Fixing the Commonest Source of Mystery Lower Back Pain
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Healthline
Many people let their lower back curve inward (arch) too much when they stand, walk, exercise, and carry things (drawing on left). This is commonly called sway back, hollowback, arching, lordosis, or hyperlordosis. People who overarch this way get back pain after long standing and walking. They often feel they need to bend forward or sit to relieve it.
The pain is from overarching, which tilts the weight of your upper body downward onto your lower back, arching and pinching it inward (drawing on left). Think of the foot-rests in bars. The reason putting one foot up on the low foot-rest reduces back pain is that you unwittingly reduce the large lower back arch that so many people allow when standing.
It is not normal or "neutral spine" to have a large inward curve. A large curve is not "just the way you are made." Sticking your behind out is not cute or healthy, whether in daily life or exercise. It does not protect your back. It is bad posture that hurts, and that you can easily change. You don't need pills or injections or treatments for the pain. All you need to stop the pain forever is to stop allowing your back to sag, and simply move your back to straighter position while you go about ordinary life (drawing on right). Here is how:
- Check yourself - Stand up and reach your arms high overhead. Do you lift your ribs, arch your back, or lean backward? Did the front of your belt or hip tilt downward? These are all indirect pointers to different kinds of hyperlordosis (drawing on left).
- To reduce the arch, tuck your hip under you (drawing on right), like doing an abdominal crunch or pelvic tilt while standing. Don't round your upper body or hunch forward. Imagine wearing a belt buckle and tilting your hip to lift the buckle upward, closer to your ribs instead of hanging downward.
- Reach up again and hold your straighter spine position. Your belt line should be level. Your ribs do not lift upward. Your upper body does not lean backward. Now the reach has to come from your shoulder where it belongs, not your lower back, an additional benefit. The post Throw a Stronger Punch (or Push a Car or Stroller) Using This Back Pain Reduction Technique shows more on how to do the tilt to correct the overarching. Future posts will show more about problems from overarching in exercises and daily life.
Yes, this is different from what we learned in the gym and in school, including medical school. It is simply stopping the source of this pain - stop pain from arching by voluntarily moving your back, like moving any other body part, so that you reduce arching.
I developed this method, called The Ab Revolution™ that you can apply to all your daily life to stop pain, and to get more abdominal exercise than through conventional methods. Posts to come will show more. I will teach The Ab Revolution™ in downtown Philadelphia, Saturday morning, September 30th, and a workshop on how to fix your own back pain will run Oct 7 & 14th. Info on my site, www.DrBookspan.com
Related Fitness Fixer:
- What Does It Look Like to Not Use Abdominal Muscles?
- Using Abdominal Muscles is Not Tightening or Pressing Navel to Spine
- Change Daily Reaching to Get Ab Exercise and Stop Back and Shoulder Pain
- Overhead Lifting, Reaching, and Throwing Part II - Lower Back
- Healthier Carrying - Get Free Ab Exercise and Stop Pain
- Throw a Stronger Punch (or Push a Car or Stroller) Using This Back Pain Reduction Technique
- Prevent Back Surgery
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Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify through DrBookspan.com/Academy. See Dr. Bookspan's Books.
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Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
For answers to personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions. Limited Class spaces for personal evaluation. Top students may apply to certify through DrBookspan.com/Academy. See Dr. Bookspan's Books.
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Drawing of Backman!™ © copyright Dr. Jolie Bookspan
Labels: abdominal muscles, facet joints, fix pain, hip, lordosis, lower back, neutral spine, posture, strength, upper back, wrist
6 Comments:
At Saturday, September 23, 2006 10:47:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
My name is Erland Hammer writing this from Norway, Europe.
I am a 37 year old male with a 6 year chronic back pain. Yes I have
tried all kinds of remedies to overcome back pain. I was quite
surprised to read your website. I can "smell" that this is THE FINAL SOLUTION to my long term problem.
I bought your book The Ab Revolution. I am amazed at the information you provide in your book. I was doing back pain exercise and was considered to be quite fit. I have a feeling I have found the definite solution for back pain in your book and I am very enthusiastic about it. My wife also suffers from the same kind of problems and we're ready to start working with your book.
At Friday, June 13, 2008 1:40:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Anon here,
I've been have reoccurring back pains for the past week. I wasn't sure exactly why, I thought maybe it was my bed. Then I took a look at my posture and noticed how much my back arches, right above the buttocks.
I'll be trying out your techniques, plus reading all of the information I can find on the subject.
Thanks
At Wednesday, August 06, 2008 7:19:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
but how do you keep that good posture involuntarily ? unconscious ? without having to think of it ?
yea, sure when I'm alone I can do this, when I'm not thinking of something I can do this, but what happens when I talk to someone and forget about keeping a good postures ? most people have the good posture all the time without thinking about it , how can I be like them ?
At Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:50:00 AM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
To Anon, good work. I have a book out on the topic. It grew from a little military training manual, so make sure to get the latest edition, currently Third edition expanded. See it on my web site books page, DrBookspan.com/books.
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To Anonymous, it is like toilet training. You practice, make your mistakes, then learn to hold it.
At Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:14:00 PM,
Nathan Warner said…
Hi Dr. Bookspan,
I've been reading your site and your books for a few weeks now, and doing lots of your suggested exercises and stretches. I'm very active, and I like feeling a little more loose and able to balance.
However, I haven't been able to correct my chronic low back pain... it seems to only come on when I sit for thirty minutes or so, and then hurts every time I sit down for the rest of the day.
I've been working on my sitting posture, with no results so far. Is it possible to have hyperlordosis while sitting?
At Monday, March 23, 2009 3:49:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
MrCoolDude, glad you have already improved balance, and relieved some tightness. From your short description, a place to start is to look at how you are sitting. Yes you can keep too much inward arch while sitting (hyperlordosis) and it is also common to have too much forward curve (rounding), and other obvious ways to sit that create pain. No expensive chairs or devices are needed to relieve any of it. Some even create problems. You can sit well or poorly, using your own muscles.
Some photos of how you sit can help me see more. If you can come to a workshop we can fix it up right then. Until then, here is a link to all Fitness Fixer posts on sitting. My books have more. Fit it up and feel better. Sitting should be comfortable and healthy at the same time.
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