Low
back pain is one of the most common ailments people suffer from and
approximately 8 out of 10 people will deal with back pain at some point in their life.
That’s a lot of people… are you one of them?
Out of all of the various forms of back pain, lower back pain is by far
the most common and there’s a good explanation for this. Any idea why?
It’s not car accidents, it’s not work-related injuries, and
it’s not a lack of prescription medications either. Lack of movement and use is the
number one cause of back pain!
I bet your orthopedic specialist or chiropractor didn’t tell you
that, did they?
It’s the lack of movement in various muscles over years that leads
to muscle imbalances and uneven wear and tear on your body, especially the spine. For
example, how many times a day are you bending, leaning, or twisting.
Here’s what the typical person’s day is like:
- Wake up
- Eat breakfast (hopefully)
- Drive or ride to work
- Sit at desk
- Eat lunch
- Sit at desk some more
- Drive or ride home
- Eat dinner
- Sit on couch and watch TV
- Go to bed
Notice the trend here? That’s an awful lot of sitting and not
moving. Well, this is what leads to serious muscle imbalances and so what do we do, we go
to the gym and perform exercises that only make the imbalances worse!
The key to eliminating back pain (nearly any ache, pain, or injury for
that matter) is to identify the muscle imbalances that are pulling the spine, bones, and
joints out of place and then stretch the tight muscles while strengthening the weak
muscles.
How do I know this? Well, as certified personal fitness trainer and
post-rehabilitation specialist, I have worked with hundreds of individuals with back pain
and the conditions that ranged from sciatic pain, to bulging discs, to spinal fusion, and
others. In working with these individuals I discovered some startling facts.
- Many people who seek professional help are often mis-diagnosed and end up following a
treatment plan that fails to eliminate the cause of their back pain.
- Nearly all of the individuals I worked with were able to eliminate their back pain, or
significantly improve their condition even though all of the traditional treatments failed
them (physically therapy, chiropractic care, cortisone injections, anti-inflammatory
medications, surgery, etc).
Even more amazing is the fact that most of these individuals were able
to eliminate their back pain in a matter or days or weeks simply by performing a handful
of exercises and stretches! These weren’t your basic exercises or the standard back
stretches and stomach exercises most "experts" recommend – these were
specific exercises and stretches prescribed based on the individual.
Many of these people had suffered for years and years with aches,
pains, and stiffness and lived inactive lives because of their back pain.
- Most treatment plans offered only address the symptoms and don’t address the cause,
which usually delivers just temporary relief for the individual.
In addition to helping hundreds of others eliminate back pain, I also
have had personal experiences with back pain and other various conditions such as
tendonitis, muscle strains and sprains, and more. In every single situation the
traditional treatments did nothing but treat the symptoms (often times not successfully)
and the only approach that gave lasting improvements and relief was targeted stretches and
exercises.
Have you tried traditional treatments and found little relief? I am not
saying these treatments are not effective at temporarily reducing the pain or
inflammation, but I am saying nearly all fail to get rid of the underlying cause of the
problem.
So how do you identify these muscle imbalances? Well, it isn’t
easy but with a basic understanding of how your body works you can at least start looking
at your situation and find out which muscles are over worked and too strong and/or tight
and which ones are too weak and stretched out.
