Friday, February 4, 2011

Back Pain Insights Part 4

In cased you missed them, Here are the previous installments of this series; Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

In the conclusion of Back Pain Insights, the focus shifts to the back itself. While thus far we have discussed the hip flexors, glutes, and abdominals, the lower back is the last element of lower cross syndrome to be addresses. Weakness and instability in the lower back will lead to increased anterior pelvic tilt, poor lumbar support, as well as poor core motor control which inhibits the activation of stabilizers at the right time, leading to injury.

Weak Back

When talking about a weak back in relation to pelvic tilt and core control, we must turn our attention to the erector spinae and the deep back musculature (and its surrounding fascia). Due to the constant hunched over position many put themselves in for hours on end a day while sitting at a desk in front of a computer, these muscles become lengthened and weakened, not to mention the arrival of upper cross syndrome. 

To address this issue, the first step is to be conscious about ones posture throughout the day. Remind yourself to keep your chest up, shoulders back, and neck neutral. Taking these steps will help to supplement the work you will be doing in the gym to address the problem.

Which brings us to the exercises themselves. An emphasis should be place on hip extension and any exercise which exhibits it. Squats and deadlifts address this, both of which should already be in your program. However, to take it a step further and directly target the lower back, the exercises below are a good place to start.
Band Good Mornings- Perform for high reps 20+

Bird Dogs- Also Serves to Address Glute Activation

45 Degree Back Extensions

So there it is, a plan to put in place to help address your lower back pain. Give it a go and let me know how you feel.

No Nonsense Pain Relief,

Kyle Bohannon, CSCS
Owner/Head Trainer
kyle@trainstrive.com
www.trainstrive.com



1 comment:

  1. The fist 3 parts of the back pain articles were quite good, but in the last one you suggest to do exactly the opposite what you have mentioned in the first part...
    If the erector spinae muscles are strong they will pull up the pelvic, contributing to an anterior pelvic tilt. You have just showed it on the first picture in the first part, and that was right!
    I hope you can correct the article.
    Regards

    Daniel

    ReplyDelete