Essential Things to Know About Repeated Back Pain- The “How’s Your Trunk?” Series Part 5

When you have back pain, how do you move?   DIFFERENTLY is the answer!    You move differently to avoid moving and loading the sore bit!   This is why we end up bracing when in pain.   Your nervous system knows something is wrong so it switches lots of muscles on to stop movement in that area.   This can be a good idea…at the time!   But this strategy can turn into a habit which is going to reduce your options for beautiful movement in the long term.    A priority is to restore optimal movement throughout the body again.   To do this you will need help.

When you don’t do anything about your back pain, you will still move in a non-optimal way, even if this is subtle.   Over time this will lead to the same problem happening again and / or other areas getting sore because of this altered loading.   You limit your options to move in an effortless, fluid, light, flowing, easy way.

 

You are a dynamic system.   You are supposed to move and be able to maintain the relationships and control at your joints and between the different regions of your body no matter what you are doing or what the task demands of you.   When you control your joints and the relationships they have between the different regions in an OPTIMAL way, you move well, and it feels good!   Your whole body is working together as a beautiful orchestra.   This is the way we look at look at your body and many Physio’s like us.

Many of you experience repeated episodes of back pain.   It affects your daily life.   It is frightening, frustrating, upsetting and annoying.   It changes how you do things like picking up your children / grandchildren or doing the gardening.   Over time you find that it happens more and more often and lasts longer.    You then adopt different ways of doing stuff like squatting or bending and start to avoid doing the things you love.   Slowly, you give up doing things because you label yourself as “having a bad back.”   This sucks!   You still want to be doing these things that bring you joy, happiness and connection with other people.   They are important to you.   They are important to everyone.

How nice would it be to know that there is actually something you can do about your back pain that doesn’t rely on taking painkillers for the rest of your days or restricting your activities.

 

The big secret that we need to be shouting from the roof tops about is that it is rare the area where you feel your symptoms and pain is where the problem is.   This place is the VICTIM.   This is the bit that over time due to the way you have been moving got loaded and compressed and more compressed and loaded that over time it waved it’s white flag and couldn’t take it any more.   It now hurts!

Find the CRIMINAL, the region(s) in your body that DRIVE these non-optimal ways of moving and you will change the loading, reduce the compression through the sore bit and move in a way you never thought was possible.

• No more painkillers
• No more poor nights of sleep tossing and turning
• No more fear of travelling and not being able to control your environment
• No more imitations on your activities
• No more labelling of yourself as having a “bad back”.

This CAN BE  YOUR reality!!!!   Yes it can.    This can happen and it is all possible.   You just need to be ready to do the things that will make the changes and we will support you every step of the way.

Your “One Thing” this week to consider is….are you ready to start this journey to better movement and a better life…?

 

If you aren’t ready yet, no problems.   There are so many pressures on us all every day and so many things we have to do in our busy lives.   Often, looking after ourselves is at the bottom of the list!   We get this.   But, think of this… You only get one body,   You only get one go at this wonderful life.   Best not spend it in pain and not doing the things you love.   You are the only person who can decide to make the change that will help you yourself.   Have a think.

With love,

Vic

originally posted 23rd May 2017