Working from home may destroy my back

S

smille

New member
Let me lead with a gripe, I'm not a work from home kind of guy. It has its perks, sure, like the no commute and being able to see my family during the day, but there's some trade off's too. I really miss having an ergonomic chair and adjustable desk at my office, beyond just having access to better caliber office equipment. Major first world problems, sorry about that.

With that out of the way, what can I do to keep my back from killing me? My suspicion is that I'm imbalanced right now, but I don't know what I need to focus on to correct.

Routine:
1. Stuart (sp?) McGills back routine every morning: pointers x 15 per side, side planks for a 75 count on each side, bent knee crunches x 30 per leg
2. Pushups x 30 each morning (slowly increasing)
3. Walk 20-30 minutes each day
4. 12-15 pullups daily, generally after my walk
3.) Lifting x 2 per week:
- Day one: Squats @250ish and light Deadlifts @ 125...just started back deadlifts w/in the past few weeks
- Day two: bench press @180

I have a garage gym, so have access to a power rack, training bar and regular bar, exercise bike, reverse hyper, and a dip belt that I use for weighted pull-ups. I'm hesitant to jump back on the reverse hyper right now as that hits the area that is pretty tight right now. I'm on a couple months break from it, but had been training at around 70#s on it.

Symptoms:
Right now, walking is starting to bother my back. Sitting in my terrible home office chair just about ruins me. Pull-ups make my mid and lower back just hurt, and so do bench presses recently...this is what makes me think I'm over training something.

Ask:
Is there something I can change or add to my routine that will help stabilize my back muscles so they don't feel like they're going to spasm when I walk or stand up from a chair? Basic movement feels like I'm going to throw my back out lately.

Stats:
~40 yrs old male, 6 feet, 173lbs.

Thanks all!!!
 
@smille Buy a better chair. Get work to expense it. That's what my wife has done with her company. It's s small price to pay for a better back
 
@smille A chair is cheaper than medical bills, and if you get repetitive stress injuries doing work for them it’s going to cost them in worker’s compensation.

Having said that, pay attention to heights and angles and try to recreate an ergonomic environment even if it means using stacked books as a monitor stand. There’s no way to out-exercise a bad ergonomic situation.
 
@smille Our company is letting employees sign out and borrow equipment (chairs, monitors, etc). Perhaps yours could too since they’re not willing to do the 1st option?

Edit: just saw your other comment. Nevermind.
 
@bx73 That's a pretty nice option.

Mine has opted to reimburse up to a certain $ amount for certain computer equipment only. We're pretty sizable so it's a bureaucratic decision making process without much (read any) changes from feedback.
 
@smille Hm, at least they’re reimbursing for some computer equipment...but I’d argue that a desk chair falls under that category. Perhaps some stretching and making sure to have good ergonomics while sitting would help your situation.
 
@smille I took my chair. Can you go get your chair?

Some people find sitting on exercise balls for some of the day helps with posture and pain, as you are forced to stabilize your core to sit still.

A visual cue - like a note on your monitor - to sit up straight, let tension go, and relax your shoulders is also helpful.

Rather than looking to weights, you might try some stretching every hour or check out Yoga With Adrienne on YouTube for some back stretching/tension relieving flows.
 
@dawn16 Yoga with Adriene is the best. Look at doing piriformis stretches too. I didnt realize for the longest time that my lower back pain was related to my legs/glutes.
 
@dawn16 Hahaha...I wish. Our office is locked down now and they had security looking to make sure people didn't wheel any furniture out when they left.

The yoga YouTubes sound like a good idea. I'll check those out.

Thanks!
 
@smille I just found Yoga with Adriene tonight for my upper back and it was just what I needed. I also second the idea of focusing more on stretching and less on weights right now. Continuing to work with tight muscles and poor alignment is going to do more harm than good.
 
@unicoerara Thanks!

I did half of her lower back routine after the poster above recommend her. It was a very nice 12 min stretch and I feel a little better.

I'm going to try to work some of this into the morning routine.
 
@smille Disclaimer: Not a doctor, just a guy who has read "Back Mechanic" quite a few times and used Dr. McGill's techniques to alleviate my own pain.

A few of your points look like you have also read some of Dr. McGill's research, but I just want to remind you of a few important caveats the books talk about when it comes to training and rehabilitation:
  • Discs are hydrophilic, so the exercises are best-done midday, specifically, you should avoid first thing in the morning. If done the first thing in the morning the thinking as that the added pressure/rigidity will exacerbate stressors and can cause more harm.
  • Side Planks: The recommendation is to hit all 3 (front/side/side) and to do them in short hold sets, so 10-sec x 6 sets instead of one 60 second hold.
  • Crunches: The McGill curl-up is quite different from a crunch, so you may try also incorporating that.
  • Walking: If 20-30 minutes start to hurt, try maintaining a brisk walk but only for 10 minutes. Keep the intensity but lower the timing and increase as you can without pain.
For me, it was very difficult taking time off from training but it is very important that you train pain-free, and it may be very little before the pain starts which can be disappointing. Take it slow and don't underestimate the power of proper rest. I would recommend taking another look at Back Mechanic and follow the program to a tee for a month and see where you end up at. Good luck!
 
@helpmybrother Thank you very much.

Regarding the curl up, isn't it just a bent knee crunch with your hands behind the small of your back?

Am I missing the fundamental difference? I may be doing them to quickly, but wasn't sure if it's a difference in the motion as well.
 
@smille Ah, the curl up is quite different and for me actually took some time to learn to hold. Like the rest of the exercises, it is meant to be held for intervals (10 sec hold > 10 fast reps).

The cues I learned the curl up are as follows:
  • The position will have one bent leg, one flat and your hands supporting the natural curve of your lumbar spine.
  • Engage your core, bend your elbows upwards and then lift your head ever so slightly. Imagine lifting your head off of a scale, you want the scale to register 0 and no more, it's not about distance. Hold this for 10 seconds and do several reps, you should feel the muscles in the front of your neck feeling quite activated.
  • The progression of this will be to also lift your shoulder blades off the ground but while keep your back and head straight (like a plank). It's important here not to bring your chin down and to maintain that straight line.
If you have access to the book I would give those chapters another read and pay careful attention to the form and prescription. Happy to help!
 
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