Strengthen & Stretch or Learn How to Move?

I’ve often heard that in order to correct a bad back, you must:

- strengthen it
- strech it
- hold your belly in
- learn to lift with your legs
- keep your stomach muscles tight – all the time
- carry objects close to your body
- “brace” the entire area through muscular contraction
- lose weight

Blah, blah, blah…

An overwhelming majority of back pain is due to the effects of chronically inefficient movement patterns.  Movement patterns that cause us to not use our skeletons correctly.

Huh?

Yes, by not using our skeletons correctly.

Let me explain…

The most efficient way to use ourselves is to have our skeletons do the brunt of the work in keeping us upright.

You see, we are in a constant ebb and flow in our dance with gravity.

Our reactions to the daily stresses of life, along with poorly learned movement patterns cause us to get “out of alignment” with our skeleton.

When we get “out of alignment”, our skeletons aren’t carrying their share of the load, which in turn contributes even more to chronic, habitual muscular contractions that aren’t necessary.

Which causes those “tight" backs (and shoulders, and necks, and hips, etc., etc., etc.)

And it causes joints to be in awkward and inefficient positions, and bear more of the load than they were designed for.

Which creates more wear and tear.

Oh, and let’s layer even more stress over top of all of that, which, as we’ve discussed before, is a somatic experience.

Repeated stress results in even more chronic muscular contractions.

And let’s face it, life is stressful.

It's a vicious circle.

When you put those together, you have the ingredients for repetitive stress injuries.

Chronic back pain is, in a large number of cases, a result of repeatedly being out of alignment with your skeleton.

It’s … a … Repetitive … Stress ... Injury.

Or a cumulative trauma disorder.  You can pick how you want to label it.

The good news is, is that it doesn’t have to stay that way.

But initially, you don’t need to strengthen it.

You don’t need to stretch it.

You need to engage in a process that allows you the opportunity to learn how to use yourself better.

Start moving like a kid again – but take it easy initially.

Roll around on the floor for a small amount of time each day.

Listen to what your body’s telling you.

Get away from repetition and seek out variation - in everything that you do.

What you’ll notice is that those repetitive stress injuries start to fade.

Then if you want to strengthen, then strengthen.

If you want to stretch, then stretch (just a little, though).

But learn how to move first.

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…
What are you doing to avoid back problems and repetitive stress injuries?

LET ME SUGGEST…
For an article on how deal with back pain, send us an email and we’ll send it to you for free.

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com