Back Pain
Back pain is a boring topic, but it can majorly impact your life.
I’m not sure if there is a topic more boring than back pain, it’s like having a conversation about your commute. No one really cares. It’s boring, but it really does impact your life. Millions of people deal with back pain. Back pain is the sixth most expensive ailment. Almost everyone will experience back pain in their life at some point.
What are the main causes of back pain you ask? No one actually asked it’s too boring. Believe it or not lack of general fitness, lack of strength, poor posture, or lifting improperly. If you sit a lot, you probably have back pain. Another thing is overused movement patterns done improperly.
What can happen is you move in a way that isn’t okay on your body over and over again without pain. Then one day bam. Insane pain and you associate the pain to the thing you were doing. I’ve heard people say it happened when I was unloading the dishwasher and now I can’t do that anymore. We all want a reason to not unload the dishwasher, this isn’t it. Chances are all those improper movements caught up to you, not unloading the dishwasher.
I’ve experienced back pain and now consider myself somewhat of an expert. Chronic pain is a dark place to be. The pain impacts literally every single aspect of your life. It certainly did for me.
Here is what is going to save your back. It’s bending with a hinge...it’s a hinge. I can’t say more than that. It’s pushing your hips back before bending. Most people say “hinge at the hip.” I personally don’t get that one, but I think a lot of folks do.
This is just touching the surface and is extremely general. No matter how many hours I’ve logged watching Grey’s Anatomy, I am not a doctor. This is a suggestion to enhance your ability to perform daily life activities.
We have to think about how we pick up things and this video is one way you can.
To start: push your hips back, feel your hamstrings lengthen, feel your glutes turn on a little. Bend your knees a little or a lot, just keep hips back. When you stand up you should feel your butt working a bit to bring you up to standing.
THE VIDEO (not the best quality):
The first movement is picking up with a micro bend in the knee just like a straight leg deadlift. If my hamstrings were tighter I wouldn’t have been able to bend that far.
The second is a hinge with a knee bend, it’s like a deadlift (chest facing the floor).
The end of the video shows how not to bend.