Common Movement Mistakes That Lead To Increased Low Back Pain
Most of the pain we experience isn't the result of one traumatic incident. Instead, it's the result of smaller 'micro' traumas that get compounded over time. These micro traumas are often the result of poor postures and movement mistakes that get compounded over time. In the gym, when we repeat the same movements with improper form, we often exacerbate these micro traumas. In short...training over dysfunction leads to further dysfunction.
The following are some of the most common movement mistakes we see in the gym (and daily life) and what we can do to fix them.
1. Rounding The Back
Your spine is a flexible rod. It acts much like a wire coat hanger, while there is the ability to bend, if repeated over and over it will eventually give out.
Rounding the back (spinal flexion - picture on right) during functional movements like sitting, lifting, jumping is one of the most common causes of low back pain.
The Fix: Hip Hinging (picture on left). By hinging at our hips when bending over, we we takes the compressive load off of our knees and your back and places it onto our weight bearing joints (our hips).
2. Breathing
We take upwards of 20,000 breaths a day. Which is why it's one of the most important movement patterns to improve.
Chest breathing (lower video) is caused by long hours of sitting and high stress (among other things) and leads to chronic neck and back pain.
The Fix? Belly breathing (top). Breathing into our belly improves diaphragm function (which has a long list of benefits) and increases intra abdominal pressure which createsa ‘stiffness’ surrounding our low back that provides increased stability.
3. Squat
Squatting is something we do everyday (not only in the gym). Sitting, lifting, jumping all require us to squat.
On of the most common mistakes we see with the squat movement is initiating the squat by bending at our knees (image on the right). This causes our trunk to fall forward, shifting our center of gravity forward and placing increased stress in knees and back. This will always come back to haunt us.
The Fix? Initiate movement at the hips. When we move into the squat, the first movement should always be to 'send the hips backward'. This keeps our center of gravity back,
WE HELP ADULTS 40+ BUILD THE STRENGTH AND CONFIDENCE TO PUT AN END TO BACK PAIN SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO WHAT THEY LOVE - WITHOUT THE USE OF PAIN PILLS, INJECTIONS OR SURGERY.