Bad back while playing snooker ? (While i bend down...)

[damienlch]

... I spend around 18 hours a day horizontal due back surgery that didn't go as planned. I had a 2nd herniation on disc L4/L5 and only after the MRI did I discover just how bad my back is. As a result of my 1st operation I have adhesions (scar tissue) growing onto the sciatic nerve at L4/L5 and a bulging disc at L5/S1, the disc is displacing the nerve on one side and toughing the nerve on the other, unable to stand for long periods and cannot sit for long at all. Doctor's these days do not want to even talk to me as there is nothing that can be done I'm a lost cause...

omg, blinky88 ... hope u get better soon!!

[The Doctor]

Hi there, I am a former Main tour pro and Former Scottish Champion. I had to give the game up competitively a few years ago due to back problems. Under investigation it was found that i had a condition call spondylolisthesis(Slippage of one or more of the vertebra). mine was caused due to an injury when i was young but was never detected until i was older and started having pain and problems. It causes severe pain in the lower back and leg, as the slip presses on the sciatic nerve.
Your condition sounds serious enough to get a Doctors opinion(another's lol)
It might be sciatica or maybe even a problem with a trapped nerve, but you should definitely get it checked out.
I hope that its not the same problem i had, as i needed a 6 hour op to fuse the lower back and have titanium plates inserted either side of the spine. I needed to lie down for 6 weeks(only to get up to go to toilet) and it is a very painful op to recover from.
Good luck with it, i wish you all the best.

[DarrenReeder94]

Hi there, I am a former Main tour pro and Former Scottish Champion. I had to give the game up competitively a few years ago due to back problems. Under investigation it was found that i had a condition call spondylolisthesis(Slippage of one or more of the vertebra). mine was caused due to an injury when i was young but was never detected until i was older and started having pain and problems. It causes severe pain in the lower back and leg, as the slip presses on the sciatic nerve.
Your condition sounds serious enough to get a Doctors opinion(another's lol)
It might be sciatica or maybe even a problem with a trapped nerve, but you should definitely get it checked out.
I hope that its not the same problem i had, as i needed a 6 hour op to fuse the lower back and have titanium plates inserted either side of the spine. I needed to lie down for 6 weeks(only to get up to go to toilet) and it is a very painful op to recover from.
Good luck with it, i wish you all the best.

dam, are you okay now? do you still play

--

and thanks for advice everyone, i have been playing for last few days-week and i think its actually gotten a bit better, i can play 3 or 4 frames now without any back problems (of pool, Don't like to play snooker because of my tiny and Uneven table :/)...

Although once i finish school in 2 and a half weeks i am going to defiantly see a doctor asap..thanks everyone, I only joined a lil while a go and everyone has been great!

[Tom Read]

Hi. You may half-know me as I was next to you in the libaray at school the other day! This may sound a bit on the strange side but...

I know you don't know but if you ever want a few frames I'll take you down the Manor. I'm just waiting for my membership to come through - 3 full size tables upstairs that are never used, good condition too.

You mention your "small, uneven table"... have you ever played on a full-size table then?

[snookersnookersnooker]

keep your back straight while you play, bend at the hips

[bob1]

Hello, This is my first question and i am hoping someone can help me out as i cannot find help for this anywhere on google or on the search function with this forum...

Basicly i have just started playing snooker in my own time (before i played once in a year on holiday in hemsby and sometimes pool in pub about 2 years ago).. Although i am having a lot of trouble with my back...

I am a 15 year old boy and when i bend down my lower back usally really Aches and it makes it very uncomfortable to play the game. Also i sometimes get my shoulder with my cueing arm (right now) aching as well.

At the moment i only play during sessions because i am watching the world championship nearly constantly (aspecially this weekend) although after half an hour its unbearable to play anymore (although my back hurts once i bend down just once but i push myself through the pain because i wanna play snooker, lol)...


I remember i had this trouble last summer when i was on holiday and its not really sorted itself out and i am not sure what to do to fix this problem. I am hoping my body will adjust itself if i just play snooker more but i want to know if anyone knows how i can make myself better or if its somthing that happens to everyone...

-Thanks for your time..

