Physical therapist from Germany here. Thank you so much for your opinion. So many people in my field are hugely biased and think they have the golden solution to back pain or other illnesses.
As a Physio, I really enjoyed this video and very nice that it can have a great reach to more people! Very important to note as menno has mentioned here in the video multiple times. This approach really works well when there is an underlying issue in the tissue! So in most cases acute injuries! When your pain persists for longer than the natural history (estimated timeline of tissue healing) it is best to get in contact with a professional in that field! But again not everyone may feel that they have enough control over their pain and even with just having one session to make sure there isnt something more serious can be helpful and reassuring.
I suffered from sciatica for years and tried everything streching, physiotherapy, yoga. In the end what helped me was RDLs, initially I couldn't even do empty barbell but slowly as my strength increased my pain was gone.
I can relate. After way too long out of the gym, I started getting nerve pain down through the glutes (probably sciatica). After a months of training that included RDLs and Good Mornings (which I had never really tried before), the pain just went away.
me too, RDL cured me. They taught me posture, bracing and strengthened the lower back area. Barbell row as well but it was harder not to get hurt again doing these, where RDL was safer (I still hurted my disk one time doing a mistake in an RDL, but that was not too severe, and at that time I would hurt my back doing anything like puting socks..)
I rarely bother to leave comments on videos, but this one was really helpful. I had a meniscus tear and went to the doctor, but ended up just doing what you recommended. I searched for literature on the internet but the information was so conflicting or repetitive that I just (as you recommended) did the exercises I could do, let the pain response be the feedback, and let the knee heal itself over time. However, the medication for the pain and inflammation that I got from the doctor actually did help. Thanks for the wisdom.
Wow, this is really reassuring. I tore some kind of connective tissue in my knee earlier this year, and never went to the doctor for it and even continued training legs afterwards because I refused to skip a leg day. However, I did lighten my loads to the point I could do my exercises pain-free and gradually increased my loads again during the months afterwards, pretty much what Menno describes you should do. I've been a little worried not going to the doctor was a stupid mistake of mine, but now I feel a little more reassured.
i mean a full tear is somewhat different as it would need surgery to reattach the tendon. But in your case it was probably a partial tear anyway seeing as you were still able to use the muscle so its probably all good.
A really great video Menno. As someone with massage, A&P & treatment background this is spot on. Another layer to consider is topical aromatic or cannabinoid applications to assist with local inflammation & pain control during recovery movements. Therapeutic peptides such as BPC-157 have also been found to accelerate healing of soft tissues in both acute & chronic injuries.
Honestly, everytime I tweaked something was during a high bar squat even if my form was very controlled....I have since ditched squats while focusing on machines and less taxing deadlift variations like RDLs instead of deadlifts. My back no longer feels a bit beaten up and my legs are growing like mad! Some exercises are not for everyone.
I heard that the best physios are primarily good at making people "feel" taken care of from a physio doing a presentation 10 years ago. Whenever I tell people that I dont need to see a doctor for a smaller injury they always look at me like im being silly 😅 I have learned that injuries can take months to heal, doesnt mean that they are very serious, its just what it is. I tweaked my back a month ago, it has gradually been getting better and hopefully I am symptom free by christmas!
This was very encouraging to hear. I had the exact same scenario with a herniated disc where I saw every medical professional you could imagine and they all told me something different, and no one could really pin it down. What finally helped me was cortisone shots via epidural directly into the L5-S1 a few times throughout the year. It just took away the pain enough to VERY carefully start exercising back to recovery over the year.
A similar back injury happened to me when I was 28. I had to stop training for months and thought it would never end. I read so many horror stories online and became quite depressed. And yet, it healed! After about 5 months I was more or less pain free, and now almost a decade later I have basically no back pain and train harder than ever. So to anyone reading this, don't let injuries get you down. Pain is hugely affected by your perception and overall levels of mental and physical health. Keep that in check and you should be ok!
I’ve had my disc herniation for almost 8years now, it has seriously gotten worse, I’ve recently found a guy on RUclips that shows exercises you can do on the back extension, his name is low back ability. Hopefully I’ll be pain free one day
Listen to Menno. The principles he teaches in his PT Course I used after I herniated my discs and with many clients. I couldn't even shake people's hands for months, but thanks to the knowledge he shares, I finished the workout that day and have skipped none since then. Adjust movements, adjust intensity, and other variables. Might injuries avoid you all.
