I'm 60 and have had back problems for over 30 years. It's the typical lower back issue which of course will go away on its own after a few weeks whether you treat it or not. Last year (or the year before) I went to my family doctor who sent me to a physical therapist. She was a young adult who recently graduated from school specializing in physical therapy and sports related injuries.

She gave me rather severe physical exercises to do using weights - just the opposite of what my common sense would have told me. I've been working out with weights now for over a year and just now had to load my car for a job.

I can manage just about everything on my own but always ask help for the 12 space rack case which holds the amp, mixer, eq, compressor, power conditioner, reverb unit, etc. It's not so much that it's heavy, it is heavy, but just bulky to move - you have to bend over it to be able to pick it up on your own.

I waited outside my house for another adult who might be walking by to help me lift this case into my van. Well, after waiting a few minutes I lifted it on my own. Piece of cake ... and that's why I'm posting this here. I was truly surprised how easy it was to lift something where in the past I even had ramps made for my car to move it.

I seriously recommend staying in share especially if you have to move equipment.

I find the p90 workout helps a little

When I need lifting help, I call the missionaries from a nameless church. They're young, healthy and ecstatic about helping...

That's why God gave men strong backs and weak minds!

really nice to insult the people who help you. I hope they drop your stuff and run over it.

They say you should do both weight training and exercise that increases flexibility. I unfortunately adhere to an incredibly rigid goofing off schedule which precludes either.

When I need lifting help, I call the missionaries from a nameless church. They're young, healthy and ecstatic about helping...

That's why God gave men strong backs and weak minds!

___________________________

really nice to insult the people who help you. I hope they drop your stuff and run over it.

___________________________
___________________________

That reminds me when I was young and worked in a steel mill. I worked in the shipping department and had to assemble orders for the guys who would crate them up. I clearly remember one older guy telling me to slow down. When you work really fast, you force us to work really fast. I learned my lesson and paced myself ... and others.

As an older guy I take more notice of my back; when I was younger, I didn't. That strong backs and weak minds comment really wasn't off the mark.

Dave, a good chiropractor and an understanding yoga teacher can also help individuals suffering from back pain.

Kind regards,
James
x

You use your chiropractor and I'll use my physical therapist.

I went to a chiropractor once when I lived in the US. I have two very strong memories - he put me on a table and manipulated my back. I heard a very strong sounding crunch, as if something had been done. The noise came from the table and not from my back - that left a slightly manipulated feeling with me.

I also remember sitting in his office and reading the literature. Once piece of literature from the Chiropractic Association was how to treat diabetes with chiropracty. I thought that was bullsh*t, but I'm not a doctor.

If this is good for back pain...Ill keep the pain lol.

working hard does not mean you have a weak mind Dave. I don't think there is a relation between intelligence and back pain. If being smart is putting down people who help you, then I'd rather be known as a "weak mind" as what's her name put it up top.

That statement really came off to me as being snobbish.

+1 for the yoga. But a good teacher could be hard to find. Most classes are not really designed to balance one's lifestyle whether one sits around all day, or whatever. A personal teacher would help or self study to figure out exactly what muscles and movements will undo the damage. Like for sitting or forward bending, typing, keyboard, ... backbends, headstands, chess openers.... whatever position your body spends lots of time in, figure out the opposite positions and spend as much time in those.

I lift weights now and I had a revelation the other day when I set my Rhodes 88 piano up for the first time in 10 years. I did by myself and did hurt myself. I picked up a 75 pound amp the other day and loaded it in the car. It gave me great satisfaction when the young guy who was helping me said " you must work out". With weight training and flexiblilty, you proved that we old dudes can still gig. Thanks for the post!

Good ol yoga. Start out strong doing that and your body parts will feel as if they have broken off as you slept.

definitely an exorcize to ease into.

Also very important that crux of thread/post contains no typos....

If you read what I wrote you would have mentioned the age factor. Young people have bodies that will last forever - so they think. They will do heavy work without ever thinking of how their bodies will be in 30 years. I know from my own experience that is so.

If you interpret my remarks as being snobbish, so be it; that really wasn't my intention.

It's pretty obvious that the human body, like that of any other animal, is designed to be used. An animal in the wild which cannot outrun predators or catch prey won't survive - just like our ancestors who cannot forage or hunt for food, or carry the food (mammoth ) back to the cave. But our bodies are also designed to conserve energy, so anything surplus to requirements (like strong muscles) shrink or disappear...i.e. if you don't use it, you lose it.

We've become so soft in the intervening millenia that most people these days never have to lift anything heavier than a shopping bag (or a Gucci handbag), nor walk any faster than a gerbil - no wonder we get injuries so easily. Physical therapists get people with back problems to work on strengthening core muscles which protect and stabilize their trunk - which stretching exercises, traditional yoga etc do nothing for. As a mountaineer having to carry backpacks weighing up to 25kg, I do strengthening exercises regularly, and have never had a back problem (minor injuries, yes). Luckily, I don't have to carry my V-Piano (38 kg) around...

nor was it my intention to direct that at you. It was for Nikalette

sorry for the misunderstanding.

ya Im 30 myself (ya somewhat young it seems to you guys lol) But I have a very physical job. On my feet all day lifting somewhat heavy items.
Also I like rowing so that really keeps my back strong. Ive never had back problems yet(knock on wood) my neck and shoulders always are tight but I dont know if yoga could fix that.

