# Back injury and kyokushin karate



## Comeback_kid7 (Nov 19, 2019)

I recently hurt my lowet back last week right after a kumite session. While the injury wasnt because of the full contact sparring per se (lower back muscle spasm occured when i sat down to remove leg gear. When i stood up, my back and body was in shocjk and exruciating pain) i was wondering if i should continue to practice karate.

Not sure if its safe to continue to do so, but i am still interested in training.


I havent been lifting weights or hitting the gym, resulting in belly weight gain and loss of abs- very weak core and lower back.

Im a bit concerned as to what i should do going further. Any and all advice is MUCH appreciated!


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## Papageno (Nov 19, 2019)

No one can tell your limits except for yourself. If you're still in pain, I'd recommend you to see a physiotherapist. Or at least talk to your instructor. He/she should know a bit about training/injuries/recovery. Don't give up your training. If your back is preventing you to do some exercises, I'm sure you can do another. Talk to your instructor or sensei. It's part of their jobs to give training advice. Best of luck!


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## Headhunter (Nov 19, 2019)

Go to a doctor


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## Xue Sheng (Nov 19, 2019)

Speaking as one who ended up in a hospital due to back injuries, I cannot stress this enough, Go see a doctor. Could be a number of things from a spasm to a slipped or bulging disk, or any other number of things. do not mess around, do not lift stuff, listen to your back and stop causing yourself pain; *Go see a doctor ASAP*


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## Comeback_kid7 (Nov 20, 2019)

Papageno said:


> No one can tell your limits except for yourself. If you're still in pain, I'd recommend you to see a physiotherapist. Or at least talk to your instructor. He/she should know a bit about training/injuries/recovery. Don't give up your training. If your back is preventing you to do some exercises, I'm sure you can do another. Talk to your instructor or sensei. It's part of their jobs to give training advice. Best of luck!





Thank you for the advice and kind words of encouragment!


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## Comeback_kid7 (Nov 20, 2019)

Xue Sheng said:


> Speaking as one who ended up in a hospital due to back injuries, I cannot stress this enough, Go see a doctor. Could be a number of things from a spasm to a slipped or bulging disk, or any other number of things. do not mess around, do not lift stuff, listen to your back and stop causing yourself pain; *Go see a doctor ASAP*




When i when to the ER, i was told thag i strained my lower back . Acute lower pain

But thats the thing, im not sure if i should continue to train with having this in the back of my mind


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## Xue Sheng (Nov 21, 2019)

Comeback_kid7 said:


> When i when to the ER, i was told thag i strained my lower back . Acute lower pain
> 
> But thats the thing, im not sure if i should continue to train with having this in the back of my mind



I was told muscle strain to, the first time. It was the physical therapist that told me that it was more than back strain based on the pain. That got me to a different Orthopedic Doc who ordered a cat scan and they found bulging disks. I actually went through 3 orthopedic docs before I got one that found the issue. Because it was not getting better, it was getting worse actually, and the first 2 did not help. Got to the 3rd when I ended up in the hospital for a week. 

I am not a doctor and I can only tell you what I would do; I would not train with back pain, pain is there for a reason and the back is rather important to us. training to me might just make it worse so I would not do it. You do what you think is best, but I still say see a doc and get an MRI


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## JowGaWolf (Nov 23, 2019)

Comeback_kid7 said:


> When i when to the ER, i was told thag i strained my lower back . Acute lower pain
> 
> But thats the thing, im not sure if i should continue to train with having this in the back of my mind



Problem isn't the training, the problem is your back.  Heal first Train later and if necessary adjust the training.  If you have some belly hanging, then you'll need to reduce that. Lose the belly as it will put stress on your lower spine.  You can do this by diet and changing what you eat.

Back injuries take a long time to heal so focus on healing first before starting up full on training.  Healing means rest and limiting how much your make your back work. One of the questions you'll need to ask yourself is.  "Is my back getting better or worse".  You have to monitor your healing.  If you are healing fine, then your back pain will become less and then pain will actually go away before the back is completely heal, which is where the biggest risk is.  Just because the pain is gone doesn't mean the back is healed. So keep that in mind.  Give your back 2 or three months healing time where you aren't training.  There's other martial arts stuff that you can can do, that doesn't work your back much.  Don't do punching or kicking as this requires you to use a lot of your core.  No twisting stuff, but don't start any of this until the Pain is gone.

You will need to stop training 100% as long as you feel any type of pain or discomfort no matter how small, pain lets you know something is wrong.  Once the pain goes ease back into training by doing rehab.  I agree with Xue Sheng about going to see a physical therapist.  Even if it's really just back strain, those guys will be able to give you some nice boring but beneficial exercises for the lower back.  They may also have a different perspective of what's going on.  Not all doctors have the same knowledge.

