So...I've been having back pain. FOR A WHILE! I can say that I began feeling it 9 months ago but it has not been an issue till this contest prep (WSM-Masters) where I have to push to get stronger and the events will be extremely heavy.
I decided to go see a couple of professionals about my back since it was at the point where I could not pick up a 500 lb Super Yoke, or get up off of the floor in under 5 minutes without breaking a huge sweat and nearly using bad BAD language.
The first person I went to see could only look at me, talk to me, and take an X-Ray. After a lot of discussion it was their assessment that I had at least one herniated disc. We could only see a lot of inflammation on my X-Ray and would only be able to see a true herniation via MRI which would either take a ton of money or a really long (months) wait. And in the end, I am going to train on it anyway. I mostly wanted to be fixed and to have some exercises to do at home to get better which was beyond their scope of expertise.
The second person that I went to see is one of the most famous physiotherapists in my city. Everyone knows him and they call him a chiropractor. I can tell you that he is absolutely NOT a chiropractor, more like an athletic physiotherapist. No back cracking takes place. Might be good to note that Chiropractic is not recognized here so it can not be practiced. He was great and found a lot of spots in my body where I was completely in trouble even before he looked at my back. As far as my back goes, he put me into a lot of pain, he was sweating like crazy working with me, and I can't say that I felt much better when I left. He did say that he could help me (he used the word fix) with time (and a lot of freaking money) but that if I trained even once he would refuse to see me ever again. So I paid him and never went back.
People don't understand that I'm 3 weeks out from WSM and I just need someone to work on me a couple times per week to "help me"? Seriously?
So...to be honest if you have been competing for several decades you SHOULD have a really good idea of what it takes to make yourself feel better. The people who don't know how to make themselves better are the ones that quit in their 20's or 30's. The guys in their 40's that are still killing themselves KNOW WHAT TO DO! So I've been working non-stop at home. Laying on the floor, acumobility balls, e-stim, tons of Donnie Thompson stretches, The Mobility WOD guy stuff, Matt Ladewski had some stretches and ideas, but I therapeuticize NON-STOP! Literally...almost 24 hours per day!
You know what happened since? I've added signifigant weight to every single lift in the gym because I have not given up. I absolutely will do whatever it takes to get better and doing less is never the answer! Getting up and doing MORE is almost always the freaking answer so I'm being pro-active and I'm getting better every single day!
People do look at me a little odd in the grocery store with my Rehband belt on with 2 e-stim machines sticking out while smelling like horse liniment...but who cares...I'm training!