Looks aside, for many people, anterior pelvic tilt can cause or contribute to low back pain, either on a regular basis, or while trying to perform ab exercises. Raise your hand if you yourself or any of your clients have complained that they feel planks in their low back more than in their abs…
The FMS results I have seen and what they mean
I compiled the FMS results for all of the people above, and tied it to their gender, and whether they are athletes. I have the FMS results tied to age as well, but have not yet done that evaluation (who’s kidding who – I’m going to do it tomorrow now that I think of it). For those not familiar with the FMS, it is a set of 7 movements that trainers and therapists use to identify weakness or imbalances in the body that can help guide how we train people. Out of the 7 tests, we look for the two tests that cause the most difficulty or have the biggest difference from left to right, and put appropriate corrective exercises in the programs we create for these clients.
6 Exercises for Low Back Health
There are many causes of low back pain, and I’m far from an expert in most of them. But there is one cause in which I am quite well-versed: movements. As it turns out this is a very important one. Whether or not a person’s movement caused their low back pain, improving it often reduces their symptoms. I help people reduce their low back pain by training their movement: Stretching, strengthening, and ensuring proper form while they move. Considering that, it is probably starting to make sense for a personal trainer to be giving out advice about low back pain.
My Favourite Training Tools: #4 – the FMS
Today’s entry features the Functional Movement Screen (FMS). This makes my list even though it does nothing to get you strong. That’s because it is an assessment tool. I love this tool because it helps me to see where people have problems with the fundamental way that they move, and then that helps me to create a great training program for them that will not only get them “faster, higher, stronger”, but will also help fix movement dysfunction that they have developed in life.
Reducing the Risk of Low Back Pain for Skiers
I had an article published in Ski Pro Magazine this fall, Reducing the Risk of Low Back Pain. For those of you who are skiers…
Lessons of the Hip & Spine from Dr. Shirley Sahrmann
That is repeated movements and prolonged postures that cause movement disorders by causing what she refers to as directional susceptibility to movement (DSM) and relative flexibility. This is an extension of basic physics: movement will follow the path of least resistance. In an ideal body, that path will move in a manner that maintains optimal positioning of joints and involvement of appropriate muscles so that it does not cause wear. In a body that has been changed through repeated movement or prolonged postures, the path of least resistance can lead to suboptimal movement.
It’s the small stuff
The way we stand, sit, walk, sleep, watch tv, and drive all impact our bodies. We all have habits that we do every day. Many of them seem to be so minute, and yet we do them so much that in fact we do them in huge volumes. That adds up and can have a big impact on our ability to move well. Do you know what yours are?
Golf Movement and Swing Assessment – Case Study: Will
I have a feeling there may be a lot of golfers out there. And I suspect just a few of them (read: most) are interested in improving theirs swing. And another small subset (read: large) are addicted to everything to do with golf. And that these people may just be interested to get a complete assessment of their swing, of the way they move without a golf club in their hand, and of the correlation between the limitations in the way they move and the problems they are having with their swing. And hopefully they will also be keen to do the few corrective exercises that will help them to improve their movement and their swing. I would think that those who don’t play as much as they want to because their back gets sore from a round of golf would be particularly keen on this.
Shoveling as a workout?
For many, shoveling is the big frustration. It’s hard work if you have a big driveway. I’m not sure if this is a surprise to anyone, but emergency rooms fill up after big snow falls. Okay, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone. Many of the visits are from falling injuries – slippery sidewalks, ski or snowboard tumbles, and of course toboggan injuries. But did you know there is also an increase in cardiac incidents? It turns out that shoveling is both frustrating and dangerous.
Lessons about low back pain (part 2)
This week’s post is a follow on to last week’s post with some basic information about low-back pain, covering some slightly different topics and getting into a bit more detail. The post will primarily address whether and how much we should bend, extend and rotate our backs.