Thank you for this spectacular video. As a physio I strongly agree with most of the sentiments in this video. Two things that are key in my opinion: 1) A good physio's job is to help people find movement alternatives and exercises that are within the capacity threshold that you talked about, as well as provide optmisim for these individuals going through a very challenging time. 2) Your video makes it sound like it is necessary to completely avoid pain ("staying below the threshold"). I would argue that working into a small amount of TEMPORARY pain (lasts only during the movement/exercise or dissipates shortly after - within a couple of hours) is actually slightly more optimal (albeit more challenging to attain). There is also some research backing up the fact that you recover slightly faster if you exercise into a small amount of tolerable & temporary pain than if you avoid it completely.
This was really helpful. Medicine is generally also the same- more of a placebo than anything else. Most who have dealt with chronic illness or serious injuries know this intuitively.
Had 3 discs go, 2 needed surgery, 1 nearly killed me, (cauda equina, but I reacted to the medication) I'm VERY lucky to have the use of my legs and bowels. 6 months on I'm stronger than ever and it's because I stopped treating my back like it was gonna snap the second I did anything. Full depth leg press, squats, deep stretch hyperextensions, flexion rows with a pause, really working my body how it's meant to move and it's been phenomenal for injury rehabilitation. Your point 4 is just spot on, the sooner we get back to functional, and mobile, the quicker recovery becomes.
Fantastic video. Everything aligns with my experience with managing symptoms. I would like to add 2 things that woek especially well in my experience 1. Bias the exercise to target the affected muscle/area as much as possible. I have a dodgy knee so i program sissy squats on a leg press to maximise bloodflow to that area. The amount of bloodflow i feel in my knee compared to normal leg press is unmatched. 2. Higher volume, lower weight. My personal preference for training is 3-5 reps or 5-8 for most exercises. If i am not feeling it or i am a little achey, i will do pump work. Do a similar exercise with a little more focus on technique and aim for 20+ reps. It sounds silly but i did this for a week on a dodgy shoulder blade injury and it felt like it was as good as new after a week.
This is pure gold, fellows. Absolutely on spot, as usual. Keep rocking & sharing the best advices, mate 💪🏻🔥 PS: 44 yo ISSA CPT, with 10+ of experience, already in your waitlist 😎
Had L5/S1 herniation confirmed by MRI. Severe pain down left leg when bending forward even slightly at the waist. Happened while squatting highbar. Kept training the lifts I could, kept walking…completely pain free in about 12 weeks. I took 8-9 months however to slowly reintroduce certain movements starting with low weights.
I am sorry to hear this as I know exactly what itbmeans, i have identical pain, however CT Scan and MRI showed nothin, i also do not remember it to be acute, but i'm 34 and been in pain on/off 12 yrs, i do work out 5-6/week. Any tips that work for u to improve?
I've had many disc issues over decades which lasted from a few days to several months. All were painful. To their credit, the few times I consulted orthopedic, and neuro surgenons, they all advised against surgery and reinforced that my injuries would heal themselves.
I can absolutely agree with Menno. My anecdote: in early 2005 my C6 needed to be fixed in a surgery. The pain before and after was top level. I had signed up for a racebike marathon in the Alps later that year and I asked my doctor what I should do instead. Biking 8 hours is not just what my back needs, I thought. My doctor: what?? I am not your excuse to do avoid the hard training and even cycling is good therapy for your spine. He was right.
My back has been a nightmare since teenage years. Heavy physical job and heavy squats & deadlifts messed it up pretty bad as I had a mri for a month ago. Its time to stop doing heavy lifts and focus on maintain as much muscle ass possible and some mobility for the rest of my life.
Extension intolerance in the younger population with disc herniation with radicular pain typically occurs when your lumbar joint mobility is poor, especially into extension. Usually the as you improve your lumbar joint mobility, tolerance to extension improves and the radicular pain down the leg will centralize. If you have extension intolerance without radicular pain, there is a solid chance that it’s not your herniated disk that is generating the pain. It’s usually something like a facet joint.
