Back pains

[OAKPV2004]

My lower back has been killing me for almost amonth. After a few vaults I can no longer run full speed. I know it is from pole vaulting, because it only hurts when I pole vault. It could be from vaulting every weekday for a few months, and taking too many reps or from my step being under for a while. Does anyone have any ideas on how to speed up the healing process? nothing I have tried has worked.

Stupid Back.

[rainbowgirl28]

Oh I hear you! Back pain sucks

Stop taking off under and try to get lots of back rubs. That's what I do anyway

[Carolina21]

I had and still have similar problems, a deep muscle strain in my lower back and it always gets triggered from vaulting when I take off under. So what do you do? Well there is not too much you can do, but one thing is to ice after workouts and then heat as much as you can throughout the day, the trick is to get blood flow to the injury to speed up healing by heat or massage. Also light exercises like back arches or back raises to help stimlate bloodflow, be careful though keep it light and easy. Try taking it easy for 3-5 days and really take care of your back, then slowly work back into vaulting and training. If you still feel a lot of pain stop. Always strech well and make sure your back is loose before you jump. Once your healthy try to strengthen your back and it will help to prevent future strains or pulls. I did the same thing in highschool, but kept trying to jump and ended up having a crapy year from injury, my advice is to take care of your back, because if your midsection is hurt badly you can't do anything, its not like an arm injury where it only affects a small part of the body your back affects your whole body. An if you hurt it badly enough like I did, not only can you not jump but you'll get to where you can't run or train and you'll have to do nothing for a month to get it better and by then season is ending and your out of shape. Fix it now even if you miss a week of jumping or more its better than having to miss a month down the road.

[wacky274]

i really agree with what he has to say, partially because i was in the same situation as both of you...last year, and the season before i fought with lower back pains....best way to fix it is TAKE TIME OFF....i finally realized this last year...i have tried to work through every injury in teh book, some it's ok, but lower back, it'll pay to take a week off and just ice and heat like carolina said...it may hurt your next meet or two, but trust me, in the long run, the one week off and a bad next meet, is much better then a bad season because you can't vault properly...just rest...only my advice though

[CoachenField]

tips for back
1. time off will help but do some rehab too
- twisting exercises to help stabalize the back - bar twists, russian twists, etc.
- see a trainer, get stim if you can, it will accelerate the healing

2. You have a repetition injury. I would back off of vaulting in general, cut down to 2-3 times a week - sprint, gymnastics, lift the other days, but only vault a few times (in fact, working on your approach on the track instead of the runway so you get your steps down sounds like a good idea to help prevent being under)

3. heat your back before practice and ice it after

-just a few pointers, hope you feel better and have a trainer to help you out

[thornhillj]

I have had back problems since i was a sophomore in high school and i am now a sophomore in college. Mine used to only hurt me when i vaulted.....never in football and never in basketball. It is a deep muscle pull in my lower back, and i have done EVERYTHING EVERY doctor has told me to do.....which now totals 4.

And now I have another injury on top of that.....a slipped disk. I did not vault, lift many weights at all, do drills....nothing.... from last june until this past late november. All I did was rest, rehab, rest, rehab, rest rehab......and guess what.....THE PAIN AND INJURY IS STILL THERE.

For me, and for the rest of my career, this will always bother me....and ive figured out that the rehab helped....but not completly. It just made it tolerable to jump. I guess it just depends on how bad you want to jump and how bad you love the sport.

Here are some of my tips that i use with my back....and alot of them are the same as others, but not all:
1. like alot of other people said.....rest, rehab, rest, rehab.....

after all that good stuff and jumping time comes i do this....

2. millions and millions of pole runs and takeoff drills for weeks before i ever step on the runway to make sure my step is consistant and NOT UNDER!
3. heat and killer warmup and stretch before a session/meet.
4. icy hot like a mother.....super deep massage....
5. WEAR A BACK BRACE! (i consider that one of the most important things...and after 10 minutes with it on i dont even know its there.....just like my helmet )
6. after session/meet.....ICE, ICE, ICE!

If I do ALL of this, I feel very very little to no pain at all DURING THE MEET.......now that doesnt mean that theres no pain that night or the next day.... i dont think anything can fix that other than a surgery.....but i think im going to wait til my career is over before i resort to something that drastic.

I hope this helps....it does for me...to an extent, becasue like i said, ive had trouble for 4 years now and under 4 different doctors care, i have never healed.....

If anybody has a question about what else i do, just ask....


RENO BOUND!!!!!

[swtvault]

s*** thornhill, get well man! I am totally with you on that rehab stuff......Everyone is real quick to tell you to stretch, get stronger, undergo stim. Only to get have the injury occur again a month later. Jarred, find a doctor that will give you a cortisone shot. Many time it can be a miracle drug. Sorry to hear about that slipped disk.

NOT RENO BOUND

SWTVAULT

[thornhillj]

Geoff.....actually, a doc here in lubbock gave me an epiderral (or however you spell it)....i worked for like 6 weeks and then wore off....i would have gone back for another one but they cost $600 per shot.........dude, whats up with NOT RENO BOUND??????

[OAKPV2004]

I think i will just vault through the pain, if it stays, and see what happens.

[indestructo]

If nothing else I would suggest backing things down. Even when I'm healthy I would never jump more then 3days offseason or 2days in-season(minus meets). Your body won't take the daily punishment of vaulting all week. There are plenty of things you can do on non-vaulting days to dramatically improve your vault without leaving the ground. Idealy I would take a few weeks off and just like everyone said, rest/rehab, getting stim will definitely help a bunch too. Vaulting injured increases the risk of something bad happening, so be careful.

Reno bound baby!!

[84rules]

I had something similar happen to me in High School during my Junior year. I pulled a muscle in my lower back during the Cross-Country season (still haven't figured out how) and took six weeks off. I came back for the final two races and did okay.

But, the first time I tried to vault during the Indoor season, I reinjured it. It hadn't completely healed yet. I knew I wouldn't be vaulting again for a couple of months.

So, I joined the Swim Team for the Winter Sports season. Those swim workouts did wonders for healing my back. Every now and then, I'll feel a dull throb from that muscle, but it hasn't been anywhere near as debilitating as when it first happened.

Ironically, I turned out to be a better swimmer than pole-vaulter and lettered both of my years on the Swim Team. But pole-vaultng was much more fun.

84rules

[OAKPV2004]

I vaulted today after 4 days doing absolutely nothing but taking back pain medicine and a heating pad. I finally was on my bigger pole again and now its not a problem. Now I can focus on the better meets of the year coming up, like reno.