ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Thanks for the comments and replies - I won't quote anyone as I pretty much agree with all that was said.
I'm progressing, so I'm happy about that. Still too 'iffy' to make the trip downtown with DW & kids tomorrow that we were thinking of, some other time.
I have no idea if these McKenzie stretches are helping/hurting/indifferent to whatever else I may have done instead. But since I have improved, I'm going to stick to the routine every 2 hours during the day as he reccs, and then move onto the other exercises. We will see.
I definitely feel better after a session (EX #1, 2, & 3), esp now that I'm using those cushions to get off the floor with less strain. It's pretty amazing how you can feel the pain/stiffness melt away after about 30 seconds just lying in position #1 (he has you hold it for 2-3 minutes). Whether that is indicative of long-term improvement though, I don't know, but it seems encouraging.
But in the past, I've also felt much better after doing a stretch that involves laying on your back and pulling your knee to your chest (alternate knees). But McKenzie says you should not do this until after you've pretty much recovered. He refers to this as a flexion stretch, and not only should you not do it while your back is sore, but you should always follow it with one of the extension exercises.
Just FYI, the reviews of his book were overwhelmingly positive on Amazon, but the info I could find on controlled studies indicated the method was roughly the same, or maybe marginally better than other treatments. But if those other treatments mean trips to doctors and therapists, etc, and if you can do these easily at home, that seems like a big advantage. Anyway, I'm going to keep up the regimen. And heck, even if it only helped 1/100 people, if you are that #1, good for you!
Regarding the muscle/abs, etc - I agree, and I'm hoping the followup exercises he reccs wil be appropriate for that. And I'll review the list T-Al posted. When I do exercise (I'm bad and inconsistent), I include a lot of crunches - again, who knows if it helped or not, I may have been better or worse off without them?
I've also strapped a home-made lumbar roll (rolled up blanket) to my computer chair - that definitely feels better in terms of support - time for me to get up and move around.
-ERD50
I'm progressing, so I'm happy about that. Still too 'iffy' to make the trip downtown with DW & kids tomorrow that we were thinking of, some other time.
I have no idea if these McKenzie stretches are helping/hurting/indifferent to whatever else I may have done instead. But since I have improved, I'm going to stick to the routine every 2 hours during the day as he reccs, and then move onto the other exercises. We will see.
I definitely feel better after a session (EX #1, 2, & 3), esp now that I'm using those cushions to get off the floor with less strain. It's pretty amazing how you can feel the pain/stiffness melt away after about 30 seconds just lying in position #1 (he has you hold it for 2-3 minutes). Whether that is indicative of long-term improvement though, I don't know, but it seems encouraging.
But in the past, I've also felt much better after doing a stretch that involves laying on your back and pulling your knee to your chest (alternate knees). But McKenzie says you should not do this until after you've pretty much recovered. He refers to this as a flexion stretch, and not only should you not do it while your back is sore, but you should always follow it with one of the extension exercises.
Just FYI, the reviews of his book were overwhelmingly positive on Amazon, but the info I could find on controlled studies indicated the method was roughly the same, or maybe marginally better than other treatments. But if those other treatments mean trips to doctors and therapists, etc, and if you can do these easily at home, that seems like a big advantage. Anyway, I'm going to keep up the regimen. And heck, even if it only helped 1/100 people, if you are that #1, good for you!
Regarding the muscle/abs, etc - I agree, and I'm hoping the followup exercises he reccs wil be appropriate for that. And I'll review the list T-Al posted. When I do exercise (I'm bad and inconsistent), I include a lot of crunches - again, who knows if it helped or not, I may have been better or worse off without them?
I've also strapped a home-made lumbar roll (rolled up blanket) to my computer chair - that definitely feels better in terms of support - time for me to get up and move around.
-ERD50