Tore my SI joint, and was in pain for 7 months before I got help. Hurt myself squatting, and struggled with sitting for long periods for a year (SI join tear happened later and reignited the back pain). PS. Physical therapy helped me solve the SI joint tear.
Breathing, bracing ,core strengthening hinging are the best things on can master also crucial that only a few specialists address. A disc buldge it's a weakened stage which means you don't have to worry, but be awaoken to practice safe lifting as the above mentioned techniques become an absolute must. Dehydration of the disc with improper lifting is the Spark that sets the bomb to go off POP in this case ,a disc....been a candidate for surgery and hence sharing. However Mennos advice is obviously going to be the best as he's a specialist not me.
I herniated my discs doing back squats. I've been waking up and doing glute, hip flexor, ab and spine exercises which have helped immediately. I think my herniated disc is very low down, near my tailbone.
I injured my left shoulder doing too many bear crawls and KB swings. I went to the top shoulder ortho in Seattle, and he x-rayed and sent me to PT. The guy tried Dry needling and massage and it felt great. But he was dismayed when I told him it didn't really help. Then the pt said I should go back the Shoulder dr and get it looked at again and that I might need surgery. Internally, I laughed and just decided to let it heal, and in about year and a half it was all better. Waste of money.
As a physical therapist, I don’t believe my job is to heal the body. It is to educate the patient and show them what they are capable of. Regardless of healing times and types of injuries there are many people that simply don’t don’t know enough to get back to their previous level of function. So yes they heal but did their movement patterns improve? Did they learn anything? Do they know how to participate in their hobby/sport without re-injury?
Hi Menno, as a proponent of full body every day, i would really like to hear your thoughts on Dr. Mike's recent video on full body workouts. Kind regards
I live in the country, so we only go to the doctor once a year. I've retrained bicep tears, delt tears, pulled something in my leg once that made me limp for over a year but is good now, broken foot, broken fingers, etc etc.. Tend to do my own minor surgeries removing warts and what have you. Oh and don't forget all the various tendonitis over the years. Used to have really bad carpal tunnel too which I mostly fixed with yoga and lifting.
I often have slight lower back pain and I've noticed that doing some exercises where lower back is involved (like heavy seated cable rows as opposed to chest supported rows) reduces my pain.
Excellent video doctor. This resonates my experience as well. A question though, I have suffered for few months of sudden weekness in my left arm for biceps, back exercises and chest exercises. The left triceps exercises are not affected by this. I have been following same approach. Gradually increase strength of these exercises but this has taken such a long time, 5 months now and slow improvements. Seems that the issue maybe neurological. Am I doing this right?
Back injuries are no fun I've injured my back twice on Romanian Deadlifts years ago. I never got imaging done because I figured it wouldn't change that I would show up to the gym (which was hard because I struggled to get in and out of my car) and do exercises I could tolerate for light reps, eventually time heals it. I'm back to RDLs and doing them with a proper range of motion that isn't excessive, which I think my problem was before, and filling in the rest of my Hamstring volume with leg curls and back extensions. I currently only do 2 sets of 6-10 on RDLs, once a week.
I work in MRI and have seen literally hundreds of spine MRIs. I think just about every person on Earth beyond the age of 20-25 has a herniated l4/l5 or l5/s1. Some people's back looks completely fine and they have a small herniation, yet they can barely walk or are shitting themselves. Then some people's back looks like a total fucking train wreck and they are walking around with moderate pain. I once encountered an early 20's male that had mild discomfort in their back for 6 months with no injury. Turns on he had cancer on 3 vertebrae. Shit is genuinely unpredictable sometimes.
Tip #1 is a dangerous one to be recommending in my opinion, as it may send the wrong message (even if there are circumstances where it is perfectly valid).
Menno, I greatly enjoy your content. "Muscle memory" is often cited by bodybuilding and physio professionals, and it was covered in my undergraduate and graduate university studies (many years ago). Can you direct me to a source that actually examines the cell physiological of this phenomenon? Cheers
Stronger by Science made an article about this recently. Just google muscle memory Stronger by Stronger by Science and there should at least be an article on it from this year (2024) I believe.
