Could lower back cramps/spasm be caused by lack of mobility somewhere else?  If so, where would I start to look?

 

This whole mobility stuff is starting to make sense to me as I read more and more.  This is probably from an incident I have been fighting my whole life.  I had a cramp right up under my left shoulder blade.  It was like a permanent cramp, and it cause LOTS of sleep issues due to pain.  I spent years with docs, years with rehab, years rolling it, years 'literally' sleeping on a softball and it never went away.  All my regular docs were stumped.

 

Then comes my sleep apnea doc and they come up with this crazy ass idea that the cramp way down under my shoulder blade is actually caused by a pinch or inflamation up in my neck.  I had no pain in my neck so this must be bupkis, but hell whatever.  The MRI comes back with compressed disks between c5-6 and c6-7.  Ever since I started icing MY NECK the pain in my shoulder has gone away.

 

So...now I am wondering about my low back pain.  I have had it for years, and the last 4-5 it has become debilitating at times.  It ruined my quest for 600lb dead lift because it would start to cramp during warm up and then it would spasm all to hell on the heavies.

 

BUT...it is not just deadlift, I have this regularly when throwing.  It happens especially during WFD, but can build up across the events. 

 

Now, the spasm is incredibly painful for minutes....but it will all be gone in about half an hour and I have no other pain through the day.

 

This happens with water, with no water, with gatoraide, with stretching, with all temps, auxillary work...(hell the chiro had me on some back extension machine...and their software DIDNT EVEN GO as high as I was pushing, so it's not a lack of strength.)

 

So...what mobility issues might this be?  What muscles in legs, hips, abs, etc might be out of whack that would consistently cause my lower back to cramp up?

 

Here's one video that kind of addresses your question:

 

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/02/episode-166365-simple-recipes-for.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/02/episode-166365-simple-recipes-for.html

 

Good luck.

 

Watching it next!  Anything else would be great.

 

(Plan this week before Masters...piriformis stretches, hip stretches, rotator work w bands, foam rolling, and chiro...hope I get things lined up better soon.)

 

Also, the foam roller is your friend, Defranco's Agile 8 is good stuff and there's a great cheap book called "The Multifidus Back Pain Solution" that's worth the $9 or so on Amazon.

Always good to find health care provider who has lots of tools and perspectives at his/her disposal.  However, I would disagree that the majority of chiropractors are "beyond awful". If you have a good chiropractor, it's good; if you have an average one, well then they're not really different than typical MDs, including specialists: they know what they know, they don't know what they don't know.   That said, chiropractors in general are more "whole person" oriented than most MDs.

Same with MDs--willingness to admit what/when they don't know. 

 

The first thing you want to have them do is rule out anything serious, such as kidney stones, gall bladder/gallstones, trauma where there might be a fracture, etc. Unfortunately with back pain, the standard medical approach is going be watch, wait, and keep moving as much as you can unless there are indicators of other problems. 

 

Another great book I'm reading now is "Move Without Pain" by Margaret Peterson.  It's got some really great material in it to help you "reboot" your mind/muscle connection to counter chronic tightness--tightness that has been going on so long that it feels natural.  Not a "stretching" book.  I'll be bringing it along to SC to keep practicing beyond a couple basic moves I've done so far. 

Obviously, I meant in the context of dealing with athletes like myself.  I could probably do a search and find 50 chiropractors fairly close to me.  I would be willing to bet that one or two might be able to deal with me and the issues that I run across.  As such, 48-49 of them fall in the other category of just cracking backs and necks and helping old ladies who were in a car accident.  They are of no use to me/us at all.  So while my wording of "beyond awful" may have been a little strong, you taking it out of context wasn't really necessary either.    

 

There is no way anyone can tell by just reading what you wrote however...often it is a result of an over tight Psoas/Hip Flexor complex. 

 

Most people basically live in some type of anterior pelvic tilt because of the desk lifestyle (sitting for many hours during the day). Sitting is hip flexion, so sitting for long periods of time will cause the hip flexors to become tight and/or short which have a downward pull on the pelvis.

 

When those muscle are tight they essentially pull the top of your pelvis forward (read: anterior pelvic tilt)  There will always be compensation for these types of things in the bodies effort to regain balance.  You're lower back is now also in a state of constant tension and tightness because of all of this. 

 

This is only skimming over the issue.  You're talking about the low back which can be REALLY complicated but often it boils down to just a few key issues.  You address those and most of the others go away with it.

 

These guys couldn't be more right. Kelley Starrett does have a great site.  He likely explains it better than I do and will rock a faux hawk while he does. The videos always help.  Good luck.

and +1 @ mobilitywod & Starrett.  if you're not resting and rehabbing with the same effort as lifting and throwing, you're doing it wrong.