(sorry if i haven't made sense anywhere in this question. I have been up since half 10 watching snooker and i am really tired...thats really early for me as i stayed up all night )

You explained it well. If you have this type of problem at such a young age go to your Doctor first as several have mentioned, get an MRI and then if
they find something then you would be sent to a specialist who would be
qualified to decide on treatment.

One poster had mentioned going to a physiotherapist first. That would
be the wrong idea.

Most others in this thread suggest getting the MRI through
your Doctor, that is a view that I share and the safe way to go.

Also the traditional stance in snooker is not good for anyone's back, contrary
to what someone else had said on this thread. Ask anyone over 40 who
has played snooker for any period of time, they have back problems.
Granted at 15 there might be other stuff going on which as said should
be checked out with Doctors and MRI's first not physiotherapists.

Best wishes

[The Doctor]

dam, are you okay now? do you still play

--

and thanks for advice everyone, i have been playing for last few days-week and i think its actually gotten a bit better, i can play 3 or 4 frames now without any back problems (of pool, Don't like to play snooker because of my tiny and Uneven table :/)...

Although once i finish school in 2 and a half weeks i am going to defiantly see a doctor asap..thanks everyone, I only joined a lil while a go and everyone has been great!

I still suffer from a lot of pain but the op has made sure i don't get any worse.
I don't really play anymore, the back problem has put an end to my playing days, but i am OK thanks.

[bob1]

Hi there Doctor,

Over the last 12 years I have seen more doctors than most people see in a lifetime, there is no way out for me.

Cheers.

I also have problems with the back. The guy that said " the snooker stance
should not give you any pain at all". Is wrong!!!

Any physiothearpist will tell you that the tradtional stance for snooker with
the straight back leg and the chin on the cue is an unnatural static position
and over time most people will have back problems.

Over time people will make adjustments to there stance that may not be
totally correct to the snooker coach, but will still allow people to keep
playing the game. Look at Steve Davis does he still play with a straight
back leg? and he still plays well.

[DarrenReeder94]

Hi. You may half-know me as I was next to you in the libaray at school the other day! This may sound a bit on the strange side but...

I know you don't know but if you ever want a few frames I'll take you down the Manor. I'm just waiting for my membership to come through - 3 full size tables upstairs that are never used, good condition too.

You mention your "small, uneven table"... have you ever played on a full-size table then?

I played on quite a big table down in hemsby last August.. i got down there every august for past 2 years and i usually spend 2+ hours in there a day when I'm over there. But i mainly play on my small uneven table which is crappy..

But yea, sounds alright once school is over and stuff Although i am not very good, I am alright with cue ball control and potting. although with cue ball control, i can choose direction easily and stuff, but hard to get exact position on table really..Also i am not very good with angles (When Hitting object ball) at the moment.So i still got a long way to go with improving my game... Georgia said something to me today about her brother, i think i might know who you are :d

----

BTW, My back is doing alright now, i might still go doctors to make sure soon but I'm doing just fine. thanks for support. I think i just had to get back into the game.

[Tom Read]

Yeah she came home and said she spoke to you. Well I'll try and say hello when I next see you.

As for the all the stuff you mention like cue ball control, angles etc. it's just a matter of practise, practise and more practise. Once you get used to the speed of the table and how different spins affect shots and bounces off of cushions it's just a matter of being consistent and doing the same thing every time.

When you have time after your study leave and exams or any time before just send us a message here or talk to Georgia and I dare say we can arrange something. Like I said my membership will be sorted out soon - I rely on dad taking me at the mo, but now he's working more we won't have much time.

I dare say your stance and cue action is a darn site better than mine. Making a 23 in line-up after not playing for long is pretty good, thats a good 6 or 7 balls in a row.

[snookering mo]

Sciatica

I started playing snooker in January... i played every night nearly until 14 May...

In the line up i made a 100..and in a match i made a 55 against my mate ...

I noticed a pain beginning to creep into my leg just above my knee ... i never paid any attention to it ... but it started to aggravte me more and more ...so i decided to take a break from snooker ....the following week i couldn't walk i was limping...i went to my doc and he said you have piriformis ...because you are overpronating your foot...

I bought insoles ...the problem never got better ...it has got worse ...i think i may have slipped a disc in my lower back ...i don't actually have back pain ...just thigh and buttock pain when i stand or walk ...its delibitating ...

I am going to ask for an mri of my lumbarspine ... funny how playing snooker can do something like this to you.