Back Pain: What to Look for and How to Address It

Back pain have you out of the game?
Check out these tips to relieve discomfort!

I see students, athletes and clients on a daily basis that deal with back pain.  It’s not always acute pain from an injury, but rather dull, achy, annoying discomfort.  Many times the cause of the discomfort is unknown.  Students and office workers sit all day, everyday and do very little to gain length and mobility where they need it.  And they’ll usually come in walking funny and/or complaining that their back is bugging them.  My first step is to do a simple assessment and take a look at their posture and movement abilities.  Below is a picture of postures that you might see.

Proper Posture Chart - Back Pain

(Image Source)

If posture is normal, I’ll move on to the Functional Movement Screen.  This will give me some general information on how to proceed.  If, for some reason there is pain, I stop there and refer out.  It’s always good to error on the cautious side.  Pain is a good indicator that something is going on. Once there is good posture and movement we’re able to determine a starting point, the right exercises can be implemented and the wrong ones can be avoided.  This is crucial in your exercises programming.  The last thing we want is to have exercises reinforcing bad movement patterns.

Move well and get strong are our two primary goals.  Low Back Pain and discomfort is debilitating if you’ve ever experienced it.   So first off, If you’re having acute pain get it checked out by a doctor.  Once cleared, getting moving again is essential.  Here is a routine I do with my clients and athletes that are dealing with that nagging low back. 9 out of 10 times, opening up the hips and T-Spine will relieve low back discomfort.

Remember, The day to day grind of our lives takes a toll on our bodies. Some people sit too much, some stand all day and some do the same small task, all day, every day. These repetitive patterns are, whether moving or not, are contributors to your situation.  Your training regimen should be specifically designed to help you move better, get stronger and ensure you attain your goals. It should also off set the repetitive and overuse patterns that you do every day.

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