| Hi Friend!
Have you ever had low back pain?
Here's a list of common contributors to low back pain: - resting posture: how you sit and/or how you stand
- tight & weak hip flexor muscles (front of hip)
- tight & short quad muscles (front of thigh)
- tight & weak hamstring muscles (back of thigh)
- tight & short calf muscles
- tight & weak lateral thigh (outside of thigh)
- tight & weak or tight & short hip rotators (ability to cross leg or go knock knee)
- tight & short chest muscles
- tight & weak upper back muscles
- tight, weak & short or tight, weak & long ab muscles
- poor 1-leg balance
- inability to touch toes
- inability to do a push up
- inability to do an overhead squat
- inability to do an overhead lunge walk
- what sport & recreational activities you participate in (rotational, loads, asymmetrical, body positions)
- how you sleep (body position: back, stomach, side, legs bent, legs straight, mixed)
- your full body anatomy: symmetrical (same) or asymmetrical (different) side to side or left to right
- your hip anatomy: feet out, feet straight ahead or feet turned in.
- your back anatomy: rounded, flat or retracted upper back; arched, neutral or hunched low back; straight or curved vertical spine (scoliosis)
- your ligamentous anatomy: hyper mobile (gumby = super mobile) or hypomobile (super stiff)
- previous history of low back pain
- family history of low back pain
- starting positions (postures) in sports and recreational activities
- having mobility, but not able to own & control (stabilize) that mobility
- sedentary vs. standing (hint, extremes in either direction can contribute)
- body composition
- waist to hip circumference
- ...
As you can see in this non-exhaustive list, there are many possible contributors to low back pain and that even though a large majority of people might experience low back pain at some point in their life, 85% of low back pain has no definitive diagnosis (Deyo RA).
So what does this mean? It means that every case is unique and even though there are injury & pain parallels and patterns, and that there are systems for treating pain parallels and patterns, you still have to treat each person and each pain case individually through a combination of interview, history, assessments, imaging and treatments until you can isolate the specific root cause and work to correct it. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes care, concern and thoughtfulness. It takes money. It takes exploration & problem solving. Hypothesis and testing. And its all worth it because who wants to live in and/or deal with pain. I don't and I'm sure you don't either.
What do you do? You have to find people who will take the time to ask you good questions and put you through different screening and assessments to see what they can find and try different things out. Sometimes what worked for one person in a similar situation, might not work for you. You already know the human body is amazing and complex, so you have to keep checking boxes while going down a list trying to find the different contributors and root causes to your specific discomfort. This takes time. Sure its easier to treat the symptom (e.g. this hurts, so I rub it and then it feels better) & patch a hole, but if the roof keeps leaking and the pain keeps coming back, then the underlying problem needs to be addressed. The whole body needs to be looked at.
Perspective I'm an athlete. You may be an athlete too. Even if you're not, consider the mindset of an athlete. When you play a sport there's a known risk you could get injured. If you get injured, you get treatment and do rehab so you can get back to your sport.
If you're living, you also know that being human means there is a risk that you could get hurt. Obviously the risk is lower than if you're playing sports, but there's still a risk. Think of the freak accidents and injuries you or your friends and family have experienced while living their lives and not playing a sport. Reaching for a bag in the back seat and straining your shoulder. Picking up a kid or groceries or laundry and straining your low back. Slipping on ice and falling and hurting your (insert body part). Stepping off a curb wrong and spraining your ankle.
If athletes know that they could get hurt and that treatment and rehab is what you do to get back to playing the game you love, then the same is true for those not playing sports.
Treatment and rehab is what you do to keep living and pursuing and awesome life when you experience the hiccups of being hurt and/or injured.
The training room & the weight room are 2 of the most favorite places for athletes to hang out. They're safe environments. You get better in both and then you go back to playing your sport and living your life.
Take Home Message If you experience low back pain or any injury pain, don't try to deal with it, take action to address it. Be prepared to play the long game and keep living your life. Find good people who ask good questions and continually check different things to find root causes to solve your unique problem. Do the necessary work, treatment, rehab & lifestyle changes to move forward all while continuing to show up for all the other great things in your life. Enjoy the process. You'll have a relatable story to share.
Problem solving,
Coach Mike
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