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Is your lower back killing you?

 

I used to get serious lower back pain every few months because of the fusion of my lower spine. I continued with my training, being careful, but still the pain set my life back for at least 3 days after training. It was so bad that I could barely walk properly and people asked me “what is wrong?” Embarrassed I had to answer “I’ve got back pain, again! For the 2^nd time this year...”

 

It got to a point where I actually wasted my time doing the training because I was afraid of hurting my back and being out of action!

 

 

Sound familiar? Yours may feel different, worse, not so bad, etc. Most of the time back pain is related to muscle spasms. In my case the spasms was made worse because of the fusion of my L5/S1 vertebra. It wasn’t an “injury” as such – nothing was torn, nothing shifted – it was just a spasm.

 

I see patients daily that have lifted boxes, slept on a bad mattress, played sports or sat too long without a break, even doing things they love! Their biggest problem? The pain they experience from back spasms. No injuries, no tears of the ligaments or shifts – back spasms.

 

And being there myself, trust me, a spasm is serious enough!

 

I was fortunate enough to discover the keys to fix lower back pain in 2006 and how to prevent that pain from coming back, or even worse, if it comes back, reducing its severity.

 

Now that we know the key to fix lower back pain, athletes that compete in “heavy athletics” such as discus, shot put, Olympic weightlifting and power lifting can rest assured. We can now reduce the severity of your back pain! Everyone else who trains hard – don’t fear! I’ve rarely seen it come back!

 

Did you know that 80% of the population has severe back pain AT LEAST once in their lives?

Sometimes it is a sharp, stabbing pain;

Sometimes it feels like you have been batted with a cricket bat;

Other times you might feel your legs or feet tingling or numb;

Or have you felt unable to sit property, you can’t touch your toes or lean backwards without EXCRUCIATING pain?

 

The reasons for back pain are as many as there are stars. Most of them however, are linked to our lifestyles and our bad habits. Statistics show that lower back pain is one of the leading causes of people being unable to work! When you have back pain, you know how debilitating it can be! Sometimes it even affects your thoughts and mental abilities.

There is good news however! 90% overall, and almost 100% of clients that come to my practice get rid of their back pain, do so quickly and almost always permanently!

 

So what causes back pain?

• Incorrect lifting of heavy objects – at home, at the office or at the gym

• Sitting too long, sitting uncomfortably

• Ignoring your body when your lower back builds up tiredness

• Overtraining your lower back

• Poor posture – both in standing and walking

Other, less common causes of lower back pain:

• Activities such as running or cycling

• Incorrect lifting of weights such as your children!

• Being overweight (especially if you have a large tummy!)

When you look at your lower back anatomy you will see little vertebra and joints. These give you the ability to turn, bend and twist. Correct movement happens in the hips with the spine being a “stiff rod” through which one transfers force.

The spine is supported directly through ligaments, muscles, bones and discs and these structures are very sensitive to overuse and possible injury.

 

Good News Again! I found that within 2 weeks, you can start to feel a huge relieve in your lower back pain with correct intervention and some effort. And I see you are thinking “2 weeks are very short...” You are absolutely right!

 

I’m not going to bore you with the technical jargon.

 

Our brains are reminded of the muscles that are involved in supporting the spine through the specific routines we use, leaving you with far better nervous system functioning. The motor patterns is then further developed and enhanced as you work on your “lower back stiffness”.

 

Prevention Prevention Prevention

• Take care of your back and look after it as much as you can;

• Concentrate on training the muscles that support the spine, by doing various strengthening exercises. You can do bracing movements such as planks, exercises such as modified crunches and many controlled back extension movements. I personally recommend the Romanian dead lifts for its transfer to daily life and what we require from our backs every day.

• I also recommend stretching where needed, and please note – where needed. Stretching might not be the best thing for lower back pain, but I will write an article on that later!

• Look at your posture. How do you sit, stand and how do you lift objects?

• When you play sport, how good is your movement ability?

 

The number one key is to find the underlying CAUSE of your back pain and to fix that. Stop wasting time continuing with something that doesn’t work.

 

So what is my approach?

I base my approach on the work of Dr Stuart McGill, a professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He pioneered his research into the lower back, specifically the spine, through an innovative engineering model.

 

He was able to precisely determine the forces on the spine whilst doing various activities. Another important aspect that was discovered was that all the muscles (not just the transverse abdominals & multifidus) in the torso area was responsible for creating the support or stiffness necessary to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place or getting rid of those injuries.

 

This was the stepping stone for more efficient methods to increase spine stability and better ways to use our lower back. We now had the knowledge of how to improve our current methods to increase spinal stability and more specifically he showed us how we should train our lower back, abdominals, obliques and other “core stability muscles” so that we could have greater spine health and better performance in our life.

 

The anatomy of the spine and the way it works as Dr McGill refers to as super stiffness is a well used term. The movement and flexibility of the spine is very important to our bodies. It enables the spine to accomplish various daily tasks but on the same hand it has to be able to resist compressive forces. The muscles can only fulfil its purpose if the spine supports it consistently.

 

You would be able to increase the strength and fitness of your spine and simultaneously reduce you lower back pain.

 

This is believed to be the best method of resolving lower back pain as opposed to surgical and other evasive methods. Since 2003 the success rate is more than 90% with clients that had lower back pain. Even clients who only needed more stability in their lower backs benefit by using these methods.

 

Clients were recommended to try other kinds of methods to reduce the lower back pain. We found that there were alternative methods that assisted to a certain degree but they all lack of these 3 important points:

 

• consistent, reliable and reproducible results proven with large groups of people suffering from lower back pain.

• An easier way for clients to fix their own lower back pain without an expert’s consistent input

• near permanent relief from lower back pain.

