Is this happening to you?
You may be wondering how movement and exercise is essential to a healthy back…
Or you may have been told by a doctor or physiotherapist to “try some stretches” or “do some
walking”, or “strengthen your core”.
But what if exercising seems so far out of the equation because just simply getting out of bed, and standing upright for a few minutes is challenging enough?
It may be difficult for you to see, but there IS a solution to this problem.
If you are one of the many people out there who are trying to become more active, but are held back, or stuck because of back pain, it is primarily because of three reasons:
- The movements and exercises are too hard for your body and its current state
- The movements and exercises are not challenging enough to make a change in your body
- The pain is so bad that you choose not to exercise for fear of making it worse.
When in all actuality, you need to find a middle-ground between what your body can
physically do, and push yourself just enough to gain benefits – from exercising.
A recent client of mine, by the name of Jennifer (age 54) had been struggling with chronic back problems on/off for years, but only until recently had things turned for the worse…
Although she is very health conscious, ate well, and made generally good decisions about her health, due to a sedentary job, her hips became tighter and her back muscles had weakened over time…
Originally, she’d been told to “do some stretches” and “strengthen her core” by her doctor and working with a physiotherapist at the time, she’d been instructed in “planks” and other “ab” exercises, but it only made his pain worse…
“I was frustrated because the exercises were CAUSING me MORE pain, and doing them made me want to collapse” she’d said to me.
But she powered through, and figured she’d keep it safe doing very basic stretches, and just a bit of light walking and some pool exercises.
While these exercises definitely helped her symptoms…
It just wasn’t enough to get her back to her normal life, such as hiking, picking up her grandkids, or even just doing normal activities she’d been used to years ago.
What was her solution?
She knew something else had to be done, because s was NOT going to have surgery, refused to take pain meds, and possessed a strong desire to get back to the active lifestyle he was used to in the past…
So she found herself here at Premier Spine and Sport Rehabilitation & Wellness and was able to capture her very own mobility profile…
What is a mobility profile?
The mobility profile is an in-depth analysis of ALL your bodies movements that will not just look at where you’re hurting, but also figure the ROOT CAUSE of WHY you’re hurting.
And to also see what exactly your body is capable of, and figure which movements are safest and most effective.
And in Jennifer’s ‘Mobility Profile’…
We were able to quickly figure out her problem was NOT from her arthritis, but just simply a case of an ‘overarched back’.
An ‘overarched back’ is one of the most common problems we see, and is the result of a mobility of your muscles problem, instead of a structural problem which you may see on an x-ray or MRI. Her ‘overarched back’ developed from:
- Hip tightness
- Scar tissue and muscle stiffness along her lower back
- Weakness and inhibition of her ‘deep core’ muscles
Instead of rushing Jennifer into doing a bunch of ‘core strengthening’ exercises, we took a
step back, and using the information revealed in her mobility profile. We loosened her hips to take a significant amount of ‘pulling’ and ‘strain’ OFF her back by using very focused techniques.
We also softened up tightened muscles, and alleviated pressure and tension OFF her low back with some of our hands-on manual therapy techniques.
And in doing so, natural movement, posture, and breathing started to re-emerge, and the ever so
important ability for her to FEEL the right muscles engage, and have CONFIDENCE with her
movement was now much different…
And what happened afterward?
With newfound mobility, and a “lower body posture” which was now corrected, she was no longer susceptible to standing, walking, or exercising with this ‘overarched back’.
And now with introduction of a custom-tailored, highly specified exercise program that matched her exact problems, within under ONE MONTH she is now:
- Able to pick up and play with her grandkids without ANY FEAR of her back going out,
- Able to walk, and socialize all day with her friends when before he’d be confined to her house because of pain
- Now able to keep up with her husband on some short hikes, and is now enjoying exercise and moving again!
It all started when he received her very own mobility profile when she’d claimed her own
free ‘discovery visit’ here at Premier Spine and Sport Rehabilitation & Wellness.
This Discovery Visit is a chance for us to have an honest conversation about your health, for us to see if we are a good fit for each other to meet your goals, and for us to give you a chance to see your very own movement profile.
A chance for us to help you figure out the ROOT CAUSE of your problem, and if we feel confident to solve it, we will reveal to you exactly how we will do it.
All you need to do is visit this link right here, fill out a quick 45 second webform and we will help you get started on your path back to a happy, healthy, and active lifestyle
As always, you can contact me at allen@premierspineandsport.ca if you have ANY further questions or would like to speak to me on a more personal level.
