Chronic Back Pain - Triathlon Training - Help

[Dr Damien]

Dear Dekkly

A contrast treatment (ignore the fancy name lol) just means using two opposing temps to treat i.e heat and cold... I have suggest some cold treatment because we suspect some inflammation going on in there...

Why one should be wary of a heart condition when treating with cold close to its anatomy is because there is a risk of affecting the visceral nerve supply to and from the heart and this can cause abnormal heart functions...the precaution would be to avoid treating large areas close to the heart with large exposures to cold...in this case the area of interest is almost behind where the heart is...

To be on the safe side "ice massage" technique (using an ice cube over the tender spot) may be safer. Combining this with heat treatment may be beneficial in calming the inflammation as well as relaxing the muscles in spasms that are responding due to pain...meaning you might be able to get more movement with the exercises suggested by SigMik.

It is better to have a physiotherapist assess you to see whether you have any contra-indication (again another fancy name for signs to be wary of for this kind of treatment).

I think SigMik would agree with me if I suggested to laying off any training that seems to aggravate this condition i.e cycling...only because if you keep irritating it...it flares up, then calms down...u are more likely to have scar tissue forming/adhesions...this will make it harder to treat subsequently requiring more force to loosen up...

Cheers good luck with your visit to the professionals you see and pls keep us posted with whatever progress you are making

[SigMik]

Happy to hear that you feel more informed about what might be going on in your back, and hope that your and our efforts in trying to come up with possible ways to go with this brings you closer to achieving your goals!

Damien is quite right that I agree in laying off training and movements that seem to aggravate your pain. As I suggested, more of the good and less of the bad. It seems you do have a good grasp on what activities brings on your pain. If I were you, I would try to adapt the way I performed these activities, to see if I could do i.e. cycling without or much less discomfort. Easy stuff like keeping up your cardiovascular abilities by cycling on a stationary spinning bike (without leaning forward and less momentum through your arms if this causes pain). Even if swimming causes increased soreness AFTER training, try to break up the sessions, i.e. 10 minutes in water, 5 minutes on land, etc... Try out different strategies, and you'll suddenly hit a nail that provides you with a "way to move without pain". It's a good way to go with "gradual exposure", always a gradual, mindful return to whatever activity brings on your pain.

Keep up the good work, and keep us updated of you progress!

Kind regards,
Sigurd Mikkelsen