Whilst lower back pain is common, that should not make it an accepted part of rowing. See my previous article for some prevention tips!
But for today, we are going to explore when to get your lower back pain assessed by a health professional.
All too often, I see clients who report a week of lower back pain which they were confident would go away, only for it to get worse and be in strife with significant discomfort. But there are also incidences where it does go away. There is so much variability with this condition which ultimately makes it very challenging to study – there is no one size fits all approach.
The problem with lower back pain is that there is not always a “healing structure” that will take 4-6 weeks to heal, so it is not always a case of ‘once the pain has gone away and you are training normally, you will have no further problems.’ There are many moving parts and pieces to the puzzle, including sharp increases in training, inactivity, poor sleep and stress. Previous lower back pain itself is a risk factor for future lower back pain. That does not mean you are doomed for all eternity to suffer from lower back pain!
I will never tell someone to ignore lower back pain completely. It would be irresponsible of me to give general advice on which types of lower back pain to ignore. Thus, a professional should assess it on a case by case basis. Pain can also cause issues with the way we interpret information from our muscles, joints and ligaments – clouding our ability to differentiate what is “causing damage” or whether the muscles in our back are simply under fatigue.
We need to remember that as the back contributes a portion of our power in rowing, it should have some signs of fatigue after training. However, if you have had an injury on the back previously, or if you are coming back from an injury, it can be challenging for our mind to discern whether we are causing harm.
A guide that I sometimes give my patients on their return to rowing after lower back pain is not to allow aching-type pain to reach more than a 2/10. (Remember, a score of 0 suggests being in no pain, whilst 10 means being in pain unimaginably horrible and debilitating – the worst pain you could experience.) A simple litmus test like this can help to differentiate between damage, and standard parts of the muscle cycle.
If you have lower back pain that is of lower intensity for more than one session, or that continues after the completion of your rowing session, then I would suggest you get yourself assessed by a health practitioner that is knowledgeable about rowing injuries. This does not necessarily mean you will be taken off the water! It is far easier to manage lower back pain in its infancy than when it is debilitating. Play it smart, get onto things early and you will be less likely to miss time on the water. It could be as simple as a new exercise in your warm-up or cool-down programme, or some specific stretching or strengthening exercise(s).
If you have any symptoms beyond that, particularly sharp lower back pain or back pain with associated leg pain, weakness, numbness or pins and needles then certainly get an assessment and cease rowing until then. If you have any worrying symptoms or are concerned, then get assessed.
Better yet, try and prevent lower back pain – see my previous article for more information. As mentioned above, a prior history of lower back pain is a risk factor for future lower back pain – prevention is the best cure!
If you have any questions or wish to get in touch, please do not hesitate to contact me @therowingphysio on Instagram or info@therowingphysio.com.au
Matt
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