5 quick tips for sudden onset lower back pain

1. Stay calm and confident

Twinges in the lower back are extremely common and can be thought of as like the 'common cold' of the spine.

A bad cold can certainly knock you around and make you feel pretty crappy.  With a cold, you know you're going to get better so you just accept it is part of life and don't stress too much over it.

On the other hand, a lower back flare up can sometimes leave you feeling rather vulnerable and fearful of damaging your spine.

Some typical thought patterns may be along the lines of:

• 'Am I ever going to get better?'

• 'Did I bulge a disc?'

• 'Do they even heal?'

• 'I may do more damage if I keep moving'

Negative thought patterns can trigger off a cascade events that can put your body into a 'fight or flight' state where some muscles get tight (superficial power muscles) and others (deep stabilisers) tend to become inhibited.

We know from pain research that the intensity of pain you experience correlates with the THREAT of tissue damage, not ACTUAL tissue damage.

Any way you can reduce the perception of threat can go a long way towards getting you on the right track with greatly reduced pain.

Spending a few minutes on these re-activation exercises will help no doubt help engage the core muscles.

But really it's more about pushing through the mental barriers and regaining confidence in your body's ability to heal.

"Your Body is an Incredible Self-Healing Machine" (Kelly Starrett).

It is amazingly robust and resilient.

We just need to set up the right environment for quality healing to take place.

2. Keep moving and stay at work if possible

If your back pain is more severe, you may need 1-2 days of rest and time off work, but then you gotta get moving. 

Staying active (and even trying to get your heart rate up a little) will increase blood flow through the body and promote the healing response. 

Being at work can be a good distraction from the pain and means you're not sitting around at home feeling sorry for yourself.

Take frequent short walks when you're at work. 

3. Change your position frequently

Don't be  sitting or standing in any one position too long.

If you have to sit at work, once again vary the position as much as possible.

Slumping is fine occasionally.

Don't get into the trap of holding yourself bolt upright in the 'perfect' posture.

Learn to chill a bit.

"Variability of posture trumps a perfect posture".

4. Book in to see your Physio

Try and find a Physio who spends time observing your movement patterning and who can perform some targeted manual therapy and dry needling to get things moving again.

Getting some personalised advice and treatment early on often pays big dividends in preventing ongoing issues and can save you a lot of hassles down the track.

5. If you're flare-ups are becoming more frequent or intense, this is a pretty good warning sign that something needs to change

"Pain is a request for change" - Perry Nickelston

If you're able to, find some space and time in your life to re-build your movement immunity and resilience through things like:

• gym

• pilates

• running

• yoga

• home stretching / strengthening program

Sensibly and gradually re-building the capacity of your body will be the most reliable long term strategy of overcoming chronic back pain. 

A Physiotherapist can help get you on the fast track and we'd love to assist you your journey.

Bookings:

If you think we are the right fit for you and you wish to get relief right away, use our simple online booking system to make an appointment.  If you would prefer to speak to us directly,  call us 1300 657 813

Please tag a friend that may benefit from this and please leave any comments or questions below...

Neck pain? Try these 4 simple exercsies

Neck pain is really common. 

Thankfully, most neck pain is not related to anything structurally wrong, but more a warning sign from your body telling you, "it's time to move".

Your muscles don't like stagnant conditions, as the blood flow is restricted and creates acidic conditions in the tissues which contributes to the pain experience. 

If you can, pay close attention and become aware of the early stages of stiffness building up in your neck and shoulders. 

If you can get moving as soon as possible, there's a good chance you can avoid the downward spiral that often involves more intense neck pain, restricted movement and headaches.

These set of four exercises targets the upper back (thoracic spine), which is often very stiff in people who experience frequent bouts of neck pain. 

Cat-Cow

Start on your hands and knees with your back in a neutral position.
Arch your back, lifting your head up and pushing your tail bone out, making a dish with your spine.
Hold this position for one breath.

Next, arch your upper back by tucking your head and tail bone in and pulling your belly button in towards your spine, making a curve through your back.  Exhale completely as you activate your deep core stabilisers.
Repeat x 10 times

Thread The Needle

Bring yourself up onto your hands and knees.
Your hands should be under your shoulders and your hips over your knees.
Take one hand off the floor and reach in and through between your other hand and leg on that side.
Allow your shoulder and head to follow, moving down towards the floor as your hand reaches through.
Allow your upper back to twist and rest your head gently on the mat. 
You should feel a stretch in your upper back and shoulder blade.
Hold for 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side. 

Push-Up To Side Plank

Push yourself up into a plank position with your hands under your shoulders and
Perform a half push up.

