This month’s theme was supposed to be ‘Bulletproof your back month’, it turned out slightly different. Over 12 years of being a fitness coach by far and away the biggest complaint that i’ve heard from Richlifers, other coaches, neighbours, family and friends is lower back pain. Personally i’ve been plagued by lower back aggravations, bulged discs, facet joint irritations for many years. Usually coming and going then popping up at an annoying time when i was really getting somewhere with my fitness. So i thought this month it’s time to face this issue head on. I have gained knowledge on numerous ways to alleviate back pain over the years, strengthening and lengthening, etc, etc. I was just about to give all who wanted to listen a shotgun approach to bulletproof your back. Then the Universe stepped in and brought Dr Stuart Mcgill to my world.
Dr Stuart Mcgill is a professor at the University of Waterloo and has spent over 32 years of research and practice on lower back function, injuries and rehabilitation. He has worked with everyone from the elderly to the severely unconditioned to UFC fighters and NFL stars. After watching a 3 hour podcast with longevity guru Peter Attia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_sb1auiV8&t=7755s) it brought me to his book ‘Back Mechanic’. He stated that he won’t see a new client until they have read the book first, great marketing ploy you might think! His reason is that he believes that 95% of people who read his book will be able to heal themselves and won’t need a face to face appointment with him. This seemed very refreshing to me, a $40 book that gives you the wisdom and personal responsibility to become your own back mechanic.
I bought the book, i have read it cover to cover and now ‘I AM A QUALIFIED BACK MECHANIC’. So can i start taking clients, payments and begin to cure eveyones’s back pain….NO. But i can create a plan and heal my own back pain, i can also prescribe this book to you, so you can become your own Back Mechanic like me. That’s right i’m not going to do it for you, but please read on.
My main takeaways; number one is that a shotgun approach to ‘Bulletproof your back’ is out of the question, it doesn’t exist. There are over 15 different types of lower back injuries and they all require different do’s and don’ts. Personally i was trying everything; mobilizing my hips, mobilizing my thoracic spine, strengthening my glutes, my glute med, my core, substituting sitting in a chair for the floor, standing while doing computer work, hanging from a pull up bar, hanging upside down from a pull up bar, hanging out in a deep squat for 10 mins everyday, foundation training, strengthening erectors, buying a new mattress topper, sleeping with a pillow under my knees and between my legs, using an orthopaedic pillow. I have seen many bodyworkers and i’ve also gone back to see my therapist to see if trapped trauma and family issues are affecting my route chakra. A year of waking up with back pain every morning is a good motivator to throw the kitchen sink at it. But the kitchen sink was making it worse. For example hanging upside down on a bar is awesome for someone with a compressed spine, but for someone with a stability issue (like me) it has the opposite effect…oops. The pillows, stretching my back, hinging to strengthen, standing up in one position for hours on end, seeing a Chiro are all good for some people but not for me with my issue.
Buying this book, getting a diagnostic first will set you on a the path to recovery. The next step is to avoid all movements that cause pain, to allow your body time to heal. Second is to practice daily spine hygiene. Postural changes that make you sit, stand, walk, bend over in an efficient manner, that’s right sit up straight everyone, pick your head up when you are walking, bend over using your hips and not your back. All things we know but do we do them??? One day i counted how many times i bent over to pick something up off the ground, or tie my shoes, put my socks on. By midday i was over 50 and i stopped counting, imagine bending over with a rounded back so many times everyday for years, decades, that adds up. The straw that broke the camels back is looking for you as well. Thirdly to walk! Walking resets our spine, 3 times a day of 20 mins minimum, ideally over an hour or 10,000 steps a day. Lastly to introduce a core strengthening program called the ‘Big 3’ These simple core STABILIZING (not dynamically strengthening) exercises are pretty easy, low maintenance and help to stiffen the spine. That’s something else that I learned. We want as much mobility as possible in our hips and shoulders but we want our spine to be stiff. Their are exceptions to that rule if you are a gymnast, acrobat or dancer. But i want to lift weights, i want to be strong and when i squat and deadlift i don’t want my spine to move, i want stability, i want stiffness. So no more wheels and floor bows for me.
What causes back pain can be a multitude of things but the main suspects seem to be sitting in chairs, poor spine hygiene (standing, sitting, walking, bending with poor posture), spinal instability due to core/glute weakness and a lack of hip and thoracic mobility.
What can i do as a coach to help? I can recommend you to buy the book ‘Back Mechanic’ so you can take responsibility for your own back. I can bring more core stabilizing movements into class, which you might have already experienced with side planks and birddogs. I can inform on good spinal hygiene practices. I can add in extra glute activation exercises and hip mobility. However there is only so much i can fit into our hourly sessions, so much of this will be personal responsibility and getting it into your daily life.
Will Richlife classes bulletproof your back? It will go a long way, it won’t be an exact science and low back pain will continue to show up if all the above is neglected but a consistent strength and conditioning program 100% promotes good back health.
So no ‘Bulletproof your back’ theme, but even better there is hope, there are experts out there, there are practices you can do to get out of your own way so your body can do what nature intended it to do. That is to heal (maybe not as fast as Wolverine, but it will happen). I now have hope, i have a plan, i have more knowledge and i will heal myself. I will walk, i will do the BIG 3 i will say goodbye to loaded squats and deadlifts in the short-term, i will put my A-type personality on hold and take it easy. Nothing is forever, Mcgill states that as we age our spine naturally stiffens up and back pain will diminish or cease completely. I wish you the best i am here for you and i hope this blog post was informative, motivational and not to much of a pain in the back.