How I recovered from a lower back injury

A few weeks back I injured my lower back during warm ups at a kick boxing class. It sucked.

I am not writing this blog post to complain about the injury. I am writing this entry to tell you how I healed myself.

I went to a Chiropractor and a Massage Therapist to help with the discomfort. I also took care of myself by taking natural supplements and stretching at home.

The Chiropractor told me I had inflammation and that my lower vertebrae were jammed. This was causing a nerve to be pinched between the vertebrae. Ouch! And My Pelvic bone is slightly tilted. (Thank you childbirth)We had to unjam them and get my spine moving fluidly again.

Photo credit.                  White Tiger Natural Medicine

The Massage Therapist I went to was also taking Kick boxing classes. So I asked him to work on the areas of my body that he thought he would need worked on himself. First we focused on where my pain was, the lower back. He also worked on my upper legs, upper back and neck, ankles and knees. I had a tight T-Band?

He told me that all professional athletes get injured but you don’t always here about it. And when you are exercising as much as I do, you should get a massage at least once a week. But if you couldn’t do it that often then to try to get a massage once a month.

Good point. Never really thought about Massage being that important except for relaxation, right?

So I decided to look a little bit more into the whole thing via google search. LOL

This is what I found and totally agree with.

The oldest form of medicine can date back to 2,700 B.C. in Chinese Medical Literature. Massage.

Massage can lower heart rate, lower blood pressure, increase lymph flow and circulation. Massage also helps with the elimination of toxins that build up in our bodies from exercise and every day life. Massage will also help with exercise related injuries and help prevent future injuries. Let’s not forget how relaxed we feel after a great massage. It also helps with anxiety, mood, stress, depression, headaches and digestion. And who doesn’t want to recover faster after an injury?  Resource – www.bodybuilding.com

I did not find a whole lot on Chiropractic while web surfing. But just from my experience I do believe that if I did not go, I would still be in pain and not exercising. Remember my fitness addiction? Chiropractic care just makes sense. All of your bones are connected and they support your muscles and organs. That is a lot of work for the poor skeletal system! If your joints aren’t moving like they should then our bodies aren’t doing as good as they should.

What I found out that helped with a quick recovery was  stretching on a large exercise ball at home. I started in a squat position with my arms over my head and my back against the ball. Slowly, I rolled backwards with my back still making contact on the ball until my hands were touching the ground behind me. I did this three times in a row. Then I draped myself over the ball and just hung there. The technical term for that move would be The Wheel with ball support. If you can’t reach the floor with your hands, go as far as you think is comfortable.

Demonstration of The Wheel on an exercise ball

What also helped stretch out the spine was The Cobra Pose. If you lay on your stomach with your palms on the ground next to your shoulders, push yourself up and arch your chest up. Crack! Stretch! If your neck is tight you can roll your head in a circle from side to side.

Demonstration of The Cobra Stretch

Last but not least! Natural home remedies!

I took Organic Sulfur. I also took Noni and Mangosteen juice. And I drank 8 ounces of water with apple cider vinegar and half of a lemon squeezed into it for the pain and the inflammation.

The next time you are in pain, don’t finish the class. Don’t be a hero. It is ok. We all get injured at some point in life. It means “Slow down” Take the time to heal. Take care of yourself so you do not get injured more the next time.

For more information on products mentioned in this blog please inbox me. I prefer Organic Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar. If you click on the products above, it will also take you to where you can purchase them.

There are many other great exercises and stretching techniques not mentioned in my blog post. These are the two that were most effective for my particular injury and helped with my speedy recovery. Please feel free to comment and ask for any fitness advice. Namaste.

Related articles

• The Many Unexpected Benefits of Massage (underpressuretherapeutics.com)
• Fantastic Information For Getting The Best Benefits From Massage (klayoxyoung.wordpress.com)

You want me to do a hand stand?

This is me after class

“Now that you are warmed up, I want you to find wall space and do a hand stand.” Shannon the Yoga Instructor says. The last time I ever tried to do a hand stand was when I was twelve years old. I was probably trying to be a Gymnast or something in my backyard.

It’s a small sized class. I stand back and watch the others attempt the hand stand with their feet against the wall. My Best friend Abbey does it like it’s her day job. First try and I actually did it! I, Andy, in my 35 year old body did a full hand stand! Now I can cross that off of my bucket list. 😉

The hand stand pose was one of the easier poses of the night. We also did a wheel pose while doing push ups. Wish I had a photo of that one!

This is my third class that I have taken of Shannon’s. I have to say, that it may be time to join Cirque Du Soleil! I can now brush my hair with a comb in between my toes. Just kidding. Maybe I can? Oh, never mind.

I can tell that I am becoming more flexible. After three yoga classes, I can now do The Bird of Paradise pose. I took a photograph of my best friend doing it, but can not post the photo because I know she would disapprove. So here is one I found on the internet.

Bird of Paradise

What I love about the Yoga class is that it is Vinyasa Flow or some know it as Power Yoga. And Shannon has several portable heaters in the room to make you sweat. The heat is to help you stretch further into the pose. Or to make you feel like a pretzel.

But seriously, Abbey goes to the class to help with her Hip Displesia and I go for strength and core.

Funny moment in class. The Instructor is teaching us to be light on our feet. She tells us to float forward from plank to feet in between hands without making a sound. Guess who sounded like an elephant? Me! All of five feet two inches. Probably the tiniest one in the room. Everyone got a good laugh out of it though.

Ok, so here are a few pics we took after class that day.

Learning Crow Pose

Successful Crow Pose

Side Crow

What I have learned with some of Yoga’s advanced moves is that you have to learn to trust yourself and your body.

Shannon said that eventually I will be able to do this!

Side Crow Variation

Here is one more of my friend Abbey doing The Scorpion Pose. She used to be a dancer. Can you tell?

Abbey doing Scorpion Pose

Let me sum up my experience in Shannon’s class.

I thought the class was Intermediate to Advanced. You will sweat so bring a towel. Great for stamina, strength, flexibility, improved blood circulation, better digestion, core strength. No mirrors, but I loved that Shannon is hands on and she will go around the room and correct you. It is not meditation yoga. It is more of a fast flow and breathing to get from one pose to the next. She does turn the lights off at the end of the session which is nice. She did mention that she made the last class harder because she knew she had all advanced yogis that night. She does do more beginner moves if there are beginners in her class. I am looking forward to taking her class outside of the room and outside at a local park.

To find out more information or to sign up for a free class go to

http://www.dragongym.com/index.php?page=ourprograms/yoga.htm