07/02/2024
Myth: Finding the right stretches for my back will make the back pain go away
Truth: Back pain is a consequence of what is going on in the whole body, therefore a whole body approach is required to get lasting relief.
What if the constant pain in your back is actually a protective mechanism the body is using to help you out?
Hear me out on this.
When your ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders function well and are balanced, your spine will have a natural S-curve and the entire spine can fluidly bend, flex, and twist without symptoms or limitation.
When the muscles don’t function well, perhaps from years of sedentary living, the S-curve can be lost completely to form more of a C-curve, which comes with a flat back or posterior pelvic tilt.
When your spine loses these favourable curves over time, your body resorts to a last ditch effort of contracting or tensing all the muscles that surround the spine, hips, and shoulders, in an attempt to “lock down” your movement.
It’s a protective mechanism to reduce movement in an area that has lost its favourable alignment and function.
Most people feel this “tightness” and think their back hurts because its tight…yet that tightness, in most cases might actually be the only thing “protecting” your spine from further issues or damage.
An example of this is someone stretching day over day, and not really getting looser, or even worse, experiencing more pain/symptoms the more they stretch.
The solution to getting rid of this back pain is not about finding that magic stretch or just strengthening the back.
That pelvis and spine position is just a reaction to what’s going on in the WHOLE the body.
So getting rid of back pain requires a whole body approach.
Restoring the natural curves to the spine and rebalancing a posterior pelvis to a more neutral position needs the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, the spine to function properly.
That way, the spine returns to a functional natural “S shape” and the central nervous system can release that “tight protection mechanism and the pain disappears.
Check out the link to my YouTube video routine to help your back pain.
Today, I’m going to bust the myth that just stretching your back helps get rid of back pain, especially if you have a posterior pelvic tilt or flat back.Chec...