When your back is hurting, and you find out that you have spondylolisthesis, it can feel like life is over. The first things you start hearing about is that you may need spondylolisthesis surgery, so your next step if learning what spondylolisthesis exercises you can do. Here at 9INE POINT Health we always want to show you as many ways as possible to avoid having surgery. The reason is that spondylolisthesis surgery can be invasive and it changes how your body works forever. Surgery should always be the last option, not the first, primarily as a young athlete.
What is Spondylolisthesis?
Spondylolysis is usually the first step of spondylolisthesis because the injury starts with wear on the spinal disks. When related to spondylolisthesis the spondylolysis is typically some form of fracture to the L5 vertebrae that causes discomfort. The next step is of this injury is that the disk begins to slip forward which is what makes it spondylolisthesis.
The injury can be the result of age and bone degeneration, but it is also found in athletes today. Sports like running, gymnastics, football, and basketball can produce these injuries from a lot of the repetitive impact and contact the body has to absorb in the lower back area. As an athlete, you want to do everything you can to avoid spondylolisthesis surgery
Do You Need Spondylolisthesis Surgery?
In severe cases of the injury, spondylolisthesis surgery can become the best option. The problem is that people have often had these surgeries even in mild cases. The spondylolisthesis surgery consists of having a spinal fusion which is having mental rods nailed to your back to increase support. If you are a young athlete, having this surgery can be game over for your career or ever having an active lifestyle. It may take longer to get pain relief through spondylolisthesis exercises, but it is worth it in the long run.
Surgery is invasive! Many people have pointed to surgery as the solution to many of life’s problems, but it actually can create more problems while not fixing the real issue. Back pain can be genetic, but a lot of times these back issues come down to one simple fact, your body does not move properly. If you want it to move right, you need to train it to do so. It is going to require work and a lot of times people don’t want to do the work so going under the knife seems like the easy option, but in the long run, it is not.
My Fight With Spondylolisthesis Surgery and Spondylolisthesis Exercises
I do not speak about this injury from just learning; I went through it myself. Playing football and running track from the age of 7 to age 18 meant that injuries had started to catch up with me. The first introduction to spondylolisthesis is running track and field in my last year of high school.
I had finished a 100m dash and noticed a lot of discomfort in my lower back that I could not get rid of. I tried to get treatment before my next race, but it not work. Before I knew it my back was swollen, and it hurt a lot. I did what most athletes did, and I just shut my season down thinking when I came back the next year it would be gone.
When I got to Iowa State for my freshman year, I quickly realized that it had not gone away. It took very little time for the injury to come back. The reason was that it did not fix the root cause of the injury. Every injury happens for a reason and if you do not fix that reason, you will get hurt.
I kept trying different things on my own because the word on the street was that I would need surgery and I wanted nothing to do with that! At the same time, I kept hurting myself again and again. It was not until I ran into the right sports medicine clinic that I was able to fix my back for good and I never suffered another injury again.
He put me through a set of exercises that we will go through later. The main thing he focused on was avoiding surgery by removing the cause of my back pain. Once we started to attack that, I never have the issue again because I understand what caused it in me. That is where seeing the right healthcare provider makes all the difference.
Spondylolisthesis Exercises
The following spondylolisthesis exercises are going to seem so simple that they could not be the solution. When we have injuries, we often search for complicated answers. The reality is that being healthy requires getting the basics right. These things below are some of the basics.
Spondylolisthesis Exercises – Glute Firing
One big issue that a lot of people develop over time is glutes that become inactive and form the wrong firing pattern. The firing pattern you want to have is the following:
- Glute
- Hamstring
- Back
The glutes should be the first things to fire, but over time we use our hamstrings and backs to carry a load they were not meant to carry. Look at how much muscle there is in your butt compared to your lower back.
You need to train your body to have the correct firing patterns again. If you try and build glute strength before doing this, you will continue to put the load in the incorrect areas. The reasons that are glutes shut down so quickly is that we spend so much time sitting down.
- Lie face down
- Flex your glute (work one side at a time)
- Restart the second you feel your hamstring or back flex
- The goal is to be able to flex your glute as hard as you can without turning on your back or hamstring
Spondylolisthesis Exercises – Weighted Glute Bridges
Now it is time to start adding strength to the glutes so that they can handle more load. A lot of people see glute bridges and think they are dangerous because they are different, but they are not at all. Glute bridges are safe because you are under the weight so if you fail the damage is minimal, especially compared to squats.
Spondylolisthesis Exercises – The Stretch That Will Change Your Life
The last thing you want to work on is getting your hips to move better. A lot of back pain is due to a lack of hip mobility that manifests itself as back pain. When you are in a seated position all day that first thing to experience problems is the psoas muscle. Ironically the psoas connects to the L5 and plays a significant role in spondylolisthesis issues. The second task is to make sure that the hip can move through its full range of motion without restriction.
The Best Option for The Right Spondylolisthesis Exercises and to Avoid Spondylolisthesis Surgery
The best thing you can do when dealing with spondylolisthesis is to see a healthcare provider first. Everyone wants to try and deal with injuries on their own but it is not worth it in the long run. The reason is that you want to make sure you get this right. The longer you delay the worst it can get and the closer you get to needing to have surgery.
9INE POINT Health is the only platform that allows you to search for healthcare providers by type and by skill set so you can find exactly what you need to meet your needs. Each healthcare provider will come with a 9INE POINT Number that will make it easy for you to compare providers.
The Types of Providers That Can Provide Spondylolisthesis Exercises
- Chiropractors
- Registered Dietitians
- Sports Physician
- Acupuncturists
- Physical Therapists
- Massage Therapists
- Holisticllistic Healthcare Providers
Type of Skill Sets to Look For to Avoid Spondylolisthesis Surgery
- Dry Needling
- Active Release Technique
- Functional Movement Screen
- Practioner with Sports Background
- Fascial Stretching
- Acupuncture
- Massage
- Assisted Stretching
- Muscle Activation Technique
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.