If you are dealing with back pain, the first thing you want to do is to stop exercising. Yes- that is STOP exercises until you have gotten your back checked out and until your pain is being managed. Far too often, when people suffer with back pain they think, “Oh, I’ll just go to the gym and strengthen and stretch out my back”. But, what they don’t realize is is that you can do serious damage to yourself if you don’t know which exercises and stretches to perform.
If you want to know what the best back pain exercises for you are, you must first know the truth about your back pain, what’s causing it and how you can treat the real cause of the pain, and not just the symptoms.
If you have suffered an injury to your back, say from a car accident or a fall, and then it’s more likely than not that these events caused your back pain. However, if you are like most people suffering from back pain, the pain did not just happen overnight. You may think that lifting that heavy box or bending down to pick up your child “caused” your back to go out, but it is not that simple. Those activities may have triggered your back pain, but they are not the root cause.
There are hundreds of muscles in the body, all of which work every day in order for us to live our lives. And some muscles get worked far more than others and this is where the root of the problem stems from. When the muscles in the body are imbalanced, meaning when some are very strong and tight while others are very weak and stretched out, they don’t perform at an optimal level. And even worse, they can begin to play tug of war in your body. When the muscles of the neck, shoulders, back and hips begin to play tug of war, postural dysfunctions can result.
What is a postural dysfunction you ask? Postural dysfunctions are basically irregular structural positions, such as a high hip or forward tipped pelvis, which can cause the body to move and operate in an improper fashion, causing stress and strain on the body and spine. Overtime, the added stress can make the conditions right in your back for back pain to form.
The good news is, you can correct postural dysfunctions by performing specific stretches and exercises for your specific dysfunction.
Please click on the link below for a ton of information on muscle imbalances
Jesse is the co-founder and visionary CEO of The Healthy Back Institute®, the world-leading source of natural back pain solutions. His mission as a former back pain sufferer is to help others live pain free without surgery and pharmaceuticals.
