Lower back strengthening w/degenerative discs, etc

[jcc80]

Hey guys, I know there is no shortage here of guys with jacked up spines. I've been dealing with scoliosis, degenerative discs, a bit of stenosis, and my most recent CT scan revealed a couple of small fractures at L5/S1. They called them 'pars fractures', whatever that means.

Anyway, I gave up deadlifts, squats, pullthroughs, etc. That was hard for me to accept. Amazingly, I am not getting pain shooting down my leg or anything... yet.

What I'm noticing is that although I'm doing planks and other "safe" stuff for my core, I have an issue with my lumbar muscles getting really tight. I think it's because they're getting weak without my beloved deadlifts.

What kind of exercises have you guys found to keep your back strong without fucking up your spine worse than it already is?

 

[Gravyv]

My lower back is pretty jacked up, I've already had surgery on it before. I tend to avoid any strengthening exercises that put a lot of stress on my lower back. There are two that I tend to like, bodyweight glute kickbacks, I do them with both knees off the ground. Then we have hanging knee/leg raises. I adjust how straight my legs are depending on how my lower back is feeling.

 

[Muay Thai]

i have spinabifida and defgenerative l4 l5... be careful, I can do light deads but it kills me, I can do SLDLS better.

lots of hyper extensions,. YOGA. Physical therapy!

and yes, watch for muscles and tendons over compensating and undercompensating

I developed a pelvic tilt from this, hip flexors are TIGHTER THAN HELL all the time, also from pinning 3cc in hips, scar tissue,
train everything individually and specifically

 

[jcc80]

i have spinabifida and defgenerative l4 l5... be careful, I can do light deads but it kills me, I can do SLDLS better.

lots of hyper extensions,. YOGA. Physical therapy!

and yes, watch for muscles and tendons over compensating and undercompensating

I developed a pelvic tilt from this, hip flexors are TIGHTER THAN HELL all the time, also from pinning 3cc in hips, scar tissue,
train everything individually and specifically

That helps, thanks. I am actually trying to find a GOOD physical therapist.

Hah! I gave up on pinning the ventro gluten. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but it gave me nothing but problems.

 

[graybass]

So common with us. I try to do strength training for lower back but, I do very light dead's (I mean whatever it takes to not be painful just the bar if you have to)
I also do the hyperextension machine ((pin loaded, big roller across the upper back) I'm also rehabbing both knees, and both shoulders. It's a real fucking circus but I'm making progress thank God!

 

[Muay Thai]

That helps, thanks. I am actually trying to find a GOOD physical therapist.

Hah! I gave up on pinning the ventro gluten. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but it gave me nothing but problems.

dont pin VG that fucks me up too, slin pin bro,... delts and quads , lay off the back side its probably tighter than fuck

deep tissue massage, YOGA

 

[jcc80]

My gym doesn't have a hyperextension machine. Stupid.

And MT, you are not the first person to recommend yoga. It's time for me to listen. Do you do a class or just found a routine on your own?

 

[Beat2Death]

I've got congenital spinal stenosis (6th lumbar) L4-L5 Degen, Facet syndrome.

Belt squats
Reverse hypers
hanging (not upside down)
Piriformis and IT band mobility/stretches and strengthening

 

[lookslikesausage]

in the same boat. haven't really found anything that doesn't aggravate my spine. mine continued to degenerate after the initial injury in 2009. I no longer squat, DL, or even bench with an arch (also have facet joint syndrome so extension hurts too). Basically, any weighted hip hinge where my spine is vertically loaded leads to discomfort. So...I wish I had an answer for you to add to this thread.

Things that seem to not hurt my back too much (some are more for quads though): Front foot elevated reverse lunge, Bulgarian Split Squat, Lunges, and GHR (I do them very slow strict and use a band for assistance). I can get away with bodyweight hypers but I use a smaller range of motion than most and definitely do arch much for reasons stated above. With most of my lunge movements, the movement is happening mostly at the knee so it doesn't bother my back too much (obvious I guess).

 

[pickapeck]

When mine really hit me 6-7 years ago what finally got it back under control was yoga for 8 months straight. NOw I am limited to light loading with squats, very seldom deadlifts and manage to handle a little weight with rack pulls and shrugs. Squats are never over 225 for reps. Everything is higher rep ranges now. Hypers help strengthen it as do pelvis press or whatever that movement is called. Stretching daily and inversion table helps. I still squeeze in a few key yoga stretches that help.

 

[jcc80]

When mine really hit me 6-7 years ago what finally got it back under control was yoga for 8 months straight. NOw I am limited to light loading with squats, very seldom deadlifts and manage to handle a little weight with rack pulls and shrugs. Squats are never over 225 for reps. Everything is higher rep ranges now. Hypers help strengthen it as do pelvis press or whatever that movement is called. Stretching daily and inversion table helps. I still squeeze in a few key yoga stretches that help.

Cool. You take classes or just look up a routine?

 

[Prowrestler]

I've got congenital spinal stenosis (6th lumbar) L4-L5 Degen, Facet syndrome.

Belt squats
Reverse hypers
hanging (not upside down)
Piriformis and IT band mobility/stretches and strengthening

If you can find a gym with a reverse hyper machine incorporate this into your workout. Start light and gradually build up. I did this 3 times a week. Did wonders for me along with standing banded good mornings

 

[Muay Thai]

I've got congenital spinal stenosis (6th lumbar) L4-L5 Degen, Facet syndrome.

Belt squats
Reverse hypers
hanging (not upside down)
Piriformis and IT band mobility/stretches and strengthening

physical therapy had me focus on my piriformis I had problems there same with chiro

 

[steve rogers86]

reverse hypers
hanging upside down start at slight angles
an stretching has down wonders for me

 

[pickapeck]

Cool. You take classes or just look up a routine?

I took classes. The people were weird. Most of the women were pretty but weird and the men were basically women. It worked wonders though.

 

[lookslikesausage]

I'm not against yoga but thew few times I tried they had me doing poses that definitely were hurting my back and the attitude was "oh well". I do pilates once a week to keep my core strong but it doesn't necessarily get me out of pain. avoiding certain things, rest, and injections were the only things that have gotten me out of pain. stretching hasn't done it. exercise hasn't done it. this is only my experience so this is not a knock on anyone who's had a different experience.

 

[kaleb]

Best thing to help my low back was doing one leg deadlift with only body weight. Really seems to bring glutes low back into balance. Keep a neutral spine.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I’m very limited.
If I do stiff legged dead lifts with more than 20Lb dumbbells I’m in severe pain for days and have to sleep with a weight lifting belt on to not stay awake from the pain.
I’ve been lucky lately in that I’m good to do 10 sets of dumbbell dead lifts with 30Lb dumbbells. I only bend the spine half as much as I do with stiff legged dead lifts. I try to squat the dumbbells down 2/3 of the movement and only bend my spine the final 1/3 of the movement. This is strengthening up my lower back muscles nicely.

 

[supermac1]

give up anything bent over without back supported man and no squats its not worth it.. i trained 3 years with the pain as well. had the same fractures l5-s1 tried everything rehab/epidurals and gave up gym completely for 4 years never got better. ended up getting a 360 lumbar fusion

 

[supermac1]

Planks like your doing is your best option, stay away from hyperextending and all this bending over bro it only will get worse been through same problems and made those mistakes