“Oh! My F*@king Back!”
Nobody Said Parenting Was Going To Be Easy.
Here are some statistics:
One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.
Experts estimate that as much as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives.
More than one in three adults say back pain impacts everyday activities, including sleep.
If you’ve every experienced back pain, you know that it is a BITCH! Seriously, you don’t know how much you use your back until you’ve injured it.
Back pain can be debilitating.
I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease in my late 20’s. The doctor literally told me to “Never lift weights again! You could sever your spinal column!” Great! So, I’m thinking “Wonderful. Welcome to a life of FLAB.”
But, as it turns out. This was the LAST THING I ever wanted to do. If anything I should have started working out right away! Strengthening your posterior is the absolute best thing you can do. We’ve got to strengthen the muscles around our spine in order to protect it.
As I’ve aged, and admittedly as I’ve become less diligent with making sure my core/posterior is strong, I’ve come to experience more pain.
As I was looking around on-line for other strategies to improve my back health, I came across “Foundation Training.” (by the way, I am in no way affiliated with Foundation Training). It looked interesting so I thought I would give it a shot.
The very first workout I did, I immediately felt the movements working to strengthen by core. By the end of the workout I felt stronger and more connected to my body.
The thing I found most interesting with “Foundation Training” is that it addresses all the joints and tissues that affect our core/spine/back. It addresses “Inward Anchoring” utilizing the adductors of the inner legs as well as “Outward Anchoring” utilizes the tensor fascia lata and iliotibial tract of the outer legs. It brings in Hamstrings and uses the “Lunge Decompression” as a corrective exercise training the body to maintain posterior engagement.
There are other great sites and people out there who have gone through injuries - only to come back just as good - if not better.
Lindy Barber, Crossfit great, suffered a fractured L5 vertebra as well as severe scoliosis, spina bifida. Her back routine is killer.
Miranda Alcaraz and her husband Julian have a website “Street Parking”. Miranda suffered 2 cervical vertebrae fractures before competing in the Crossfit Games.
The point here is this: We can not be afraid of HARD WORK. Through hard work and CONSISTENT effort, we can alleviate some of, if not most, of our back pain.
If you’ve got any other ideas, let me know.
Let’s get to work!