How to Fix and Prevent Lower Back Pain for Life!!!!!

You wake up one morning with stiffness in your lower back. You go about your day and soon that stiffness has turned to full out pain that really begins to put a damper on your day. Sound familiar, well yes and trust me you are not alone. Lower back pain is one of, if not, the most common ailment there is and to be completely honest its one of the easiest to fix and prevent!!!!!

Let me first dive into why lower back pain begins in the first place. Aside from an abrupt injury, such as a slipped disk, most lower back pain is chronic, meaning its the result of a muscular imbalance or due to your lifestyle. Let’s face it, most of us sit a great deal throughout the day and with that comes a weakened core, tight hip flexors and ultimately what we call anterior pelvic tilt!! Essentially that is when your pelvis is shifted or tilted forward at an angle causing our lower back to tighten up to compensate for that. Another common cause of lower back pain is tight hamstrings, again caused by sitting more that nature intended us to do!! When the hamstrings shorten, the back has to tighten up a bit to prevent the pelvis from being pulled downward out of alignment, and when that occurs the back will become inflamed and cause pain!!!! So, with all that being said the next question is WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

To be completely honest, we can do an awful lot about this to self treat and prevent episodes. There are two main areas of focus for this and they are your CORE and you GLUTES!!! When your core is weak, specifically the deep core muscles called the transverse abdominis, that support the spine, your back has to work twice as hard to stabilize itself and as a result often tightens up. Things such as planks, paloff presses or dead bugs will go a long way and will cause the deep core to remain active through out your day and give your spine the support it needs, especially if you work at a desk or sit a lot during your day.

Glutes, being number 2, follow right behind your core in that they are basically inactive when sitting for long periods of time. When we go and walk, if the glutes are not properly firing, your lower back will being firing more to compensate and that will lead to tightening or shortening of the back. Inflammation will follow then will the pain!!! Soooo, things like bridges, clam-shells and basic glute tightening will help keep them firing and this will take tons of pressure off the lower back.

Doing these on a regular basis or at the first sign of pain will really help fix the issue, and prevent any lag that will hinder you in the gym. Focus on these 2 areas consistently and watch your pain diminish and not return right before your eyes!!

BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!