Lower back soreness

[Matin]

I cannot feel it when simply standing or walking or daily things, I feel it only when I get into a certain position. It feels more like muscular pain/soreness rather than bone/spine related. It is above the hip bone and stops below the rib cage. The soreness/pain is over an area not in one specific spot. If I don't surf for several days it will kinda go away. I will notice it during a surf when transitioning from paddling position to sitting position. That movement crosses that "certain" position in which I will feel the soreness/pain.

Me: I am 17, 140 lbs, a little less than a half-decent surfer. I am very fit, I do bodyweight exercises (push and pull ups daily), I sleep on the floor, eat healthily. I stretch my hamstrings lying down with a belt and also a "butt" stretch in that same position.

My guess is that my lower back muscles are weak.

[Big H]

In college I knew a hippie kid who lived down the hall from a couple friends of mine. He decided to get rid of his bed; instead he had in the corner of his dorm room.....I kid you not.....he had a pile of leaves that he'd curl up in at night.

BTW, he had no girlfriend or prospects.....LOL


If you are as fit as you describe yourself, you know about exercise, about using new muscle groups and how that can bring a general soreness due to lack of focused use of those muscles until that passes in a week or two with continued exercise. A very fit person most likely has gone through their share of athletic related injury as well and can tell the difference between muscle soreness and something more severe that would require more than a hot shower or two to get over.

Uncle Jaffa is MUCH more schooled (literally) in these matters. I wouldn't want to recommend doing something that would add to injury so if you think you might have something that is a problem you should get it checked out. Otherwise, just get active, do movements that will involve exercise of large and varied groups of muscles that you might not tickle in your usual activities.....do cartwheels, tumbling, handstands....do some old fashioned crunches, sit-ups....learn what planking is and do that, good for surfing.....play soccer, tennis, play tag, run through the woods, wrestle. At 17 nothing should hurt too much for too long unless you've got something or are doing something consistently that aggravates it so take a look at how you sit, walk, your shoes, posture............I can't think of much else.

[Matin]

Thanks for the reply! My floor sleeping is actually an accident. After going to a families house and having to sleep on the floor I woke up feeling much more refreshed and more my back felt really good. This was half a year ago when I injured my lower back.

I don’t think i can even imagine sleeping on leaves. What!

[Big H]

If the soreness is due to injury and you're still having issues I'd get it checked out. As I alluded to, fellow forumite Jaffa is/was a chiropractor and this is right in his wheelhouse. I know myself that in the past Ive gone for chiropractic adjustments, three times a week until I'd improved my posture and trained my muscles to stay in their new place, that this was one of the best things I've ever done for my body outside of quitting smoking. I had a couple of things that I didn't associate with my back clear up after getting adjustments including mentioned posture as well as foot/arch issues (previously weighted one side more than the other) and sleeping better along with better alignment and general wellbeing.

[Big H]

The reason I went in the first place was that the chiropractor was a friend of mine. I was in my 20s at the time and never had considered it since I thought chiropractors were for "old" people. I'm a chef and this guy was working his way through chiropractic school in the restaurant that I was working in. He offered to give me an evaluation and talked me into it; like I said, one of the best things that I've ever done.

Glad he found something that he was good at, being a waiter wasn't it...... LOL