back injury/Rhomboids?

[Guest guest]

I have had alot of luck with chiropractors and

massage therapists; alot depends on what kind of back

injury you've got. strain/sprain? pinched nerve? A good

chiropractor or massage therapist will tell you whether or not

they can help you (although they might need to treat

you a bit to find that out) I have found massage

therapists to be great at calming down the muscle

tension/spasms that can cause alot of secondary pain in any kind

of injury. Likewise for chiros--muscle tension can

make your vertebrae out of whack and cause more pain,

aside from the initial injury. What I am trying to say

is, either one may be able to help you heal from an

injury (I am lucky to have a chiro and a rolfer who are

great healers), and even if not, they may be able to

help with pain management if you need it. Avoid

chiropractors that want you to keep coming back for a long

time--if they can give you relief, they should be able to

do so fairly quickly. <br><br>Should you keep

practicing? Try it gently and your body will let you know. I

hurt my upper back at work a while ago, and had hoped

that yoga would help it, but I actually made it alot

worse with the finishing inversions (I don't have a

teacher, and didn't remember until after the fact that the

dreaded and despised BBB cautioned in her pitiful book

against doing them unless done more consistantly than I

have been practicing since the new job started).

<br><br>Which leads me to a question of my own. I do the

primary series. Is there anything in it that I am

missing, or in my future 2nd series, that will be good for

keeping my rhomboids strong and healthy? (Rhomboids:

found under the trapezius, they go from the inside edge

of the shoulder blades to the vertebrae, and help

pull the shoulderblades in and up slightly) Weak ones,

according to my physical therapist are my problem. He does

yoga (not ashtanga), but thinks weights are my best

bet for this. Any suggestions from the club?

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your info. My own Rhomboids are a huge

problem for me in 2nd series. This is not the part of my

back that I injured. Mine are very tight and keep me

from getting as deep as desired into many of the

poses. You would not be able to tell by watching my

first series. All of my teachers just keep working

them. <br><br>I think the only way to do it is just to

practice the series, but other people probably feel

differently.

[Guest guest]

There can be a great deal of benefit from

carefully combining weight training with Ashtanga! You do

need the help of a teacher who knows about such

things. Weight training directed at areas of weakness in

your Ashtanga practice will definitely improve your

practice and help prevent injury. Rowing, lying L's, and

pull up exercises for your rhomboids/lats/traps are

helpful.<br><br>laproxdoc