But… I hurt my knee.. I got an mri.. my acl was torn… I needed surgery.. I got the surgery. I got a treatment plan specific to my injury (which would have been different if I had, for example, a patellar or meniscus injury). Is your position I should have just ‘exercised’?
Really appreciate you putting in words the issues Ive had and the path I’ve taken Sadly I’m still in pain, herniated disc, horribly herniated too, they called it extruded I think. Anyways, went from being on oxycodone and not leaving bed to now being back in the gym and doing some leg exercises. Sadly I’m not as far as I’d like to be after over a year post injury. I’m wondering if you have any more tips for people with severe disc herniations or if you have any marker for when surgery should be more strongly considered. Or maybe I’m just being too much of a dang meathead and need to listen to my body even more lol
Great video! After being referred to a McKenzie specialist, I found that this method made my L5 Si pain worse! I then researched Dr MGill's methods and they were somewhat better. Takeaway is: If the movement causes pain, find away around it
In my first year, yes the first year, I got scaitica (bulged disc). It caused a weird sensation when coughing or sneezing. Leg weakness/zapping when bending forward on one leg. Leg aches at night sometimes. How did it happen? Pendley Rows (touch the floor) then accidently switching form mid set for a rep or two into Bent Row form (floating). How did I fix it (knock on wood). I did a lot, and I mean a lot, of Cobra Poses every day, which help keep the disc pushed in. I never completely stopped Deadlifting or Squatting. In fact, I believe they can help heal it and keep you from injuring yourself again. I did however stop Bent/Pendley Rows to this day. I never really liked them anyway but perhaps I'll eventually give them another try one day. Maybe this will help someone else. Edit: I also over time learned to always make sure I suck in so much air into my core. I even bend my back slightly when doing RDL's for a long time now and so far my back has been ok. I get super DOMS though, which I suppose is good if my back is getting stronger.
Herniated a disc or two several times over the last two decades. Squats and deadlifts are not possible anymore and pain and discomfort are largely always there.
Herniated discs destroyed my lifting career. Sometimes I can't even walk. No matter how many videos of mckenzie techniques etc I watch, one bad move and it's over.
Doctors who say wait two weeks and then come back don't resolve the issue by letting the body heal. They don't see the patient again because the patient either went to another doctor or couldn't take more time off work. There's a lot of people who wait for months until it's absolutely necessary to see a doctor, and doctors like that invalidate and destroy the willpower of people like that when it comes to taking care of their health
Yea, you all don't go to doctor. What are you talking about? In your case exercise worked, but every case is different. I think yor advice can be more harmfull than helpfull.
ruclips.net/user/shortsDHsSXqEBuPk?si=Q0L4vdkk0KUtmxFl An uncommon, profoundly powerful, and well articulated truth regarding the nature of injury and especially pain. The human body has an enormous capacity to heal and adapt, especially when exposed to the correct conditions. 30seconds. And the life changing determinations caused by receiving logical/illogical advice at pivotal moments in life.
Physical therapist from Germany here. Thank you so much for your opinion. So many people in my field are hugely biased and think they have the golden solution to back pain or other illnesses.
As a Physio, I really enjoyed this video and very nice that it can have a great reach to more people! Very important to note as menno has mentioned here in the video multiple times. This approach really works well when there is an underlying issue in the tissue! So in most cases acute injuries! When your pain persists for longer than the natural history (estimated timeline of tissue healing) it is best to get in contact with a professional in that field!
But again not everyone may feel that they have enough control over their pain and even with just having one session to make sure there isnt something more serious can be helpful and reassuring.
I suffered from sciatica for years and tried everything streching, physiotherapy, yoga. In the end what helped me was RDLs, initially I couldn't even do empty barbell but slowly as my strength increased my pain was gone.
I can relate. After way too long out of the gym, I started getting nerve pain down through the glutes (probably sciatica). After a months of training that included RDLs and Good Mornings (which I had never really tried before), the pain just went away.
me too, RDL cured me.
