Back pain… It’s one of the most common and debilitating injuries that anyone can get.
Stats show that 80% of adults will incur some form of low back injury in their lifetime.
If you’ve ever had a bad one, you know how shitty it feels to miss training because you’re all stiff and you’re moving around like you’re 95.
Trust me, I know what you’re going through, as I’ve had to deal with some low back issues because of this:
Here’s what happened…
I was born with a pretty big birth mark on my back, it was a bit smaller than the palm of your hand.
When I was in Grade 8, the docs decided it might be a good idea for me to get it removed, just in case it ever went malignant (cancerous).
Although the chance of that happening seemed to be slim, the prospect of having this ugly, hairy birthmark removed from my back outweighed going under the knife, so I agreed.
Looking back on it now, I wish I would’ve left it, because it was a lot cooler than the scar I have now. But hindsight is 20/20.
Anyway, I went under the knife, got the thing removed, and for 2 months, I was flat on my back and immobile.
Needless to say, I got weak and stiffened up a lot.
Because I was young and I always enjoyed sports and pushing myself, I got back into shape.
But my body wasn’t the same.
When I started weight training a few years later, I had difficulty squatting and deadlifting, which persisted for years.
Every once in a while, I’d tweak my back and be in pain for 1-3 days.
I mean, there was no way I was going to stop squats or deadlifts, so I just dealt with it.
There were other instances where my back would tweak.
I remember one time I was reaching across to the passenger side of my car to pick something up and my back just went out.
I was actually on my way to a beach vball tournament with my bro and I didn’t want to pull out, so when I got to the beach, I started doing a bunch of core exercises.
I knew from my university days with Dr. Stu McGill that stability is the key to back health and I thought to myself, “If there’s no damage, and the muscles are all contracting to guard the area because the brain thinks the area is unstable, if you can prove to your brain that the area is stable and that the muscles are working properly, you can shut off the spasms.”
So I did 1 set of 4 core exercises, which took me about 7 minutes to complete, which I now call the ‘Damage Control’ routine.
After doing this simple little routine, my spasms greatly decreased and I was able to play.
The back actually got better as I was playing until I was at 100% by the end of the day!
I was amazed at how fast I got relief, as I knew from previous experience that this pain would last at least a full day, but usually 2-3 days.
But you can only do the routine if you KNOW there’s no actual damage/trauma, like it’s one of those instances where you were tying your shoes or picking something up off the ground, then try the routine out.
Here’s the link to the DAMAGE CONTROL ROUTINE:
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