As you're coming up, rotate your body, turning one arm up towards the ceiling.
Allow your head and body to follow the movement.
Your may rotate a little on the balls of your feet.
Return your hand to the floor and repeat on the other side. Repeat x 3 each side.

Thoracic Mobilisation On The Foam Roller

Lie with a foam roller in your mid-back, and hug your arms across your chest to open up the upper back.
Lift your hips off the mat, and roll back and forth for about 30 seconds, pushing with your legs.  You may feel a few cracks and pops which is a great sign your are releasing the joint stiffness.

Try spending 5 mins every morning and night and see how it helps your neck pain.

If you have any questions please contact us dan@kinfolkwellness.com.au

If you'd like to get a more personal assessment and treatment of your neck pain, please use our easy online booking system below to make an appointment:

An Exercise For Tight Hip Flexors That Works Better Than Stretching

It's 'Global Running Day'... One of my fav exercises for runners, especially those with issues with their hips.

This drill will build capacity in the hip flexors (TFL, rectus femoris and iliopsoas), an important group of muscles for running. 

Like the hamstrings, the hip flexors often end up in constant 'protective mode' due to weakness and lack of strength.  Sitting all day tends to make them tight as hell.

This exercise will help get to the root cause of your tight hip flexors and also help to switch on your glutes.

Stand with theraloop around the middle part of your feet.
Drive one knee up so your thigh is parallel to the ground while also activating your core.

Important ➡️The weight bearing leg drives down⬇️ to the ground, strongly activating the gluteals. ✅This will help improve your running efficiency and gluteal activation on push off.

Happy Running!

#globalrunningday #runnersbody #runnersworld #runnersofinstagram #running #runningcommunity #resilientrunner #runforlife #runningtherapy #runninginspiration

Explain Pain Supercharged

Awesome evening attending the book launch of the new edition of 'Explain Pain: Supercharged' with Pain Educator, Author & Legendary Physiotherapist David Butler.

A few nuggets that I took away:

• Chronic Pain (lasting more than 3 months) is complex - and needs to be considered from a Bio Psycho Social (BPS) perspective 

• Pain is a protector. There is no need for a 'war on pain' & this defensive attitude can create more problems

• There is no such thing as a 'pain receptor'. Your brain only ever receives 'potential damage messages' from the tissues, not 'pain' as such. Depending on the context, the brain then creates the pain experience to get your attention and motivation to change behavior.

• Your thoughts about your pain and injury have real and direct correlations with the immune and nervous system.

• Catastrophization about your experience  can literally turn up the sensitivity dial to the sensations coming from your tissues.

• Innocuous twinges can become amplified, like an overly sensitive car alarm that goes off every time a strong wind blows.

• "RECOVERY is right on the cards "

• The pills aren't working for chronic pain sensitization (33,091 Americans died from opioid overdoses, according to the Centres for Disease Control—almost three times the number who perished in 2002), neither is the surgery. Might work better with pain education combined with gradual return to activity

• Education + reconceptualising out-dated and unhelpful beliefs is the most powerful tool we have !

Do you have an issue with chronic pain?

We'd love to help.

Please click here to see how we can help you...

Is Cycling Good For A Runner?

A new patient from last week prompted this post. He is a 43 year old presenting with persistent calf pain during running. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

He's been a competitive cyclist most of his life. Now, as a father of three young ones he is attempting to make the transition from cycling to running. As his time is limited, he wanted a sport that maximizes his 'bang for buck'. ⠀⠀
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He was frustrated because he generally felt very fit and never had any trouble with injuries as a cyclist.
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On assessment, his calves and hamstrings were weak, hip flexors very tight, and gluteal muscle function poor. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Long story short, his strong lung capacity from cycling allowed him to push his body well past what it was prepared for and into the danger zone of overload and injury. ⠀
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Tim Gabbett - "It's not the load that breaks the individual down. It's the load they are not prepared for."
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A really common scenario & and probably explains why triathletes find themselves injured so often. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

A research study (Rendos et al 2013) confirmed that cyclists develop muscle imbalances (particularly tight hip flexors) that can increase the risk of lower extremity injuries. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Key Points:
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1. Cycling, while beneficial for cardio health can contribute to muscle balances that can set you up for an injury.
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2. The human body is adaptable to change, but needs plenty of TIME to adapt. The fascia, muscles and tendons can take months/years to build capacity, while the cardio system responds much quicker. ⠀
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3. Running is a high load activity & has the potential to cause long-term problems if you take on too much too soon. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

4. An individualized Movement Assessment and corrective program will help maintain your body and keep it moving optimally. ⠀
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The Resilient Runner Workshop takes the latest evidence-based research and practical strategies to optimize your movement foundation so that you not only avoid injury, but enhance your running performance. 

Saturday June 2nd. 12pm - 3pm.
2 spots left. More details via this link