They taught me posture, bracing and strengthened the lower back area. Barbell row as well but it was harder not to get hurt again doing these, where RDL was safer (I still hurted my disk one time doing a mistake in an RDL, but that was not too severe, and at that time I would hurt my back doing anything like puting socks..)
I rarely bother to leave comments on videos, but this one was really helpful. I had a meniscus tear and went to the doctor, but ended up just doing what you recommended. I searched for literature on the internet but the information was so conflicting or repetitive that I just (as you recommended) did the exercises I could do, let the pain response be the feedback, and let the knee heal itself over time. However, the medication for the pain and inflammation that I got from the doctor actually did help. Thanks for the wisdom.
Wow, this is really reassuring. I tore some kind of connective tissue in my knee earlier this year, and never went to the doctor for it and even continued training legs afterwards because I refused to skip a leg day. However, I did lighten my loads to the point I could do my exercises pain-free and gradually increased my loads again during the months afterwards, pretty much what Menno describes you should do. I've been a little worried not going to the doctor was a stupid mistake of mine, but now I feel a little more reassured.
i mean a full tear is somewhat different as it would need surgery to reattach the tendon. But in your case it was probably a partial tear anyway seeing as you were still able to use the muscle so its probably all good.
@@sw-gz9ps Yes, I think the same way.
i have the same it started 2 weeks ago the pain is massive thanks for the video
Hope you feel better buddy.
Watching you feels like making sense of everything I told others, despite lacking an academic background, just relying on logical reasoning.
Well said.
These were prettymuch my thoughts as well.
A really great video Menno. As someone with massage, A&P & treatment background this is spot on. Another layer to consider is topical aromatic or cannabinoid applications to assist with local inflammation & pain control during recovery movements. Therapeutic peptides such as BPC-157 have also been found to accelerate healing of soft tissues in both acute & chronic injuries.
absolutely 100% agree and I'm 68 and have had a lifetime of injuries. the WORST is chiroquactors! you should have 82m subscribers, btw.
Honestly, everytime I tweaked something was during a high bar squat even if my form was very controlled....I have since ditched squats while focusing on machines and less taxing deadlift variations like RDLs instead of deadlifts. My back no longer feels a bit beaten up and my legs are growing like mad! Some exercises are not for everyone.
It was the same for me until i tried elevated heel squats, now i only feel it in my quads and not my back
I heard that the best physios are primarily good at making people "feel" taken care of from a physio doing a presentation 10 years ago. Whenever I tell people that I dont need to see a doctor for a smaller injury they always look at me like im being silly 😅 I have learned that injuries can take months to heal, doesnt mean that they are very serious, its just what it is. I tweaked my back a month ago, it has gradually been getting better and hopefully I am symptom free by christmas!
Thank you, I'm sure many of us can relate.
I felt really alone when that happened
This was very encouraging to hear. I had the exact same scenario with a herniated disc where I saw every medical professional you could imagine and they all told me something different, and no one could really pin it down.
What finally helped me was cortisone shots via epidural directly into the L5-S1 a few times throughout the year. It just took away the pain enough to VERY carefully start exercising back to recovery over the year.
I'm a 'see a professional' kind of guy, and this video certainly reflects my experiences.
A similar back injury happened to me when I was 28. I had to stop training for months and thought it would never end. I read so many horror stories online and became quite depressed. And yet, it healed! After about 5 months I was more or less pain free, and now almost a decade later I have basically no back pain and train harder than ever. So to anyone reading this, don't let injuries get you down. Pain is hugely affected by your perception and overall levels of mental and physical health. Keep that in check and you should be ok!
I’ve had my disc herniation for almost 8years now, it has seriously gotten worse, I’ve recently found a guy on RUclips that shows exercises you can do on the back extension, his name is low back ability. Hopefully I’ll be pain free one day
Listen to Menno. The principles he teaches in his PT Course I used after I herniated my discs and with many clients.
I couldn't even shake people's hands for months, but thanks to the knowledge he shares, I finished the workout that day and have skipped none since then.
Adjust movements, adjust intensity, and other variables.
Might injuries avoid you all.
A lot of common sense. Thank you very much.
