Lower back pain and incredibly tight hamstrings

[Luv2Phuket]

I think the two are related (read somewhere they probably are), but I am experiencing daily lower back pain/tightness, and my hamstrings are incredibly tight (touch your toes? Forget it - I can touch my knees!).

Any suggestions?  Trip to Thailand coming soon (hopefully), and I am hoping this doesn't continue while I am there.

I may even break down and go see a chiro

[Shuggy]

Magnesium supplements are great for relaxing muscles. 

[Annex191]

For me this always happened when I sat too much without getting enough sport. The muscles and strings shorten over time and beginn to cramp when they are overstreched because of unfamiliar movements. If It's bad then get muscel relexers and Physiotherapy.

There are also many videos on youtube on how to strech the muscles and strings to prevent this from happening. But be cautious with those, you can make it worse if you do those exercises wrong or overdo it while the muscles are still cramped, worst case you could damage a disc in your spine. 

When it's not that bad yet than taking a walk allways helps me to relax the back a little. Vary your step size and don't overdo it.

In the long run only regular sport and/or streching will prevent this.

I also got in the habit of standing up and walking in the office for a minute or two every half an hour or so and think this helped a lot.

[LASportsNut]

1 hour ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think the two are related (read somewhere they probably are), but I am experiencing daily lower back pain/tightness, and my hamstrings are incredibly tight (touch your toes? Forget it - I can touch my knees!).

Any suggestions?  Trip to Thailand coming soon (hopefully), and I am hoping this doesn't continue while I am there.

I may even break down and go see a chiro

I had the same problem all of 2022 and a little now.

It was so bad it began to effect my achilles tendons too.

I have been stretching as much as I remember too and it seems to be helping.

[Fire Bar Matt]

3 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I may even break down and go see a chiro

Skip the chiro, go see a physio as you need to sort the muscles out. A physio will give you a series of stretches and exercises to do at home in between visits that will help relieve your tightness and back pain. 

[FarangBear]

Try this stretch (if you are more mobile you can put the leg higher up)

Foaming rolling on your hamstrings might also help. Or ask a cute thai girl to walk on your hamstring 😂

 

[themehta]

https://youtu.be/nhUhVMBwV08

 

 

 

[duke main]

https://www.valleyspine.net/new-patients/

I recommend Dr Denny (Dumler) in Henderson, if that's not too far away from you. He's popular with MMA fighters and SWA flight crew members (possibly because he makes it very easy to use the insurance). He's a cool guy and a good Chiro.

[Perth West]

Go to your doctor and get a Prescription for Quinine .kills all cramps in minutes and last for hours .

Cramping is exerbated by alcahol ,the tightness is possibley from posture,walk and swim more.

good luck

[manni2011]

I suspect what you really have is tight psoas muscles.  Check YouTube for videos on how to stretch and release it.  

[Dishmonkey]

8 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think the two are related (read somewhere they probably are), but I am experiencing daily lower back pain/tightness, and my hamstrings are incredibly tight (touch your toes? Forget it - I can touch my knees!).

Any suggestions?  Trip to Thailand coming soon (hopefully), and I am hoping this doesn't continue while I am there.

I may even break down and go see a chiro

Get an MRI and make sure it's nothing serious (but easily fixable). Do you ever experience cramping in either leg? Or pain in back/butt/leg same time?

Could easily be not stretching enough or helped by supplementing magnesium as shuggy said. But if it's something else an MRI is cheap insurance.

[bqi123]

6 hours ago, Dr No said:

Skip the chiro, go see a physio as you need to sort the muscles out. A physio will give you a series of stretches and exercises to do at home in between visits that will help relieve your tightness and back pain. 

Agreed. Technically chiros are not real doctors. There is no such degree in university or med school.

They are not based on concrete science. Basically you or me can open a chiro school and hand out chiro certificates. 

physiotherapists are real doctors.

[Kandinski]

6 minutes ago, bqi123 said:

Agreed. Technically chiros are not real doctors. There is no such degree in university or med school.

They are not based on concrete science. Basically you or me can open a chiro school and hand out chiro certificates. 

physiotherapists are real doctors.

Well, at the best debatable. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic_education

[Annex191]

In most countries neither is a doctor in the sence that they have a doctors degree from a university. 

In Germany a chiropractors are mostly doctors or licensed in alternative medicin. For the purposes here I don't think it makes much of a difference whether you go to either. They will both help you. In my experience chiros will just concentrate more on the bones while physical therapists will consider bones and muscles.

If there is any doupt go to an orthopedist, get examined and then go where he sends you.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

Thanks for the feedback, especially on the stretching and the foam roller suggestion.  I bought a massage gun, which is GREAT for the areas that it can access (like thighs, calf muscles, etc.), but I can't find a way to easily use on my hamstrings.

I think sitting at my desk is BIG part of the problem. Much busier these days, which requires more sitting still in front of my PC screens.

Luckily, not having my issues with cramping.

Foam roller being ordered from Amazon today and watching some stretch videos to see if that helps.

[FarangBear]

3 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think sitting at my desk is BIG part of the problem. Much busier these days, which requires more sitting still in front of my PC screens.

If sitting is part of the problem your psoas is probably tight too, you don't feel it as much with everyday movement, but a tight psoas tend to tight up the back and hamstring too. You can reach this with a tennis ball. 
If you are able to get up and move at least once every hour for just a couple minutes it will help a lot on the problems caused by sitting too much. 
 

 

[seaman]

Try a electric desk, from 65 to 130 cm ...

Sittng height is 74cm, for stand work depend of you

So you can work sitting and standing

I walk every hour too ...

If I make a work more than an hour on computer without walking, I have back pain too

 

After, you need a good chair

Chairs like "gamers chair" are catastrophic ! real shit !

Ergonomic chair is a word that means nothing nowaday

Invest in a chair like EMBODY from Herman Miller

It cost an arm, but it is so comfortable ... you dont feel your weight

And dont sit at 90° on your seat, try more 100° (backwards of course )