[Pittbug]

I was doing squats with the heaviest weight so far and was on my second set on rep 8 when my 11yr old came downstairs to talk to me. I ignored her until I had finished the set of 12. Then instead of putting the weight down before talking, I said "hey, what's up" and that's when I felt it go. I don't blame her, it's totally my fault for being stupid and not putting the weight down. Eventhough it was the heaviest I'd done, I was moving smoothly and not straining. I remember thinking as I finished the 12th rep that I was looking forward to doing a 3rd set since it went so well.

The strain is in the muscle to the right of my spine about half way down my back, just at the tip of the shoulder blade.

I'm not going to be 100% by Saturday, so I probably am not going to shoot. It also means that I won't be able to help with setup/tear down. I guess I could run the clipboard/timer or be a cameraman for someone, but that'll probably be about it.

Last September I injured my ankle playing volleyball, but shot IDPA anyway because movement in the IDPA stages is limited and my ankle didn't affect my index. With this back injury I can't even hold my arms out, let alone a loaded gun.

This really sucks because I haven't shot in a while, I just got my rudys in the mail yesterday and was really looking forward to shooting this weekend.

[XRe]

Ice. Rest. Massage!!!! Possibly chiropractor. Go get the massage as soon as possible Depending on the tweak, you could actually be good to go by Saturday....

And... when you've got a lot of weight on your back, you don't want to lose core tension (by talking)... so don't do that again, obviously...

[Pittbug]

Yeah... loosing core tension is exactly what did it. I knew it as soon as I did it.

I'll get the wife to massage my back tonight.

[XRe]

Hope it gets better quickly, man. I've had my share of back injury stuff ... luckily seem to be mostly past all that, now...

[Nik Habicht]

Pittbug, on Jun 4 2009, 10:28 AM, said:

Yeah... loosing core tension is exactly what did it. I knew it as soon as I did it.

I'll get the wife to massage my back tonight.

If you're going to lift heavy, find a good massage therapist who has the ability to do effective deep tissue massage. Go regularly --- not only will it improve your health, but it will give you someone to call when you overdo it.....

[tomfturner]

Been there man, had L4 and L5 blow out doing squats. I was out of action for a while, if it gets bad don't wait to go to the doctor. Your spine is tough, but you don't want to do more damage by not getting it fixed.

[CJDOUBLETAP]

Rub it a little, stretch it a little, then put some Icey Hot on it. It should be ready to go once its loosened up a bit...

[FranDoc]

So how are you doing today after running around practicing your RO skills at the match yesterday?

[FLG8R]

Pitt,
Don't forget the anti-inflammatories... round the clock if your stomach can tolerate, they do alot more than most people think and many don't realize it... Heat as well to help stretch out the area, probably easiest with a HOT shower, and frequently... hope you fell better...
flg8r

[Pittbug]

Thanks for all the support and well wishes. I read on a fitness forum that rolling on a tennis ball or a lacrosse ball helps work the muscle tissue like a good massage and since you know where it hurts, you can really work the right spot. I told Chris Keen about this little tip and he rushed off after the match, probably to stop by Dicks. I think I just saved him a small fortune on chiropractor bills

I did a bit of rolling last night and it did help although I had to roll against the wall because just lying on the ball was too painful and arched my back in ways it was not designed.

Thanks Fran for the RO help yesterday, my back wasn't as bad as I thought but I was still glad I didn't shoot. I had also bought some cleats with me but the thought of snagging a cleat and jarring my back mid stage with a loaded gun was not something I was willing to do. I'm reminded of a pic that was posted on here, where someone snagged a cleat, stumbled forward and had the muzzle pointing uprange.

RO'ing was good and since I got to run an entire squad I learned a little about positioning myself. I realized on the drive back that when running someone, I need to look at the stage and figure more ways through it than just what I would do, so I will have a better chance of putting myself in the right position to see.

The texas star on the penultimate stage caught me out because Kyle paused, probably assuming that I saw the equipment malfunction and was going to call it, but I was too busy looking at the gun and had positioned myself to watch the gun and not the star. And well, since he talks and pauses anyway as he rolls through a stage with his sightless gun, I didn't clue in to what was going on until he finished and questioned me on it.

My back is definitely on the road to recovery now. I mowed the grass this morning and will hit the exercise bike for the next week or so before I get back onto the weights program again.

[Flexmoney]

Pittbug, on Jun 7 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

The texas star on the penultimate stage caught me out because Kyle paused, probably assuming that I saw the equipment malfunction and was going to call it, but I was too busy looking at the gun and had positioned myself to watch the gun and not the star. And well, since he talks and pauses anyway as he rolls through a stage with his sightless gun, I didn't clue in to what was going on until he finished and questioned me on it.

LOL...that talking is something new. And, the pause...that is probably my looooong reloads.

I couldn't believe that star worked for the whole sqaud, except for me. Hmmm...then again, I reset it for most all of the other shooters. Maybe we still have a bad spring on that thing.


Glad to hear your back is on the mend. I just did a bit of the roller on the wall trick, myself.


Thanks for helping out with the timer/RO duties.

[want2race]

I've strained my back stepping off a cub, and sneezing before. I have issues, but those are just embarrasing.

I use a foam roller to roll my back. You can get them at most sporting good/gym equipement stores. They work.

[bones507]

I have 3 bulgers for about 5 years now, i do a lot of excercises to keep the gut strong but you got to stretch totally before you do that kind of stuff. Especially the hamstrings, people tend to overlook that thinking its just their legs. Well the back is connected thru them also and if youre tight there, youre going to have problems. If i dont stretch them at least 5 days a week i got problems. Try it out guy, it cant hurt and i will make a small bet you will feel a lot of tension go out of your back almost instantly.

This post has been edited by bones507: 10 June 2009 - 10:00 AM