The Amazing Washcloth Back Pain Cure

My second post in a row on injuries. I should have named this weblog "InjuredAndWastingAway.com", as I put my back out playing pickup about two weeks ago. Fer cryin' out loud, such a Masters-division injury. Actually, trusty Mr. Kim was right on hand to make me feel a bit better on that score:

Some athletes feel immune to back injuries, associating back pain with people who are older or out of shape. Contrary to that perception, back pain is the number one cause of "limited activity" for adults under age forty-five. In fact, after the common cold, back pain is the most common medical complaint in the United States. No one is immune, particularly not those who put increased stress on their back by engaging in demanding movements like high kicks, falls or throws [like whatever it is that I did to myself].

Anyway, I don't know what precipitated it, it just started siezing up until play was no longer possible. It was bad enough over the next three days that it would take me a good 30 seconds to get up off the floor, for example. On the fourth day it loosened up considerably, and I was able to start doing pseudo-workouts again, but even half-assed efforts would set me back on the sieze-up scale. And that's basically where I've been for two weeks. The lack of walking-around pain is nice, but losing conditioning as we approach the critical juncture of the season was plunging me into despair, especially with improvement in my back plateaued. On Tuesday I started prescription muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories, but they were making no difference at all (the anti-inflammatories can take awhile, I understand). So last night I went to watch pickup, got a tip for something to try, and today I feel much better! I have hope again. But before I describe the miracle cure, let me describe the exact nature of the pain:

After the initial sieze-up subsided, the pain was sharp and pretty much centered where my spine and belt intersect. If I locked my knee mostly straight and swung my right leg from the hip, I could get full range of motion, forward swing parallel to the floor, no problem. But with my left leg the forward swing produced sharp pain at that spot in my back maybe 25 degrees into the swing. Like my hamstring was pulling something very specific in my back, or was pinching a nerve that ran up there, who knows?

So here was the tip from my holistic-posture-breathing-alignment-healer-type teammate (I really should get an official title from him). Paraphrasing:

Try rolling up a washcloth into a small cylinder. You don't want it to be too big. Then lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor. Put your head on a couple books for comfortable neck alignment. Lie on the rolled up washcloth such that it runs along your spine under your lower back. Visualize your back flowing and relaxing over the cylinder formed by the washcloth.

Twenty minutes later, my range of motion on the left-leg swing had at least doubled. Amazing! Your mileage may vary, of course. Get a proper diagnosis before trying this. Backs are nothing to screw around with. I'll leave you with more immortal words from Mr. Kim on that score:

Back pain, if left untreated, can lead to other nagging aches and pains. If you try to compensate for back pain by favoring or "babying" the offending area, you may find yourself deveoping sharp shooting pains in your leg or tense knotted muscles in your shoulders. Back pain should be addressed at your earliest opportunity, wiht a visit to your doctor or a physical therapist.