my cousin. He's had a tough few years. A couple of back surgeries, chronic pain. Has had a tough go of it with his biz. So, I gave him a copy of your book," said Ross.

Sometimes I feel like I'm made of straw. I just stood there, I'm sure, with a Scooby-Doo wrinkled face. I didn't say anything.

Ross played the voice mail. "Hey, Ross...I just wanted to call and thank you again for the book. Ya' know, it's...uhhh...it's a lotta' kinda' silly little stories but I think it's the best thing I've ever read. So, man, thank you for that."

Scooby-Doo again. All I could say was,"Cool. Very cool." Which I was ON THE OUTSIDE. I was soooooooo cooooooool. Mr. Cool rules.  Inside, my heart was flying on the wings of wishes and dreams. It soared and swooped and twirled. This was what I had hoped for. This was it. In this moment, I was rich. Richer than I ever though possible and all of that richness would walk with me forever. This was a dance I could have over and over. This was success.

My whole goal in writing and self-publishing, "The Little Book of Sparks" was embodied in that voice mail. I wanted to inspire people, teach them, and help them find even the smallest bit of light when life feels like a dark, cold, slippery cavern.

People have asked me, "Why did you self-publish it? What's your distribution plan? How will you make any money without a publisher? Can you get it on Amazon? " I wrote it for people like Ross' cousin and for people who are trying to help people like Ross' cousin. I wrote it to breathe life into people who feel as if they're barely breathing from weight of their injury, pain, and suffering. I wrote it and published it and could care less about a plan. My attitude is Ready, Fire, Aim. The world does not wait on you.

Success is very personal. For some, it's money or power or prestige or fame. You have to figure it out for your self but whatever it is for you, you'll know when you've hit it. Your soul will sing in a language you've never heard but have always known.

I probably won't make much money on my book sales and or show up on Oprah or the NY Times Best Seller list. Well, I won't deny that if I did make some money or if Oprah's people called, that would be just fine (although she might get more out of Scooby-Doo!). But if not, that's ok. I'm rich already.

DK

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For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .

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New to the View? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top left hand corner of my blog and then share this blog with your friends.

**

Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"?  You can read a sample and order it here.

Regrow Cartilage?

Scientists at MIT have created a new technology that stimulates growth of bone and cartilage that could transform the way surgeons treat conditions like degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis.

The method is currently in clinical trials in Europe. Read the full article here.

DK

Last Year on The View

Here's what I wrote last year during the month of May.

• When Less is More
• Chapter 13: February 2008
• Are You a Good Dancer?
• Chapter 14: March 2008
• Am I Really Scared or Just Stubborn?
• Chapter 15: April 2008
• Chapter 16: May 2008 (First Half)
• How About Leaving First?

Fight the Right Fight

Have you ever had days where you try to convince your self you really should get something done, work that to-do list, but you can't seem to find the energy no matter how hard and long you look? I mean it's not like you look under your chair and there it is, all the energy you need. It's just gone.

I have a few of those days each month. And for a long time, I would rail against the fog in my head, the sludge in my blood as if I it was me against someone else. "Come on! You have got to get this done! Focus! What is wrong with you! Quit making cups of tea and munching on nuts and berries and get something done!"

Then, one day, walking with Spencer, this appeared in my head.  "You will never win the fight against your self."

It's hard. Competition. Expectations. A list the length of my street with stuff to do; things to accomplish and the ticking of my creative clock pounding in my head like a ball-peen hammer on a concrete sidewalk.

"You will never win the fight against your self."

Sting said in a song, "If you love somebody, set them free."  I decided to stop fighting. If I feel tired, I now try to respect it. Accept it. Even honor it. After all, it's me. It's still hard to do but fighting doesn't help the situation at all.

And, this is exactly what you must do when you're injured, hurt, or have had surgery. You have to stop fighting your self.

It's all around you. The evidence of the fight. It's doing things that you know will hurt you, make your knee swell, or your back hurt but you do them any way and then discover you're not any better. All that just happened was you went ten rounds with your self and lost.

I'm not suggesting you become a sloth or just resign your self to life of less. No. To come back from an injury, you must fight. But, the fight is to overcome your limitations by honoring where you are, what you have, and what you can do now. Bring your fight to that battle.

Fight the right fight.

DK

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For the latest on MY TRAINING ROUTINES, click here .

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New to the View? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed: Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or sign up to get email updates in the box at the top left hand corner of my blog and then share this blog with your friends.

**

Do you have a copy of my new book, "The Little Book of Sparks"? You can read a sample and order it here.

Question From A Reader: Dislocating Patella

I gave a technically detailed answer to a question from a reader about her struggle with a chronically dislocating patella. You can read it here.

DK