DO YOU GET LOW BACK PAIN WITH DEADLIFTS OR KETTLEBELL SWINGS?

Perhaps you are compromising your back as a result of poor hip movement...

Studies done on low back pain show that the pain is often caused by losing the ability to move through the hips. I see this all the time in clients and always have to re-pattern their hip movement to save their backs!

Dr Stuart McGill strikes again: “This is why the hip hinge is known to be a superior movement pattern for low back pain clients. Learning to hip hinge is paramount for both injury prevention and optimal performance.”

Too right Stuart! 
Learn how to move before you learn how to be strong!

If you'd like to learn how to hip hinge correctly, check this out.

If you feel like you need to work on your hip mobility then follow one of our hip mobility videos here.

Don't sacrifice your lower back for Deadlifts or Kettlebell Swings unless the movement has been broken down and taught to you effectively and you can carry it out extremely well.

LOW BACK PAIN AND MOVEMENT

When you have chronic low back pain (or have had to have low back surgery) and seek help from a healthcare professional you should expect a thorough assessment and a tailored exercise program (at the very least) as this is the most effective way to enable you to improve your condition. 

Movement is one of the best treatments for low back pain & surgery and can get you back to feeling yourself quicker than you might know. Research has shown that carrying out a safe exercise program can get you back to daily activities and work sooner than if you don't. It also results in less days off work over the following 12 months (not that this would be very appealing to most ;-p). 

The exercises should be specific to you as a result of what was found in the assessment and not just a generic handout that is given to everyone. In the majority of cases low back pain is often brought on by lack of function of the abdominals and gluts. When you find the cause of the problem and fix that, as opposed to treating just the low back, this is when you acquire long term results. 

You should be shown how to progress through the exercises you're given in order to keep strengthening and improving your condition. Not just sent on your way with a generic program with no further progression.  

If you're only receiving hands on treatment and not given a home exercise program then you should probably find yourself another healthcare professional as this will not be enough to improve your condition long term. 

This is even more important if you've undergone surgery, as often a lot of damage is done to the muscles of the back and they will need to be retrained to function well again. Your whole body will need to be put through a program to regain function and strength again so no compensations remain. Movement is the best way to recover from low back surgery. 

CORE EXERCISE #2 : DYING BUG

2nd core exercise in our top Four...

Start the video from 1min 12secs.

DYING BUG:
This is an awesome drill for core activation. The video pretty much says it all. I use this daily with clients and it's a great follow on exercise from the previous breathing drill. Also, don't forget to BREATHE throughout this drill! Exhale as your leg is lowering. Holding your breath is a cheat ;-)
Give it a go :-)

CORE EXERCISE #1 : BREATHING

Four of my top core exercises everyone should make a part of their exercise regime...

First up is...

BREATHING:

The first being BREATHING:
Before you laugh, yes, I did say breathing!
Simple right? Not really. Most of us (myself being a culprit at times) are dysfunctional breathers, this being due to stress; injury; emotional issues; poor health etc. We breathe around 20,000+ breaths per day, that is a lot of opportunity for dysfunction.

We use our core muscles for breathing; simplified our diaphragm & pelvic floor contract together on the inhale to create Intra Abdominal Pressure (IAP), this stabilises our spine & we recruit our remaining core muscles on the exhale.

The dysfunction comes in when we either hold in our stomachs for long periods (females being biggest culprits) or start taking shallower breaths. This makes it extremely hard for normal functional breathing and requires us to recruit our neck and chest muscles with every breath.

To learn how to work on your breathing keep reading. I would highly recommend ANYONE with lower back pain to focus on their breathing especially but really EVERYONE should be doing it...

Visit our exercise library and have a read through our Stability Exercises the first 3 exercises that come up which are about BREATHING.

MYTHS OF ISOLATING CORE MUSCLES

Straight from the horse's mouth, Dr Stuart McGill, an expert on lower back pain said:

- "Do enough sit-ups, does not matter who you are, you will hurt your discs. Think of the low back like a credit card, if you keeping bending it back and forth, eventually it will break. Some people may have more “bending cycles” but the principle is the same for all."

- "Athletes use this core as a “spring for stiffness.” They do not take their torso and bend them under load. i.e. A throw or punch = The hips generate the movement–>stiffness is produced by the core (spring stiffens)–>followed by the power in the shoulder."

- “Hollowing or sucking in your stomach to “activate” transverse abdominis is basically stupid for healthy individuals. Nothing new here. You brace your stomach. Hollowing will decrease performance (you don’t suck in to lift heavy weights).”

Have a look at the next few posts for four of my favourite core functioning exercises.

FLEXED LUMBAR SPINE OR NEUTRAL PELVIS?

Picture 1 = Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Picture 2 = Neutral Pelvis

I have my finger on my Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS/most antierior bony prominence at the front of your pelvic bone) & my thumb on my Posterior Superior Iliac Spine (PSIS/bony prominence at back of pelvis, usually where your dimple is), when these two points are level, you are in a neutral pelvic position.

I wanted to bring attention to the fact that there is a difference between causing a flexed position in the lumbar spine (lower back) and creating a neutral position at the pelvis. When your pelvis is in a neutral position, it doesn't necessarily mean that your lumbar spine is going to be in a flexed position.

I say this because I often find that people who have a history of lumbar disc bulges or herniations seem to perceive a neutral pelvic position as lumbar flexion.  They also tend to be afraid of moving their pelvis out of an anterior tilt as they use it as a protective mechanism to avoid lumbar flexion.  

The main issue I have with this is that although a flexed lumbar spine (particularly under load) causes disc compression, so does an excessive anterior pelvic tilt, not only does this alter the pressure at the discs but it also causes Sacroiliac Joint (SIJ) compression & encourages core instability.  The majority of people who have excessive anterior pelvic tilts also have dysfunctional glutes (glute activation decompresses the SIJ). One of the roles of your glutes is to create a posterior tilt of the pelvis.  If you never let your pelvis move out of anterior tilt then you are disabling your glutes (compare the above two pictures again and tell me which one can you see more glutes in) and you can probably add obliques; abdominals; TvA to that dysfunctional list too. You can tell by the creases of my top that in the first picture on the left my abs are stretched and elongated and in the picture on the right, they are contracted. Stretched abs = unprotected and compressed lower back!

Your body will find stability where it can if it is lacking and this can be in the form of SIJ compression due to dysfunction in your core musculature.   Make sure you aren't forcing yourself into anterior tilt, whether under load (lifting or pushing weight) or not but working on pelvic stability instead so you know where neutral is.

Don't feed a habit...CHANGE a habit!