10:30 is a great point to make. appreciate the videos
Thank you for this spectacular video. As a physio I strongly agree with most of the sentiments in this video. Two things that are key in my opinion:
1) A good physio's job is to help people find movement alternatives and exercises that are within the capacity threshold that you talked about, as well as provide optmisim for these individuals going through a very challenging time.
2) Your video makes it sound like it is necessary to completely avoid pain ("staying below the threshold"). I would argue that working into a small amount of TEMPORARY pain (lasts only during the movement/exercise or dissipates shortly after - within a couple of hours) is actually slightly more optimal (albeit more challenging to attain). There is also some research backing up the fact that you recover slightly faster if you exercise into a small amount of tolerable & temporary pain than if you avoid it completely.
Great video man, really important we try to help people understand this
This was really helpful. Medicine is generally also the same- more of a placebo than anything else. Most who have dealt with chronic illness or serious injuries know this intuitively.
Wonderfully timed video for me.
Had 3 discs go, 2 needed surgery, 1 nearly killed me, (cauda equina, but I reacted to the medication) I'm VERY lucky to have the use of my legs and bowels. 6 months on I'm stronger than ever and it's because I stopped treating my back like it was gonna snap the second I did anything. Full depth leg press, squats, deep stretch hyperextensions, flexion rows with a pause, really working my body how it's meant to move and it's been phenomenal for injury rehabilitation.
Your point 4 is just spot on, the sooner we get back to functional, and mobile, the quicker recovery becomes.
Fantastic video. Everything aligns with my experience with managing symptoms. I would like to add 2 things that woek especially well in my experience
1. Bias the exercise to target the affected muscle/area as much as possible. I have a dodgy knee so i program sissy squats on a leg press to maximise bloodflow to that area. The amount of bloodflow i feel in my knee compared to normal leg press is unmatched.
2. Higher volume, lower weight. My personal preference for training is 3-5 reps or 5-8 for most exercises. If i am not feeling it or i am a little achey, i will do pump work. Do a similar exercise with a little more focus on technique and aim for 20+ reps. It sounds silly but i did this for a week on a dodgy shoulder blade injury and it felt like it was as good as new after a week.
This is pure gold, fellows. Absolutely on spot, as usual. Keep rocking & sharing the best advices, mate 💪🏻🔥 PS: 44 yo ISSA CPT, with 10+ of experience, already in your waitlist 😎
Fantastic very very helpful
Had L5/S1 herniation confirmed by MRI. Severe pain down left leg when bending forward even slightly at the waist. Happened while squatting highbar. Kept training the lifts I could, kept walking…completely pain free in about 12 weeks. I took 8-9 months however to slowly reintroduce certain movements starting with low weights.
I am sorry to hear this as I know exactly what itbmeans, i have identical pain, however CT Scan and MRI showed nothin, i also do not remember it to be acute, but i'm 34 and been in pain on/off 12 yrs, i do work out 5-6/week. Any tips that work for u to improve?
I've had many disc issues over decades which lasted from a few days to several months. All were painful. To their credit, the few times I consulted orthopedic, and neuro surgenons, they all advised against surgery and reinforced that my injuries would heal themselves.
I can absolutely agree with Menno.
My anecdote: in early 2005 my C6 needed to be fixed in a surgery. The pain before and after was top level. I had signed up for a racebike marathon in the Alps later that year and I asked my doctor what I should do instead. Biking 8 hours is not just what my back needs, I thought.
My doctor: what?? I am not your excuse to do avoid the hard training and even cycling is good therapy for your spine.
He was right.
Listening to your pain signals is a skill on its own, and a rather useful one I suppose.
My back has been a nightmare since teenage years. Heavy physical job and heavy squats & deadlifts messed it up pretty bad as I had a mri for a month ago.
Its time to stop doing heavy lifts and focus on maintain as much muscle ass possible and some mobility for the rest of my life.
Extension intolerance in the younger population with disc herniation with radicular pain typically occurs when your lumbar joint mobility is poor, especially into extension. Usually the as you improve your lumbar joint mobility, tolerance to extension improves and the radicular pain down the leg will centralize. If you have extension intolerance without radicular pain, there is a solid chance that it’s not your herniated disk that is generating the pain. It’s usually something like a facet joint.
