lower backache!!!!!

Every afternoon (on the workout day - which is just about every day for me) there isn't much in a way of my muscles that aren't at least mildly sore. That includes lower back. At first I thought I'm having lower back problems, but it turned out that the lower back muscles just get sore in a certain way. They do hurt a bit more on the IM stroke days, or on hard kick days.

Keep in mind, sometimes back pain is a consequence of tight hamstrings (especially if you have been sitting on them during the workday). Besides the other suggestions, you might want to do toe touches.

Sounds like you've strained your back muscles at some time and now you may have developed a weakness in your lower back. Maybe worth noting down when you start to feel pain. Could be from carrying a heavy object. ...Yoga would be a good way to strengthen your back muscles, plus a great way to stretch those hamstrings.

yes, stretching is an excellent suggestion. Also, it sounds like you've good underdeveloped lower back muscles...working on stregthening that could really cure your problem along with the stretches. Try the superman, or flopping fish--lay on your stomach arms straight out, and feet pointed back likeyour superman flying straight ahead. Put your chin directly on teh mat or floor. then make yourself a "u" shape with emphasis on your lower back. Try 3 sets of 10--and hold the "u" for 5 seconds. Then gradually move up to hodling the "u" for 10 seconds. This will really help you.

My lower back hurts on IM and fly day, too. I just try to stretch a LOT and work on strengthening abs...using the stability ball and slant board. Your posture in general has a lot to do with it too. "Zip up" your abs as much as possible--meaning, contract them throughout the day as if trying to press against your spine.

As one who has suffered greatly from lower back pain for most of my life, I concur with Mattson. Truly, "the head bone is connected to the foot bone". For 25 years,I have have been stretching my ham strings EVERY morning for 15 minutes a day minimum. I find it has helped me lead a much more normal life than before stretching. And the fitness of swimming 4-5 times a week has also decreased my problems 10 fold. Hope to teach you a few new tricks...;)

I urge you to be very cautious concerning lower back pain. About a couple of years ago my back started aching after swimming butterfly . . . just a mild ache, though, nothing I was really worried about. I just stretched it out after swimming a butterfly or IM set and continued on with the practice. Then, one day, after hyperextending on a dive at a meet, I started having some SERIOUS back pain. X-rays showed that I have a condition called "spondylolisthesis," which can be caused by repeated hyperextention of the back. I have a fractured vertebrae which has slipped out of place which causes serious pain by pressing on the nerve when I extend my back. I haven't swum butterfly for over a year. Now, I am going in for a spinal fusion to (hopefully) correct the problem. You do not want to be in my shoes. I would suggest you see a doctor right away. It couldn't hurt. He/she must suggest getting an x-ray; if not, I'd request one, so that you can find out what's going on (and hopefully rule out spondylolisthesis). Oh, and I noticed that another poster said that back problems are caused by tight hamstrings . . . not necessarily true. It is the case that tight hamstrings and back problems often go hand-in-hand; however, correlation does not necessarily imply causation. And my hamstrings are not tight.

Originally posted by AWeiss Oh, and I noticed that another poster said that back problems are caused by tight hamstrings . . . not necessarily true. It is the case that tight hamstrings and back problems often go hand-in-hand; however, correlation does not necessarily imply causation. And my hamstrings are not tight. Try reading again... I said "sometimes". No one else mentioned the possibility, so I did. (Until recently, I certainly didn't know that sometimes back pain is caused by tight hamstrings.) Just like no one mentioned the possibility that it could be something more serious like a fractured vertebrae, so you brought it up.

A Weiss, I'm confused -- is there a relationship between the fractured vertebra and the spond etc. ? Did the hyperextensions fracture your vertebra? That's very alarming. juneo

My point was that the jury is still out on whether or not having tight hamstrings is indeed a POSSIBLE cause of back problems, or whether having lower back problems is the cause of tight hamstrings. I posed this question to various physical therapists, chiropractors, doctors, and physiatrists over the course of my treatment. Many indicated that tight hamstrings are actually not the cause back pain . . . it is a question of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Many doctors told me that although many people who have back problems also have tight hamstrings, it was actually a lower back problems which resulted in tight hamstrings- not the other way around. And, as I stated before, sometimes there is no connection between the two at all, as was true in my case. Nevertheless, it certainly couldn't hurt to work on stretching your hamstrings, and hey, if the result is that your lower back feels better . . . great! But I would also go to see a physician, take your back pain seriously, and request an x-ray. I wish I had. If so, I might not be getting a spinal fusion next month (at age 31). Back surgery is a very serious procedure with high risks involved- an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of "cure" (if you can call back surgery a "cure").