In this video the friendly Doctor shares with us a common malfunction called a "forward tipped pelvis". Generally this is caused by sitting too much without any counter balancing movements or stretches. Essentially, the hip flexors shorten because we are always sitting.
Now here's where me and the doctor may differ in opinion. I totally agree that the hip flexibility will cause a forward tipped pelvis. But are we sure that's the cause of pain? Perhaps it is. For me, I know that I have this forward tipped pelvis going on. I also have tight hamstrings and poor overall flexibility.
Is that the cause of my back pain? Sometimes I hurt, other times I don't. My flexibility levels haven't changed a bit. For me, my pain fluctuates in direct proportion to stress and anger.
Watch the videos and decide for yourself. The first one talks about various muscle imbalances. The second video actually shows some stretches you can work on. Give the stretches a try and let me know if they worked for you.
I guess it all depends on how bad your back pain is. For some with chronic and debilitating pain, I'd say stay away from these moves. However, if you are looking for better flexibility and strength, these yoga moves might help.
Once again, I'm not sure how these will help the cause of pain, but in the end, if Yoga allows you to be stronger and more flexible, that's a good thing.
In this video, we hear a physical therapist talk about ways that physical therapy can help back pain. What's pretty interesting is that if you listen all the way through for the last thing he says. Just four words from the end, he admits his own doubt. Check it out:
In my own experience, I have a crooked spine caused by some muscle imbalances. Which means I tilt to the left. In and of itself, it shouldn't be painful. Kind of like a guy who has short hamstrings because he never stretches them out. They don't hurt, he just can't bend far. So why would different flexibility in the right and left side of back muscles HURT?
Ok, back to the physical therapist. After 6 weeks of "therapy", elbows digging into my back, working on the deep tissues, I was worse than I had ever been. I went into physical therapy with a slight tilt and low to moderate pain levels. By the end of my 6 weeks of treatment, I was truly in chronic pain. I couldn't sit, I couldn't get up, I couldn't get in or out of a car without that "grabbing" pain. The pain was always present in my mind. I missed out on fun parts of my vacation because I couldn't even get into a taxi. Yikes.
So what happened? In my opinion, a minor problem was turned into a MAJOR problem by a negative thought pattern. This feeling that I'm broken creates a downward spiral that – in my humble opinion – leads to chronic pain. That's why someone with a very minor problem one day can be considered "chronic" months later. All with no trauma. The pervasive fear from being told by the "expert" doctors that they are broken and shouldn't do "this" or "that" leads to a continuation and worsening of pain.
Fear prevails every waking moment. Have you felt that your pain is a constant but unwelcomed companion? That it's hard to think of anything else EXCEPT the pain?
In my experience, my physical therapist did nothing but feed that fear. For an hour a day three times a week, I heard how "whacked out" my back was. The day I fired my physical therapist and started convincing myself that I wasn't broken was the day that I started to feel better.
Tell me your experience with physical therapy? Did it work? How long did you go? How much did you spend? Tell me here.
This video shows a chiropractor administering adjustments to a patient. What bothers me most is that there is NO explanation of what is being done, what disorders the patient has and what these procedures are supposed to do for the patient. When he started using the click device all over the body, it seemed kind of random.
Watch the movie to see what I mean:
Personally I've been to two different chiropractors. I could barely get in the car after visiting one. The other provided some temporary relief, but never seemed to FIX anything. And with my brother seeing a chiropractor for the past 20 years, and still encountering back pain – the only thing that appears to have gotten better is the chiropractors wallet.
What's your experience with Chiropractic care? Tell me your story here.
This one is called an advanced spinal mobilisation instrument. Not my favorite video since the 9 minute video could have been cut to 4 minutes. Way too much dead time in the video. That being said, it's an interesting look at a new device that is supposed to loosen up your spinal cord if it's gotten tight and restrictive.
What isn't clear to me is whether or not this actually gets to the root cause of the pain or if it is just designed for temporary relief. Any time someone says you need 6-8 weeks of treatments and ongoing maintenance, I get a little suspicious. A real breakthrough? Technological massage? I really don't know.
Has anyone had this treatment device used on them? Did it help? Tell me here.
Could it realy be true that most cases of back pain get better by themselves? So why do so many people have chronic pain?
Here's my interpretation of how chronic pain is CREATED by the failure of modern medicine.
When someone gets back pain, what do they do? Rush off to the doctor. In many cases, some anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed along with muscle relaxants. (even though there's no proof of inflamation.)
Then if the pain persists, you rush off to a chiropractor or other "specialist". X-Rays are ordered.
Now you start getting worried and more and more focused on your back and the pain.
Dear lordy lord, the doctor or chiropractor calls you and tells you that you have degeneration, bulging or herniated disks, or some other equally frightening diagnosis.
Despite the fact that this may not even be the cause for any pain, now "You are broken".
Within a short period of time, you now think that you are destined to a life of pain because you now have a "BAD BACK".
The snowball of fear, tension and pain grows bigger and bigger the more doctors you see.
Instead of letting the pain run its course and being done with in over a period of 14 – 30 days, we allow the doctors convince us that we are broken and sentence us to a lifetime of pain. (Funny thing is that if you really press the doctor for an absolute answer, they really haven't a clue why the pain is there in the first place).
Here's a video that at least correlates that the pain often goes away on it's own:
While I don't agree with everything being said in the video, The overall tip is to keep mobile as soon as you are able. If you're in pain try to keep moving. Obviously if your pain is severe, rest in bed, but don't stay there longer than you need to.
The best thing that this guy says is that most back pain gets better all by itself within 30 days. So what does that mean to you?
My thoughts:
If you have some pain, don't panic. Seriously.
Don't overreact to the pain. Let it run it's course and try to think about what kind of stressors are going on in your life.
I have definitely seen a direct link between how stressed or angry I am and the times when my back decides to flare up.
Lastly, it IS smart to get checked out by a doctor to make sure that you don't have any neurological issues with reflexes or strength, but beyond that, don't rush into a whole series of imaging studies that will just scare you to death.
So tell me, did your pain go away on it's own? Does your pain occur or get worse when you are most stressed out?
Can't wait to hear your story. Leave your comment here.
Here's a quick video with a few moves that might help loosen up your back. Go slow and don't push yourself.
My thoughts:
As someone who suffered back pain – anything you can do to stay active and keep moving is going to help. The more you sit still, the tighter you become. Tight muscles = pain. I find when I stretch and just get up and move often – I feel better.
There's nothing earth shattering or ground breaking here – just a few moves that might help you loosen up.
If you play golf and have struggled with back pain, this story is worth a read. Here's a PGA tour player getting chiropractic treatment DURING a tournament.
Gary Christian has made thousands of trips to the chiropractor, but none as unusual and desperate as the mad dash he made Thursday during — yes, during — the first round of the inaugural Nationwide Tour Players Cup at Pete Dye Golf Club in West Virginia. read more…
Do you have a golfing back pain story? Tell it here.
The rush to have back surgery is a BIG problem in America today. While medicine keeps on improving – the results of back surgery are no better than many less intrusive choices. As a matter of fact – it usually makes things worse. Check out the video:
Tell me YOUR back surgery story. Why did you have it? How did it go?
I've used the "Lose the Back Pain" system to identify and work on my own muscle imbalances. I have a "high hip", a "forward tipped pelvis" and a "forward leaning head". Definitely worth a look. Plus, the Healthy Back Institute offers some good free information. (see below)