Tore my SI joint, and was in pain for 7 months before I got help. Hurt myself squatting, and struggled with sitting for long periods for a year (SI join tear happened later and reignited the back pain).
PS. Physical therapy helped me solve the SI joint tear.
Phenomenal post
Good shit Milky. Really important vid.
Breathing, bracing ,core strengthening hinging are the best things on can master also crucial that only a few specialists address.
A disc buldge it's a weakened stage which means you don't have to worry, but be awaoken to practice safe lifting as the above mentioned techniques become an absolute must.
Dehydration of the disc with improper lifting is the Spark that sets the bomb to go off POP in this case ,a disc....been a candidate for surgery and hence sharing.
However Mennos advice is obviously going to be the best as he's a specialist not me.
I herniated my discs doing back squats. I've been waking up and doing glute, hip flexor, ab and spine exercises which have helped immediately. I think my herniated disc is very low down, near my tailbone.
I injured my left shoulder doing too many bear crawls and KB swings. I went to the top shoulder ortho in Seattle, and he x-rayed and sent me to PT. The guy tried Dry needling and massage and it felt great. But he was dismayed when I told him it didn't really help. Then the pt said I should go back the Shoulder dr and get it looked at again and that I might need surgery. Internally, I laughed and just decided to let it heal, and in about year and a half it was all better. Waste of money.
As a physical therapist, I don’t believe my job is to heal the body. It is to educate the patient and show them what they are capable of. Regardless of healing times and types of injuries there are many people that simply don’t don’t know enough to get back to their previous level of function. So yes they heal but did their movement patterns improve? Did they learn anything? Do they know how to participate in their hobby/sport without re-injury?
I love this!
Hi Menno, as a proponent of full body every day, i would really like to hear your thoughts on Dr. Mike's recent video on full body workouts. Kind regards
I live in the country, so we only go to the doctor once a year. I've retrained bicep tears, delt tears, pulled something in my leg once that made me limp for over a year but is good now, broken foot, broken fingers, etc etc.. Tend to do my own minor surgeries removing warts and what have you. Oh and don't forget all the various tendonitis over the years. Used to have really bad carpal tunnel too which I mostly fixed with yoga and lifting.
I know these are general guidelines and they can be extrapolated to any musculoskeletal injury but, could you make a video on shoulder pain?
I often have slight lower back pain and I've noticed that doing some exercises where lower back is involved (like heavy seated cable rows as opposed to chest supported rows) reduces my pain.
Excellent video doctor. This resonates my experience as well.
A question though, I have suffered for few months of sudden weekness in my left arm for biceps, back exercises and chest exercises. The left triceps exercises are not affected by this. I have been following same approach. Gradually increase strength of these exercises but this has taken such a long time, 5 months now and slow improvements. Seems that the issue maybe neurological.
Am I doing this right?
Can we make this video mandatory viewing for the general population please?
Back injuries are no fun I've injured my back twice on Romanian Deadlifts years ago. I never got imaging done because I figured it wouldn't change that I would show up to the gym (which was hard because I struggled to get in and out of my car) and do exercises I could tolerate for light reps, eventually time heals it. I'm back to RDLs and doing them with a proper range of motion that isn't excessive, which I think my problem was before, and filling in the rest of my Hamstring volume with leg curls and back extensions. I currently only do 2 sets of 6-10 on RDLs, once a week.
Still need an MRI to know if you have a complete rupture of a tendon or ligament. You definitely need surgery for those
I work in MRI and have seen literally hundreds of spine MRIs. I think just about every person on Earth beyond the age of 20-25 has a herniated l4/l5 or l5/s1. Some people's back looks completely fine and they have a small herniation, yet they can barely walk or are shitting themselves. Then some people's back looks like a total fucking train wreck and they are walking around with moderate pain. I once encountered an early 20's male that had mild discomfort in their back for 6 months with no injury. Turns on he had cancer on 3 vertebrae. Shit is genuinely unpredictable sometimes.
Tip #1 is a dangerous one to be recommending in my opinion, as it may send the wrong message (even if there are circumstances where it is perfectly valid).
