Practicing Jiujitsu with chronic backpain
Dear Steemers & BJJers,
This topic is a sensitive one for me because I've been living with chronic back pain every day for several years now. After training I usually don't sleep well, and toss and turn to find a less painful position. During the day it's basically the same, but I noticed that the more I move, the less it hurts, so resting is not the answer for me.
I once did a handstand in my house (o a tile floor!) and fell on my hip, which has left me with pain that feels like a sciatica and comes and goes. Apparently now, my body compensates by using all the muscles on the other side of my hip and torso, hence my hips are not leveled anymore, and the result is constant hip and lower back pain on the left side, while having the "sciatic"-like pain on the right.
In short, I'm a mess...
Now before you all rip my head off, YES I've seen doctors. A spine specialist, and a hip specialist as well as an osteopath. Both specialists told me to just take pain meds and stop doing BJJ. You can imagine how I followed that advice.
First of all I can't take anyone seriously who thinks that pain meds are the answer. They basically just mask your issue without eliminating the cause. And stop doing BJJ? Come on, give me a break!
The osteopath thought that my issue was muscular and that I had to just stretch every day. I've been doing that but not much has changed...
How does it affect my #BJJ?
Well it makes it hard for me to do exercises such as certain take-downs or anything that requires me to throw a person over my shoulder while standing. Luckily for me, there are plenty of variations, such as double and single leg, and of course I can always pull guard if need be. But I prefer not to play bottom =)
It also makes it painful to have a heavier person on my mount. If a guy mounts me, I basically have to tap if I'm having a very bad day.
Sometimes, I can only do the warm up and techniques, but not roll at the end of the class. It's just not worth it hurting myself even more, and not being able to train the next day.
Luckily, I don't always have days that end up with jiujitsu blue balls, as my friend @angiebocas calls it. I do roll most classes, but I choose my training partners carefully. I tend to avoid male white belts who don't know any better than to use their strength, as well as those who always fight as if their life depended on it.
Thankfully that doesn't apply to too many people at my gym =)
I found this YouTube channel Yoga for BJJ, and I'm trying to do some of these exercises on a daily basis. I say "trying" because sometimes I just forget or don't have time (or when I'm just plain lazy!)
I'm sure that I could have advanced much faster in BJJ if this wasn't constantly holding me back. My professor would probably respond to that, that BJJ isn't a race, it's a marathon.
It's frustrating, and has a huge influence on my mood. Sometimes I just want to cry and give up, but of course I'm not going to do that.
If you have any tips on how to deal with back pain while training BJJ feel free to comment =)
Oss
I have dealt with a similar issue for awhile now. I was lucky enough to never experience back pain or issues until I turned 38. Then out of nowhere I not only felt pain, I lost quite a bit of flexibility and mobility. Doctors offered pain meds and said it was muscular. I refused the pain meds and sought other advice.
Eventually I found a chiropractor who also took X-rays and video scans from the front, back and side view. He said I was perfect for my age as far as back and spine, but that my right hip was so far out of whack it was causing major issues with my lower back.
I got about 2 adjustments per week for 3 weeks. I slowly regained my flexibility and mobility and by the 3rd week zero pain at all. It was so awesome to feel pain I had dealt with for a whole year disappear.
I still have to go and get adjustments from time to time. Usually about once every 2-3 months. I can feel when I need the adjustment because the flexibility and mobility begins to tighten up rapidly when my hip begins to slip. Luckily this process has helped my issue and is affordable.
I would definitely at least see a chiro if you have the resources to do so. It is an awful feeling when you cannot do what you love due to pain and mobility issues, but it's even worse when it spills over into your day to day routine. Also, remember not all chiro do physical adjustments and take X-rays and video. My first chiro only used the little hammer gun and didn't catch my hip out of place without the X-ray and video. So keep that in mind when betting who you want to see.
Good luck and if this helps let us know how your treatment goes!
Thanks for the advice @jiujitsu! I saw a chiropractor a while back, but he also suggested to find myself another hobby LOL. He used that little hammer gun too, but didn't have X-ray. The docs say my spine looks normal on Xray, but they do see that one hip is higher than the other, which the Osteopath says is due to tight muscles. I might try another chiropractor though, and I'm glad it worked for you! Maybe I'll get lucky this time...
Your hip placement can def affect other parts of the body such as your back :) good luck
thx @fujibjj
Thanks @coachjoachim! Although number 1 is difficult =) May I ask why sleep without a pillow? Mine is really flat actually, I hate big pillows. I also do sleep with a pillow constantly in between my knees, in a fetal position.Of when I'm on my back, I put it under my knees.
Will do the stretches you suggest also!
I have the same problems and more. As you already noticed, this problem doesn't just go away over night, i visited many specialist and spoke to people that has this type of problems.
Sleeping without a pillow puts your body into a proper alignment. Yes, we were fooled be the pillow, lol.
I just checked my notes on the pillow and here's what they told me:
roll a towel up and put it under your neck, use a small towel, it must feel comfortable .
I can also suggest you to rub your legs and back with arnica oil or wintergreen regularly.
I too don't like taking pain meds and prefer natural remedies
ok I will try =)