This guy is the “dude” when it comes to understanding and addressing back pain. If you were to ask one of your Body Firm trainers to help “fix” your back pain, they can’t diagnose the problem or cause, but would undoubtedly suggest some of the guidelines from Dr. McGill. Maybe you’ve noticed that your workouts include exercises/stretches to help you achieve better back health. Here are some principles to consider for helping to alleviate or eliminate back pain.
Dedicate yourself to practicing healthful back activity every day.
Make a conscious effort to engage in healthy movement every day and soon enough this will become a habit. What does that mean? Watch your posture, lift correctly (watch the video below), exercise regularly, stretch frequently, and stay hydrated.
Remove the cause of pain. Avoid painful & weakened postures.
There is a direct correlation between posture, position, and pain. Avoiding painful and weakened postures is one of McGill’s paramount principles. If certain postures and movements induce pain, identify them and AVOID them!
Build some capacity for corrective exercise — what you don’t do is just as important, if not more, as what you do do.
Beware of clinicians whose “treatments” require numerous visits.
If you are injured and in pain and seek professional help, you should expect the competent expert to address & heal the problem within a reasonable amount of time. If a clinician’s expertise lies in relieving the pain without curing the cause of the pain, you’ll end up seeing the clinician repeatedly. The best clinicians see you fewer times as they teach you how to take responsibility for your healing and give you the tools to do so.
Establish the subtle balance between strength, power, and endurance, mobility and stiffness.
If you add too much strength, you can “overpower” your back. The counterbalance for too much back strength and power is endurance and control. Endurance enables you to maintain perfect movement patterns as you get fatigued, repetition after repetition. Injury occurs when the perfect movement form is lost, causing stress & pain. Spine conserving movement requires spine stiffness (or firmness), coordinated with the centered motion of the hips and shoulders.
Let this all sink in…then take appropriate action. Look for more back health information next month!
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here and you’re on your way to better back health! Dr. McGill shows us the CORRECT way to pick up something from the floor.
