Let's talk about pain. And how to handle these.

Everywhere you read that modern life is no good to the human body. Constant sitting causes the spinal-column to bend and weaken, the musculature and the circulation are weakened, too.

That's right. But how about the pain caused by the sport? Or too many sports? Or by wrong movements during the exercises or activities?

During my competitive-sports-days, I had to deal with pain and injuries to the musculoskeletal-system as I grew older. Added to this were the injuries caused by "external-influences"; e.g. Bike-Crashes, resulting in bruises on the knees, hips and shoulders - a fractured collarbone, bruises of the large muscle-groups (e.g., the buttocks, thighs, etc.), ligament strains in the hocks, kinking of the feet, irritation of the Achilles-tendons, and so on.

Swimming also causes pain in certain muscle groups. This is partly due to the kilometer-units during the individual training-phases, and partly to the sometimes wrong movements. The body gets tired and switches to "restraint". There are also irritations, sore muscles and the slightest torn muscle-fibers. This causes pain in other parts of the body. Particularly in the case of "restraint" serious pain develops in body regions that have nothing to do with the actual locomotion. Here is the entire back mentioned.

In addition to the regular visits of a chiropractor, who always treated exactly three areas of my back, I acquired many exercises and elements of yoga and cross-fit to relieve my pain. Here I discovered that while my old problems were eliminated or alleviated, new pain arose.

By the time I realized that there was an opposing muscle group for each area, or rather for each muscle group. This realization took a while. No pain, no gain.

Several physiotherapists and homeopaths explained the causes and treatments to me. Orthopedists were not very helpful. The reason I can explain elsewhere (note: german-health-system!!).

My three current and permanent problems are:

• Shoulder impingement in the left shoulder. From time to time also right. Temporary headache caused by tension in the neck muscles. (Splenius capitis and S. cervicis).

• Blockages in the thoracic area. Above the latissimus (left), and below the latissimus (right).

• The right area of the sacroiliac-joint (SJ) and blockage in the left leg. In particular, the fascia located there and the left three (four) buttock-muscles (Glutaeus maximus, G. medius, G. minimus and occasionally also M. piritormis). Occasionally also pain in the adductor; especially on the right.

Do not worry, that will not be a big Latinum. But various muscle groups are known in common usage and point exactly to the spot of the back. The pain points always from right to left and from bottom to top and back again to the very bottom-hike.

Sacroiliac

My back pain started "down". 12 years ago, I had my first lumbago, which sent me full on the boards. It could be solved there with a bit of pressure here and a bit of self-massage there, so that I could walk and run again two days later.

However, two years later I got such a lumbago that I was brought to the Department of Orthopedic-Surgery at the University-Hospital. I kneeled in the quadruped-stand like a stubborn donkey in the room and could not and was not allowed to move. Everything was blocked in the area of the SJ and the nerves went crazy. I screamed as if on a spit.

Since then, I regularly go to a chiropractor who treats this area accordingly. In addition, I regularly practice various elements of yoga to stretch the tendons, muscles and fascia, to keep it supple and to keep the pelvis flexible.

Allegedly, a pelvic-obliquity is guilty. The scholars do not agree directly whether this results from legs of different lengths, or whether the right pelvic-muscles and the non-supple-fascia are too tense.

The fact is that my numerous run-kilometers in the past, sometimes with shoe inserts, have worsened this condition. Sometimes I can jog. Sometimes I skate (Roller-Blades) or take my racing-bike off the wall. But I am still too young and too slim for Nordic-Walking.

The opposing muscles in the buttocks and the thigh-muscles also hurt when I overdo it with work-out (dumbbell- and kettlebell-training).

Yoga-positions such as: The big and small warrior, the pigeon and simple straddling- and splitting-exercises as strains create a remedy.

Mid-back at the level of the infraspinatus muscle including fascia

I have had this pain for a few years and it comes from intensive swimming and too intense work-out, and in addition, the effects of the shoulder pain explained in the next chapter. Especially in the left part of the back, the muscles: M. trapezius, M. detoideus and M. infraspinatus are affected.

Here I work with a faszia-roll and with a massage ball (La Cros Ball) and go straight into the trigger points. These points are in the majority the points of pain, as long as they do not continue to radiate.

I perform these exercises several times a day. Especially in the morning after getting up - because the body is over acidified anyway - or directly after training. At times I manage to get into the Rhomboides minor and the R. major. That hurts like hell. Afterwards everything is cool.

Shoulder-impingement This pain comes from swimming and work-out. The freestyle-arm-pull of the left arm was wrong for years. For push-ups and barbell-training (bench press, etc.) my hands were too wide and my elbows were too far out. This caused pain in the bursa and nerves. These wrong postures also affected the middle-back-muscles and it hurt in several places at the same time.

This helped me to learn the clean and even arm-pull when swimming, the correct executions of the work-out and numerous stretching exercises for the entire shoulder-area. Interestingly, the opposing pectoral muscles also need to be "manipulated" to release the "deadlocks" of the complexing shoulder muscle groups, e.g. Great Pectoral Muscle M. pectoralis, biceps, deltoid, sublingual muscle and and and.

Generally, additional stretching exercises with rubber-bands help; partly also on the door-frame.

There is a lot of information material on the internet. Especially the movies of physiotherapists on youtube I can recommend.

In terms of back- and muscle-pain I have visited no doctor in the last eight years. But much physiotherapy- and yoga-classes, and the most I have appropriated by myself. You can best judge about your body.

Pay attention to your diet. Add a lot of protein and minerals. No expensive protein shakes need to be bought and drunk for this. Yogurt etc, oatmeal and other milk-products are enough. In vegan or vegetarian way-of-life or certain incompatibilities must be resorted to "natural" essential building-blocks. Meat is on the plate from time to time, but too much is counterproductive. Pay attention to white meat. Poultry etc.

Unfortunately, I drink too much coffee and eat too much white flour and sweets. But a man cannot pay attention to everything!!

Meditation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation after Jacobsen (a special Meditation-guru) help me immensely. Sometimes I also use special breathing exercises.

Finally, pictures of exercise-equipment that I use at my workplace and at home.