The good news is that if you are like that it is astoundingly easy to become much stronger in short order. I'd say a person starting from such a low baseline with only modest effort could see very noticeable improvement in 12 weeks.

On the other hand if you already work out it takes huge effort to see a very noticeable improvement in strength.

That first increment of improvement comes pretty easy.

OT: there's a similar organisation in the UK, who make similar claims, and more. Someone, a Dr. I think, called them out on it in a publication. The organisation sued! I'm not sure if this has been resolved yet. The real difficulty for the Dr. is the cost of defending against the litigation. The UK libel laws basically suck.

Nikalete has been posting here for quite awhile. I had the impression she was joking; I don't have the impression that she is a mean-spirited or an ungrateful person. "Many great things are done in a light heart."

Her advice wasn't so bad, actually--- get help when you need it. If you think paying money for it is too expensive, take a look at the doctor bill after you hurt yourself.

I have lower-back pain, caused by the spinal discs' degenerating. My experience with PT has been mixed, but generally good as long as you find a practitioner you can work and communicate with effectively. Not all of them are a good fit, but a good one can really help. (Craig, I thought the comment about your preferring to keep the back pain and the picture of what could be interpreted as a sexual encounter--- which is not what Physical Therapy is--- was actually mean and unnecessary; also, pretty edgy for PW. If you had this kind of pain for long enough, your attitude might be different.)

Hatha yoga: same story. Your teacher must know about your back problem and how to work effectively with your case. I did it for many years, but once the discs started to go, the very same movement that was so beneficial before did some significant damage. Be very careful with this.

Weight training, or any kind of exercise that promotes circulation, core strength, flexibility and range of motion, and helps control overweight are very good for the back--- but be careful and get good guidance about what movements are ok and what to avoid. As we visualized what the bones and muscles were doing, my PT lady remarked, "Simple physics."

Dave, I'm your age and had the same exact back pain. Lost ten lbs and spend three days a week (45 mins each time) in the gym using the weight machines. Same results as you. Back pain is gone. Now I can put my RD-700gx (in the case) into the bed of the pickup truck by myself. I'm much stronger now.

Overall strength training has improved my quality of life dramatically.

Yes, that's true. You are also limited by your genes - some of us aren't built to be weight-lifters/body builders and will never develop huge bulging biceps no matter how much we train. My puny frame looks harmless until I have to use my limited strength to haul myself & my backpack up with one arm (or one finger ), when suddenly the muscles (honed over decades...) make their presence felt.

But I've long ago plateaued in terms of strength gain (about 2 years after I started going to the gym, in fact), and am happy just to maintain it these days. Lots of studies have shown that elderly people in nursing homes can improve their mobility greatly and are far less susceptible to breaking their hips (which is often the first slippery slope towards death) just by having a physical therapist doing regular (group) strength training sessions with them.

yes. Unlike other animals that move around their entire life, we spend most of it sedentary. And people think old age is to blame. Maybe more of decades of non-movement. There's that video of an 80+ year old qigong guy standing on 2 fingers. Farmers in small villages who work way up in the mountains even at old age, myths of people living to 150, 200, or more... there's much modern medicine has forgotten or isn't seeing.



With rowing, you're moving your back constantly in ways most people don't. People do that in yoga too but it varies with class or yourself. So with neck and shoulders, yeah you'd move them in ways opposite you have to restore them. Most classes might not help much. Ashtanga, parts of it, could be ok. Best yourself look thru poses that will work. Whatever hurts, that's where you begin; that's what you've neglected.

-- for wrists, since this is about piano. peacock pose and variations is interesting. and then others for twisting and strenghening wrists in all directions.



I'm not convinced of that. Like physics went thru newton, einstein, quantum, ... medicine has gone thru 'frameworks' that prevent it from seeing all that's there. Patterns of stress, emotions, excitement, irritation, happiness, laughter, diet, everything you experience affects your hormones, how well you digest and absorb, circulation, ... lots of things it seems medicine won't really start to really examine for centuries. Europe in thousands of years has pretty much had a handful of great doctors like Hippocrates which we've completely forgotten.

I recommend the Akai LPK25. http://www.akaipro.com/lpk25

I have to admit, I've never strained my back when using this piece of equipment, it's extremely easy to move around.

:-D

That is true especially for many smaller or older women. But still, like I said if you are stating from "zero" noticeable improvement is easy and fast for anyone.

I guess I wrote that because so many people think that in order to have any result you have to spend much time and effort and it takes years, so why bother. But the surprising thing is that the first little bit of effort pays of the most with diminishing returns after that. It's those diminishing returns that force top athletes to have to quit there jobs, hire a coach and work out full time just to shave 0.1 seconds off a lap time. But "diminishing returns" is good news for those of use with other competing interests.