Back Pain
Unfortunately, agonizing back pain is pretty common! And if you are one of the millions of people who struggle with it, you know how show stopping it can be. When it hits, it is pretty much all that you can focus on, because of how debilitating the pain is. As someone who struggled with excruciating back pain for well over a decade before getting help, it’s suffering I know all too well.
But the thing is, some people make relief very black and white. Just do these stretches, or get strong with these exercises, and you’ll be all good. Some will even tell you not to do a thing, that rest with ice is the only thing that will work. Having resolved my own pain and that of many clients, i’m here to say that it is not black and white at all. The particulars will differ from person to person, because all bodies and all pain is different. But generally speaking, I find that the solution lies in a combination of these.
Stretch
Stretching is absolutely important. Lots of times, our pain involves compressed nerves or spastic muscles. So creating space in our body, where we get to decompress those nerves, and encourage our muscles back to their regular state and length, will go a long way. Depending, of course on the type and location of pain, I’d advocate stretching your:
Side with things like Mermaid, or even my favorite doorway stretch.
Back with things like Spine Stretch Forward, or simply draping over a physio ball.
Hips with things like a Seated Figure 4, or Seated Twist.
If you have access to a Pilates studio, you will benefit from the decompression that the springs and various pieces of apparatus offer.
Strengthen
It’s important to create strength in our bodies to serve as support for our weaker parts. This is the very idea that brought me to Pilates to rid myself of back pain. While I may have a tweak here and there, I am proud to say that I have been pain free for 14 years! There are three areas I focus on strengthening for people with back pain:
Abdominals with things like Deadbugs and Half Side Planks
Glutes with things like the Side Kick Series and Banded Clamshells
Extensors with things like Swan and Double Leg Kicks
Recovery
Tactics to reduce inflammation will always go a long way. I have always been told to ice in the first 48 hours, and then heat. It is a rule that I follow, but not strictly. I think certain issues are better helped by cold, and others by heat. I’ve also seen that some people respond to one better than the other. I keep piles of gel wraps in the freezer, so that I am always ready to go. For heat I use my lavender heating pillow or my sauna wrap. For more dire cases, I’ll go to my local recovery spot for Whole Body Cryotherapy and the Infrared Sauna. I also like to incorporate services like Massage, Cupping, and Acupuncture.
The basic idea is that it is not one thing that will bring you relief, but unity of many approaches.
I really hope this helps! It’s probably obvious, but in a time of pain, it’s extremely important to always listen to your body. Your body is a wise teacher, when you learn to hear and understand its signals.
But ultimately, it all comes down to my golden rule:
Movement is always the answer