I hurt my back about 4 or 5 months ago lifting Gardening Soil.  I haven't really felt pain unless I sleep wrong or get out of the car in a bad way.  Other than that I feel fine doing everything else.  Even though I feel fine, I've restricted myself to rehab exercises.  Today is the first day I'll do form training to see how my back reacts to it.  I'll do one form and then ease into my training taking note of what I'm feeling.  I've also lost some of my belly from changing my diet.

The one thing you don't want to do is train on an injury.


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## Comeback_kid7 (Nov 28, 2019)

Xue Sheng said:


> I was told muscle strain to, the first time. It was the physical therapist that told me that it was more than back strain based on the pain. That got me to a different Orthopedic Doc who ordered a cat scan and they found bulging disks. I actually went through 3 orthopedic docs before I got one that found the issue. Because it was not getting better, it was getting worse actually, and the first 2 did not help. Got to the 3rd when I ended up in the hospital for a week.
> 
> I am not a doctor and I can only tell you what I would do; I would not train with back pain, pain is there for a reason and the back is rather important to us. training to me might just make it worse so I would not do it. You do what you think is best, but I still say see a doc and get an MRI


Thank you so much for the deep advice


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## Comeback_kid7 (Nov 28, 2019)

JowGaWolf said:


> Problem isn't the training, the problem is your back.  Heal first Train later and if necessary adjust the training.  If you have some belly hanging, then you'll need to reduce that. Lose the belly as it will put stress on your lower spine.  You can do this by diet and changing what you eat.
> 
> Back injuries take a long time to heal so focus on healing first before starting up full on training.  Healing means rest and limiting how much your make your back work. One of the questions you'll need to ask yourself is.  "Is my back getting better or worse".  You have to monitor your healing.  If you are healing fine, then your back pain will become less and then pain will actually go away before the back is completely heal, which is where the biggest risk is.  Just because the pain is gone doesn't mean the back is healed. So keep that in mind.  Give your back 2 or three months healing time where you aren't training.  There's other martial arts stuff that you can can do, that doesn't work your back much.  Don't do punching or kicking as this requires you to use a lot of your core.  No twisting stuff, but don't start any of this until the Pain is gone.
> 
> ...


Tha.ks you so so much for the helpful advice. I will continue to take things really slow and continue to heal. I have developed some belly fat and i do intend on loosing it to better my core
Thank again


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## RTKDCMB (Nov 30, 2019)

As someone who has suffered a permanent back injury, I can sympathize. About 20 years ago I put my back out (along with my left knee and right shoulder) at work just by getting up and down from a forklift and climbing on 200 liter drums for a few 8 hour days. I did not notice any specific time that an injury occurred and I simply went home at the end of the day. When I woke up the next morning, I was in so much pain I couldn't even stand up. So I went to the doctor and had a CAT scan and was diagnosed with two worn discs. I had two months off work (thankfully it was at the end of the year and I was able to take some annual leave in addition to sick days) and some physio. I have suffered intermittent severe back pain where it takes me a couple or few weeks to recover. It can be triggered by something as innocuous as putting on a pair of shorts. The last time I did my back in I was getting my suitcase out of the vehicle and up into my room on the day I arrived for a swing at my casual FIFO job and I ended up having to work 14 twelve hour shifts in excruciating pain.

With all that I am still able to maintain my training but I have to modify it to suit the situation. I don't do anywhere near as much jumping as I used to do, I have to always make sure I warm up my back before doing anything too strenuous and some techniques I rarely do. Most of the time, though, I am fine, although my back can ache in that region from time to time. I can still maintain a physically demanding job, provided that I use correct lifting techniques.

My back injury is spinal, if you are lucky, yours may just be muscular and you will recover in a short time. You need to go see a doctor and find out what type of back problem you have and minimize any further damage and to begin the healing process. After you have recovered sufficiently to return to training, I suggest that you return slowly, listen to your body and work on strengthening your core.

One specific tip I can give you though is for when you get some aching in the lower back; squat down with your back straight, place your hands on your knees, push down and straighten your back even more and that will temporarily relieve the pain.


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## vince1 (Dec 17, 2019)

I was having some lower back issues just over a year ago due to belly fat. I went on the Keto diet and lost 25lbs and resumed training without any back issues.


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## quasar44 (Jan 3, 2020)

Comeback_kid7 said:


> I recently hurt my lowet back last week right after a kumite session. While the injury wasnt because of the full contact sparring per se (lower back muscle spasm occured when i sat down to remove leg gear. When i stood up, my back and body was in shocjk and exruciating pain) i was wondering if i should continue to practice karate.
> 
> Not sure if its safe to continue to do so, but i am still interested in training.
> 
> ...



See a physical therapist and come back in 4-6 months


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