The #1 MOST Common Issue In Back Pain Sufferers
Recently, I ran a survey amongst back pain sufferers from my email list, and an interesting question was posed to me. The question was:
“What is the ONE thing that is common in most back pain sufferers – meaning – what can the majority of us do that would make the greatest difference?”
Frankly, the majority of back pain cases have the same thing in common:
MUSCLE IMBALANCES
However…what is CAUSING those muscle imbalances is the real difference. You see, as I address clearly in my DVD set “End Your Back Pain Now!”, over 90% of individuals have an excessive anterior pelvic tilt. The common characteristics include:
Tight-Facilitated Muscles:
Psoas-Iliacus
Quadriceps
Adductors-Medial Hip Rotators
Lumbar extensors
Weak-Inhibited Muscles:
Abdominal wall (rectus abdominus, external obliques, internal obliques, transverse abdominus)
Hamstrings
Glutes
External Hip Rotators such as Piriformis
Now, keep in mind these are general. Some of those muscles are tight, some being weak. Many times not all of them, and some may be tight on one side, with an opposing pattern on the other. Many combinations can exist.
Correction of these imbalances must follow a logical outline. In my DVDs, I discuss how to stretch the tight muscles, and strengthen the weak muscles. This is the most logical place to start. I believe in assuming that the simplest approach will work. 99% of the time, this relieves pain relatively quickly, usually as soon as the back pain sufferer learns to perform the motions correctly. If the pattern keeps coming back, even as the routines are performed, then a deeper root cause should be assumed.
Too many times therapists and doctors assume the most DIFFICULT scenario. Such as some major joint malfunction, subluxation, etc. While these things may be present, addressing them may not actually be the best approach. For example; if a disc bulge is found on an MRI, most doctors assume the pain is coming from the disc, even if the symptoms don’t line up with a disc bulge. The next recommendation is usually a surgical consult.
To me, that jumps just a little to far too soon. There are many non-surgical approaches to disc bulge rehabiliation, such as the methods described by Robin Mckenzie, a well-known physical therapist from New Zealand who has an excellent approach.
This even assumes that the pain is from the disc. I have found many occasions in which a patient comes in and says they have a disc bulge, but when I have them perform movements that would normally make them HURT BAD if they had a disc bulge, interestingly they report no pain.
Don’t know how I got this far from the original intention of the question, but I do that from time to time!
Anyway, the most common issue with back pain sufferers is muscle imbalances. The FIRST step is to address them directly with stretching and strengthening movements, then go from there!
Check out my DVD for an EXACT program on how to do this:
–Sam Visnic
Postural Correction Made Simple In 3 Steps!
One of the more daunting tasks in muscle imbalance correction and reducing lower back stress lies in postural correction. I think its fairly obvious why its important, but just to re-cap:
Posture closely inter-twines with back pain. Why? Well, your body is equipped naturally to be able to deal with that ever inescapable force called gravity. I heard recently that it weighs down on our bodies at approximately 33.5 pounds per square inch! Whether or not that is exact, who cares, but the point remains that we are meant to deal with this force by the way our bodies are designed.
The forces of gravity should be distributed nicely throughout specific joints, bones, muscles, etc. When posture is distorted, through repetitive tasks, muscle imbalances, and even psychological issues, such as depression, the weight of gravity starts to exert its straining effects on our bodies in a way that causes increased joint stress, overworked stabilizer muscles, thus leading to chronic overuse, joint degeneration, and of course, pain.
Now, that you get WHY back pain sufferers should have good posture, why don’t you DO it?
The reason why most people don’t work on posture is truly because its a pain in the ass. It requires paying attention to it continuously, and its hard work at first. However, just like any other discipline, the rewards will pay off IMMENSELY.
Here are a few ways to get your posture corrected PROPERLY:
1. Identify the type of pelvic tilt you have (read other sections of this blog about this). Once you know, you will always focus on finding a “neutral” pelvic tilt when standing, unless the specific type of back problem you have prevents you from doing this in a pain-free way. You will most likely need to just slightly bend your knees too, in order to make the pelvic tilt happen easily.
2. Imagine you have 2 balloons attached to the upper part of your chest muscles, and they are lifting them up to the sky. That should immediately improve your forward head posture too! Gently RETRACT your chin, so your neck elongates slightly.
3. Lastly, pull your shoulder blades back toward your spine, and DOWN toward the middle of your back. The reason why you do this is because if you JUST pull your shoulders back, then you will most likely engage your upper trapezius muscles, which elevate the shoulders. The problem with this is that 99% of people are tight and overworked in this muscles, and they are “stress” holders. So, we don’t want to make them any tighter. Pull the shoulder blades BACK and DOWN.
–Sam Visnic
Free Audio: The REAL Truth Behind Your Back Pain…And How To Heal It Once And For All!
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