So many people are still fixated on the idea that back pain means the back needs to be released, and the core needs to be stronger. Neither is true. In our experience the pressure on the back needs to be released, but it's usually achieved by playing detective, and trying to figure out what areas are not moving well enough and burdening the lower back.
We find back pain often stems from a lack of movement at the hips, and particularly the inner hip, lateral hip, pelvic floor or adductor complex. The core doesn't need to be strengthened, it needs to be loosened, and lengthened. Constant sitting, stress, poor movement, dehydration etc, create shortening through the superficial core muscles, and tightening through the pelvic floor.
If you have recurrent back pain then it might be time to play detective! Answer the following questions honestly:
Are you eating great quality nutrition to build healthy tissue?
Are you drinking enough water to hydrate your tissues?
Are you moving intelligently, in a variety of ways to create space and efficiency in your body?
Are you stuck in repeated positions (sitting) that might be increasing your pain?
Have you been trying to strengthen your core to help your back pain and it’s not working?
Have you got any digestive issues that might be increasing your back pain?
If you feel you are doing the above things well, but still experiencing pain then your best bet is to look at the relationships within your body. Dive deeper into understanding which areas of your body are moving adequately, and which areas might need some enhancement. If there is a disconnect or a severe lack of movement, then no doubt pain will follow!
Check out this brief video for some of our go-to drills to help open your body, load it as a unit and remove stress from commonly stuck areas.
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