Go see a doctor if you’ve had a traumatic event and to rule out more serious forms of back pain like tumors, cardiac conditions, and disease.
Most back pain has only 3 functional causes:
Lack of strength
Lack of Mobility
Poor Posture & tissue stress
Lack of Strength Back Pain
To prevent back pain, it doesn't matter how strong your biceps are. Only core strength matters!
The core encompasses more than just the abs; it includes the muscles in your lower back, hips, and pelvis.
Your torso core muscles are a weightlifting belt that nature has designed for you, made up of the diaphragm above, abdominal muscles around, and pelvic floor at the bottom.
Bracing makes your core stiff and protects the lower back while moving and lifting. Press your fingers into your sides and then cough to push the fingers out. This intra abdominal pressure is what gives your core stability, similar to a pressurized soda can.
The primary function of the core is to resist movement, not create it. To strengthen your core for life and a pain-free back, focus on core stability. The following routine will help.
Core Stability Routine Summary | Perform 3 rounds of the core stability circuit. Rest as needed between sets. |
A - Deadbug - 30 seconds  | B - Side plank - 30 seconds  |
C -Plank with leg raise - 30 seconds  | D - Glute bridge - 20 repetitions.  |
Lack of Mobility Back Pain
The body moves along the path of least resistance, and for sedentary people, the low back is the path of least resistance because it’s the most relatively flexible area!
When a person with tight hips bends forward, they compensate by moving with the low back.
When a person with a tight mid back reaches up, they compensate by moving with the low back.
If you've been tightening yourself up for a decade or longer, don't expect to transform in the first week.
Foam rolling tight areas of your body is the first step to improving mobility because it reduces muscle sensitivity and nervous system activation while improving circulation to allow you to open up the area. Key areas to foam roll include the quadriceps, TFLs, glutes, and mid back.
For an introduction to foam rolling, check out this YouTube video.
Here is the beginning stretching program I recommend for anyone looking to improve mobility:
Mobility Routine Summary | Perform 3 rounds of the mobility circuit. Rest as needed between sets. |
1A - Couch stretch - 60 seconds per side.  | 1B - Hang from a bar - 60 seconds.  |
1C - Slant Board - 60 seconds  | 1D - Pigeon stretch - 60 seconds per side.  |
1E - Frog stretch - 60 seconds.  | 1F - Thoracic rotation - 60 seconds  |
Poor Posture Back Pain
Is poor posture a cause of your pain?
Chronic musculoskeletal pain is most commonly caused by one body part doing more work than it was designed to do. For example, the muscles of the lower back doing the work of the hips can lead to chronic back pain.
To be our strongest when moving or lifting, we must move primarily at the hips. Learn how to maintain a neutral spine while bending forward.
Avoid uneven sitting or standing positions while you're in pain as this can put uneven stress on the spine.
If you’re a side sleeper, place a pillow between your knees to limit rotation at your hips that places uneven forces on your low back. Avoid stomach sleeping if possible.
Better posture balances bones, while worse posture uses muscles and ligaments to hold you up, which can lead to chronic pain. When we focus on balance, better posture becomes easier and requires less effort than slouching.
Correct posture is simple but requires diligence to make it an unconscious habit. “Be Tall” by reaching the back of your head to the sky.
Keep your nose below your ears so your head is balanced on your shoulders.
Use a mirror to identify a neutral spine and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
Better posture is tall, but it’s not vertical - don’t push your hips forward as this will put pressure on your hip muscles and low back. Instead place your fingers where the legs meet the hips and gently push back to place your hips slightly behind you.
Reach back with one arm at a time like you’re trying to reach for something in the backseat of a car and then ‘anti-shrug’ your shoulders down to set your shoulder blades onto your rib cage.
Slightly externally rotate your knees to point outwards as if you were trying to wrap your legs around you to align your hips, knees, and ankles.
Most seats promote poor posture, which stresses the spine and pelvic floor.
To sit with good posture, sit at the rear of the seat and roll your pelvis forward to sit on the sit bones.
You can find these bones by sitting on your hands and feeling for two bony points at the bottom of your hips.
When the hips are well-positioned and your posture is tall, the spine is balanced and neutral. While you sit, imagine you are a dog and allow your tail to stick out behind you. Don’t sit on your tail!
This is a brief introduction to good posture. Think of the recommendations made here as home base. It's great to add variety to your posture as often as possible, and then return to your good posture base when you can. If you’d like to read or learn more, the best resource I’ve found for posture is the 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back.
Conclusion
With any new training, it’s important to take it slowly and listen to your body. The core stability exercises and stretches I've shared can be completed every day. If you're very sore, take a day to rest and recover.
Those are the 3 most common causes of back pain with solutions to each problem! What do you think? Leave a comment below or send me a message to start a conversation. Let me know what you’d like to see next!
If you want help on your journey, schedule a fitness consultation.
Hope this helps! Until next time! - Tom
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