Pain Pt. 4

Alright, so I know a bunch of you are crying “enough with the pain blogs already”, but here is where we finally get to the helpful stuff. The first posts had to address how to talk about pain, so that we can now figure out our pain. In the first post, we discussed how to describe your pain. In part 2, we got into the basic, and likely normal, pain that athletes experience and what to do about it. Number 3 was about the difference between acute and chronic pain. Now we finally get to the really good stuff, how to fix/help those aches and pains you guys all seem to be running around with.

While all my posts have this disclaimer, this one has priority. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. My advice is not medical advice. There are contraindicators (means signs that you shouldn’t do what I am suggesting) for every single one of the things I am describing. These are just some mobilizations that might help alleviate your issues if they arent too serious and are caused by mobility issues. In addition, you will need to work to find out what caused your issue in the first place, as these fixes do not always correct the underlying problem. If you feel pain, STOP. If it doesn’t feel right, STOP. It is worth the $100 to get it checked out by a high end PT and orthopedic doctor to get it fixed right the first time instead of spending $20,000 on shoulder/hip/knee/back/dumb surgery later. Also, if you are not doing a proper warm-up and cool-down, you are bringing this stuff on yourself, so be proactive about it.

Chronic or Acute Low Back Pain

• Your low back is a catch-all for all poor movement patterns, so this might be a long list…
• Weak core – If you core is weak, you will use your back to stabilize challenging. Regardless of how strong you think your core is, it can almost always get stronger. Add some hollow holds, ab wheel rollouts, or other core stabilization moves to your cool-down.
• Tight hamstrings – test is a straight-leg deadlift to the floor without bending your knees or rounding your back. If you have to bend, then go mobilize after watching this.
• You rounded your back during deadlifts (due to tight hamstrings listed above). Stop deadlifting in a crappy positioning and fix your flexibility. In the mean time, go off plates or do straight-leg deadlifts with a tight torso.
• Tight Hip Flexors and Quads- test is a deep, long lunge with a vertical torso with your abs and butt squeezed and being able to get your knee to the ground without feeling like you are tearing your quad off. If you have to lean forward or are feeling generally tight in the front of the hip/leg, then you need to mobilize this.
• You pull with your low back when finishing hip dominant movements (Kettlebell Swings, Deadlifts, Glute-Ham Raises, etc) causing a super tight back and possible spine pain (due to tight hip flexors listed above). Stop moving in a crappy positioning and fix your flexibility issues. In the mean time, work to engage your abs and squeeze your butt on hip dominant movements to avoid over-extending the spine.
• Compression of the Low Back – Hit the Reverse Hyper or just use some simple decompression tricks for the low back here.
• Tight Shoulders – If you have tight shoulders and try to go overhead, you will compensate by arching your back, thus putting undue strain on your low back. See the shoulder mobility section below.

Chronic or Acute Knee Pain

• Tight Hip Flexors and Quads- test is a deep, long lunge with a vertical torso with your abs and butt squeezed and being able to get your knee to the ground without feeling like you are tearing your quad off. If you have to lean forward or are feeling generally tight in the front of the hip/leg, then you need to mobilize this.
• Junky stuff above the knee. Put a ball right above your knee, and pull heel to butt looking for the most tension.
• Bad Squat Form – Whether mobility or movement is causing this, no excuses. Fix it. Knees-over-Toes or no go. Only go as deep as your flexibility allows while maintaining good positioning. In the meantime, fix your hips, hamstrings, calves, and adductors.

Sharp pinching in the front of the hip

• Tight Hip Capsule – If your femur can’t move properly in the hip capsule, you can piss off all types of things by running it into things. Try this.
• Lacking Internal or External Rotation – Number 1 is same as above. Number 2 is here.

Chronic Achilles/Heel Pain

• Tight Calves – This is a HUGE issue that many of us don’t deal with or even realize until your Achilles goes “POP”. Simple stretch for your calves here. Release all the sliding tissue in your calves by rolling them, smashing them, whatever. If it makes you feel better, do it.
• Inflamed Plantar Fascia – Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of your foot. It is really painful and can lead to some nasty things in the future if it is not addressed. Luckily, it is an quick fix for most, roll the bottom of your foot with a ball and back off on the jumping/running a bit until it feels fresh. Check K-Starr’s info here.

Chronic or Pinching Front of the Shoulder Pain

• Tight Front of the Shoulder – Regardless of what is tight, your shoulder gets pulled forward into a poor position. This leads to the soft tissue of your shoulder running into things that it isn’t supposed to. Often, this shows up in overhead movements where you cannot fully extend your arm into a good position overhead. This can be from a variety of muscles, maybe your chest and anterior delt or possibly your lats and traps.
• The Infamous Rotator Cuff – Strengthen the back of your shoulder (your scapular stabilizers) and loosen the front of your shoulders by addressing the above. There are a wide variety of excellent scapular movements, but Ido Portal has some good ones here and here.

So, I know that was a ton of info for one day, but hopefully, you can refer to this post in the future when you run into a bit of pain.

Workout of the Day 2/24/2012

Level 1

A.
3 Rounds
6-9 Push Press
30 Sec Rest
3 Dead Bug
3 Resurected Dead Bug
3 Resurected Dead Bug w/heartbeat
30 Sec Rest

B.
4 Rounds
24 Push Press (65/45)
12 Box Jumps (20/16)
200M Run
1 Min Rest

C. (Optional)
3 Rounds
12-15 Bent over rows
15-25 Double Unders (or attempts)

Level 2

A.
3 Rounds
3 Push Press
30 Sec Rest
5 Pistols (each leg)
30 Sec Rest

B.
100 Push Press (95/65)
*Every time you put the bar down, perform 12 Box Jumps (24/20) and a 200M Run.

C. (Optional)
3 Rounds
3-5 Bar Muscle Ups
8-10 Reverse lunge weighted (each leg)

Fundamentals

A. Clean Technique
Hang Power Cleans
10-10-10

B. Each Partner performs 2 rounds before moving on:
1) 2 rounds:
Partner 1: 100m Run
Partner 2: Plank Hold

2) 2 rounds
Partner 1: 20 box jumps
Partner 2: wall sits w/yoga block

3) 2 rounds
Partner 1: 20 Wall Ball
Partner 2: AMRAP squats

4) 2 rounds
Partner 1: 20 sit-ups
Partner 2: Hold Side plank (switch at rep 10)

Competitor

A. 8-12 Min on rower at 70% pace.

B. Spend 30 minutes on rehab and mobility

Sorry, Jesse, can’t help you with that one