Back Pain?

A common oversight among experts and novices alike is failing to consider the risks of everyday non-training activities. We pay close attention to form while we exercise, but we pay considerably less attention to the rest of the activities that make up the other 23 or so hours of the day when we aren’t training.

When clients come to me with complaints about back pain, the majority has already sold themselves on exercising their way out of it. While exercising may solve back pain issues in out-of-shape clients, it may actually be the source of the pain for my in-shape clients. In the cases of my in-shape clients, I find more often than not that their back pain is caused by over-exercising, or by incorrect exercise technique.

So if my out-of-shape clients can solve most of their back pain problems by getting in shape and building muscular support around the spine, let’s focus on those of you who are physically fit but still troubled by back pain. The first thing I notice is that they are focusing solely on the muscles located in the front of the body and ignoring the muscles in the back. This is an algorithm for back pain and should be avoided at all costs.

What I’ve found to work most effectively is maintaining a workout plan that hits all areas of fitness proportionately. This means a fair-share of cardio, weight lifting, and stretching. Make sure you focus an even amount of time on the front half of your body (arms, abs, quads, etc.) as you do on the rear (hamstrings, back, etc.).

If you’re experiencing lower back pain, make sure to avoid regularly prescribed exercises like sit-ups and crunches. Both of these common exercises involve the hip flexors more so than the abdominals. If you’re doing sit-ups or crunches because you believe strong abs equal a strong back, you’re correct, but sit-ups strain the neck and spine. Crunches are a safer alternative to sit-ups, but again, they focus more so on the hip flexors. Crunches don’t attack the entire abdomen and can even cause you to develop a hunched back, or poor posture, which strains your back even further.

Leg raises are bad for your back for the same reasons sit-ups and crunches are: they focus mostly on your hip flexors. Additionally, machines in your gym that are designed to work your back are often mediums for poor technique. Poor technique is retroactive to alleviating back pain, and often puts an emphasis on particular areas of your back, rather than the whole muscle group.