Menno, I greatly enjoy your content. "Muscle memory" is often cited by bodybuilding and physio professionals, and it was covered in my undergraduate and graduate university studies (many years ago). Can you direct me to a source that actually examines the cell physiological of this phenomenon? Cheers
Stronger by Science made an article about this recently. Just google muscle memory Stronger by Stronger by Science and there should at least be an article on it from this year (2024) I believe.
But… I hurt my knee.. I got an mri.. my acl was torn… I needed surgery.. I got the surgery. I got a treatment plan specific to my injury (which would have been different if I had, for example, a patellar or meniscus injury).
Is your position I should have just ‘exercised’?
Really appreciate you putting in words the issues Ive had and the path I’ve taken
Sadly I’m still in pain, herniated disc, horribly herniated too, they called it extruded I think.
Anyways, went from being on oxycodone and not leaving bed to now being back in the gym and doing some leg exercises. Sadly I’m not as far as I’d like to be after over a year post injury.
I’m wondering if you have any more tips for people with severe disc herniations or if you have any marker for when surgery should be more strongly considered. Or maybe I’m just being too much of a dang meathead and need to listen to my body even more lol
Great video! After being referred to a McKenzie specialist, I found that this method made my L5 Si pain worse! I then researched Dr MGill's methods and they were somewhat better. Takeaway is: If the movement causes pain, find away around it
Excellent Work. I'm sure Stuart MC Gill would disagree with the diagnosis part, and he'd be wrong :)
Good stuff
I've seen about 10 different doctors for c6/c7 disc 15 mm extrusion and the only thing that helped was low rows and pullovers
Would you recommend anything different for people like me who have a straight spine? Also called “flat back syndrome”.
In my first year, yes the first year, I got scaitica (bulged disc). It caused a weird sensation when coughing or sneezing. Leg weakness/zapping when bending forward on one leg. Leg aches at night sometimes. How did it happen? Pendley Rows (touch the floor) then accidently switching form mid set for a rep or two into Bent Row form (floating).
How did I fix it (knock on wood). I did a lot, and I mean a lot, of Cobra Poses every day, which help keep the disc pushed in. I never completely stopped Deadlifting or Squatting. In fact, I believe they can help heal it and keep you from injuring yourself again. I did however stop Bent/Pendley Rows to this day. I never really liked them anyway but perhaps I'll eventually give them another try one day. Maybe this will help someone else.
Edit: I also over time learned to always make sure I suck in so much air into my core. I even bend my back slightly when doing RDL's for a long time now and so far my back has been ok. I get super DOMS though, which I suppose is good if my back is getting stronger.
Herniated a disc or two several times over the last two decades. Squats and deadlifts are not possible anymore and pain and discomfort are largely always there.
i have knee pain only in hack squat when i go for deep stretch what should i do i tried doing them even with out any wieght and still got the pain
the body doesn't heal the ACL, it requires surgical intervention. in this case diagnostic tools absolutely change the treatment plan
Herniated discs destroyed my lifting career. Sometimes I can't even walk. No matter how many videos of mckenzie techniques etc I watch, one bad move and it's over.
Doctors who say wait two weeks and then come back don't resolve the issue by letting the body heal. They don't see the patient again because the patient either went to another doctor or couldn't take more time off work. There's a lot of people who wait for months until it's absolutely necessary to see a doctor, and doctors like that invalidate and destroy the willpower of people like that when it comes to taking care of their health
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Herniated disc SUCKS!!!
That's exactly how I healed my (alleged) supraspinatus tendinosis. Testify!
If you saw a good Gonstead Chiropractor you would have been back on your feet and working out within a month
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Old people are a little different.
Injuries just pop up sometimes
My Dutch doctor has always been correct: just take paracetamol
Yea, you all don't go to doctor. What are you talking about? In your case exercise worked, but every case is different. I think yor advice can be more harmfull than helpfull.
First
ruclips.net/user/shortsDHsSXqEBuPk?si=Q0L4vdkk0KUtmxFl An uncommon, profoundly powerful, and well articulated truth regarding the nature of injury and especially pain.
The human body has an enormous capacity to heal and adapt, especially when exposed to the correct conditions. 30seconds.
And the life changing determinations caused by receiving logical/illogical advice at pivotal moments in life.