The truth is this method was not able to help all the clients that suffer from lower back pain, and therefore is not the ultimate or is proven to be the final solution to lower back pain.

 

Is this a full-proof solution to lower back pain rehabilitation? No, but we believe it is the most consistent, reliable and the easiest way to lower back pain relief which can, in some cases, brings relief of a permanent nature. Everyone is differently in nature and we therefore also reacts differently to lower back training exercises.

The Big Spirit of Athletes

 

As you know by now, I’m a power lifter. And not yet great at it, so as you can imagine I’m always looking for the next break-through in my approach to training. I guess it is the same in all aspects of life. If you are a business man and cannot yet go on a 1 year holiday and still make money without being pro-active in your business, you are probably still looking for that big break- through.

 

So after allowing SIR William to start taking control of my body building workouts, I got really strong in no time and after just a very short time I did my first power lifting comp and came 2^nd. I now was on top of the world! But yes there is always a BUT in the next couple of weeks, after that comp my power just kept on going down. So discovered pilates as the way to build a stronger foundation in my body so I can have more control and lift strong and pain free.

Ever considered Pilates as a way to a bigger Squat?

 

Yes I know you must be saying here is another W.T.F MOMENT .

Just give me a second to explain how I can make this absurd statement. I’m by no means an expert or a pro. I just started out in the exiting world of powerlifting.

It is all new to me, I went through school as most other boys doing sport and starting to care about my looks, and mostly my bicep curl total and leg press. I played rugby and went to gym to get bigger and better just to make the team, by no means was I a great rugby player.

Man did I just wasted my time at gym yes I got a good looking body and got the respect from all the other boys but nothing I did in the gym at 16 really played a part in my power or to my strength.

So after school I went on to study personal training, still looking for the BIG SECRET that will make me really stand out from the rest. I continued doing old school body building and even did a body building competition. Again I was not the best on the day, so yes still I was looking for the x factor to stand out from the rest.

Shoulder pain – how you can sort it out

 

 

A painful shoulder equals reducing the quality of your life. Throughout my career as a rugby player, Olympic weightlifter and a shoulder rehabilitation specialist I have seen the numerous troubles that you have when you cannot use your shoulders the way they intend to work.

 

You may ask, how can a shoulder affect the quality of my life?

 

• Interrupted sleep caused by shoulder pain prevent you of have a fitful and good sleep

• The movements of your arms, for instance to greet someone, cause excruciating pain

• Any activity such as throwing a ball, swinging a golf club or tennis racket is painful

• Normal arm movement can be extremely painful when you use your arms in certain ways

• Painful and stiff neck

• Referred pains down into your arms

 

Bad postural habits lead to more people suffering from frequent shoulder and neck pains. Or you might be throwing a ball wrong, hitting that boxing bag too long for your experience level, DIY activities that include screwdrivers or hacksaws.

 

Some of these habits include:

• Bad posture position when working on a computer for long period of time

 

The only solution is to change our daily habits. This will help us to reduce shoulder pains:

 

• Exercise in which you make use of your shoulders such as playing golf and swim is important.

• Don't abuse your shoulders – avoid sudden movements if you’re not use to them – including racket sports and throwing a ball.

• Your work time spend in front of a computer must be limited to 60 minutes followed by a short rest period

• Ensure that you have the correct posture when sitting working for long periods.

• You can save yourself from hours of pain by seeking professional specialist advice on the correct posture and how to maintain it.

 

Are you presently suffering from shoulder pain!

• The use and mobility of your shoulders although you might experience pain and discomfort will remind your body that you are still using your shoulders.

• Ice numbs pain and can be applied intermittently, especially after you’ve aggravated it. Ice reduces pain and can speed up the recovery

• Ice applications can be followed up by heat application. It will enchane the recovery by increasing the blood flow and allows more nutrition and oxygen to the inured area. It also allows the muscles to relax and the tendons to become more pliable. It is VERY important to warm up for ANY sporting event.

• Shoulder exercise increases the blood-flow to the injured shoulder and serves as a corrective function. It will prevent hurting the shoulders again in future.

• Exercise – Do This NOW!! Get proper advice from a shoulder specialist

 

Over the last 10 year I have developed my own techniques and a system for shoulders pain relief, shoulder rehabilitation or corrective exercise from many of the best Physiotherapists and Biokineticists. Through this system I have proven that most shoulder pains that we encounter daily can be overcome.

 

Working with shoulder problem we have to keep the following key elements in mind:

• A thorough assessment of the posture as well as the movement of the shoulder and surrounding areas that supports it is essential.

• Aim to correct imbalances in the shoulder area by using a specific program.

• Shoulder blades can be pulled out of alignment by Myofascial release which normally occurs around the neck area.

• Pendulum swings to enhance mobility exercises can be done.

• Triceps quite often need to be stretched.

• Improving the muscles that move or hold the scapula – the scapula or shoulder blade is like the foundation of the shoulder, if there are problems here you can't fix the shoulder pain.

• We often have to use eccentric strengthening exercises when we look at the shoulder muscles.

 

A shoulder complex is simply a combination of 4 – 8 exercises done with very light weights completed one after the other without putting the weight down. This can be very helpful over the long run.

 

The most permanent solution to shoulder pain treatment is to correct the posture or movement problems, and to do exercises that keep the shoulder moving and strong. Ignoring the painful shoulder can cause long terms damage, such as arthritis of the shoulder joint, a frozen shoulder, shoulder lesions or growths, permanent discomfort and pain not easily corrected. It often results into the need for shoulder surgery.

 

Our shoulders are extremely mobile joints, BUT it needs the support from various other muscles to guide it safely as it moves around. We have to learn how to use the muscles to guide the shoulder and must not ignore the role they are playing. Ignorance can only result in more pain.