A Catalyst Success Story: Runner Back on Track

    I am a very active person, and an avid cyclist.  I bought my first nice bike years ago after I was told I couldn’t run anymore.  As a runner, this was devastating to hear.  As the therapist I would become years later, it was a good learning experience to have.  Runners don’t like to stop running.  Period.

    Incidentally, yes, I can run, and I do.  I had a totally fixable muscle imbalance.

    I have a special place in my heart for my running clients who come in, broken and hurting and scared that they won’t be able to run anymore.  Such was the case of an avid marathoner who came in with a debilitating pain in his lower gluteal region.  Incidentally, being Minnesotan, he found even admitting to a pain in his rear end to be horribly embarrassing.  It had gotten to the point that it hurt even when he wasn’t running, and running was now completely out of the question.

    I reassured him that glute issues are incredibly common, that the glutes are some of the largest and most powerful muscles in the body, that I could work them through the sheets and not expose him, and that on assessing him, I thought he had a hip flexor issue anyway, not a glute issue.

    Sure enough.  I treated his hip flexor.  That allowed his pelvis to go back to neutral.  That released the pull on his upper hamstring attachment.  The pain in his glute released.  I gave him home care exercises and stretches and told him to come back in two weeks. 

    Two weeks later, he was glowing.  He had completed a six-mile run the day before, pushing the envelope because he knew he was coming in to see me.  He had very minimal symptoms.  I worked on him again and encouraged the home care again.  I haven’t seen him since.

    How do I know he’s doing well?   He’s referred about a dozen clients in to my practice.

Six Little Ways to Make a Big Difference to Your Back

In a perfect world, we would all have stress-free lives, work rewarding jobs with professionally-led yoga breaks and healthy meals provided on-site, and receive weekly Therapeutic Massage sessions.  If you currently have this arrangement, then stop reading and go enjoy your playtime.  For the rest of you, there are a few simple things that, with a little focus, can have a big impact on the way your back feels.

Sleeping position.  For starters, it helps to assume this position for enough hours each night…need I say more?  In addition, stomach sleeping, or halfway between stomach and side is very stressful on a spine from cervical through lumbar vertebrae.  I can almost always detect which side clients prefer to sleep on, because the drawing up of the top leg causes a shortening of one hip flexor and an imbalance in the pelvis that causes other back and hip issues.  If you absolutely can’t sleep on your back, try—at least—not constantly sleeping on the same side.

Driving position.  There is something in bodywork called the “Rule of Six”.  Basically, if there is an area of pain or dysfunction on one side of the spine, then go up or down six vertebrae and on the opposite side you’ll find another one.  It is simple compensation.  The body’s goal is to keep the eyes level and looking at the horizon.  So, if there is a bend in the lower back, then—higher up—a bend the other way will be created, and another, until the angles are minimized.  Notice when you drive if you actually sit squarely on two cheeks, with your spine straight.  Leaning on the center console during your commute can really cause some damage.

Sitting position.  This one follows driving position rather obviously.  The Rule of Six is amplified in chronic leg-crossers.  I can almost always detect—while they are lying flat on a massage table—which leg clients cross on top the majority of the time when they are seated.  This is because it leaves a pattern in their back and hips.  It is usually much more comfortable to sit with one leg crossed on top than the other.  The body has literally assumed the shape of the position it is in most frequently.  Leg-crossing is one of the worst things you can do for your back.  Noticing it and stopping it is one of the most effective ways to help your back feel better.

Bag-toting.  I don’t know how many women justify always carrying their purse on the same shoulder by saying “but it’s only a small purse”.  If you think about it, it’s a downhill slope from the base of your neck to the end of your shoulder.  This means that you have to shrug your shoulder an isometric contraction to keep a feather in place.  Isometric contraction to hold up a purse, a gym bag, a laptop case, or a cell phone will wreak havoc on your cervical and thoracic spine, causing upper back pain, neck pain, and possibly—headaches.  Obviously these actions aren’t altogether unavoidable.  Consider two-strapped purses and bags whenever possible, use earbuds or headsets for phones, and trade off shoulders for the rest.

Weightlifting and Stretching for balance.  My favorite soapbox…balance!  Function and lack of pain in the body is all about balance.  When muscles pull unevenly, the result is pain.  Three factors can help in restructuring musculature: exercise, stretching, and massage. 

Generally speaking, for upper back, I offer the same weightlifting advice repeatedly:  Push less, pull more.  This will help correct one of the most common imbalances in the torso.  All of us are too tight in the pecs.  We spend all day with our hands in front of us at the computer or on the steering wheel, shortening the chest muscles and pulling our shoulders forward.  We end up with tired, aching upper backs and numb hands.  We need to stretch pecs, not hit bench press hard or do an aerobics class of just push-ups.  I always recommend that people pull twice as frequently as they push.  This will engage the back muscles, strengthening the opposite muscle group and restoring balance.  Specifically, I recommend rows (any kind: high, low, bent-over…), and reverse flys to help with upper back issues.  

 

For more information on pec stretches see:

http://www.catalystsportstherapy.com/stretching-guides/pec-stretches.html

For lower back issues, I specifically recommend hamstring strengthening.  Only hamstrings attach at the back of the pelvis and have the capability of pulling it into a position that reduces lower back strain.  Follow this link for instructions on hamstring exercises:
http://www.catalystsportstherapy.com/stretching-guides/hamstring-stretches.html

I also recommend glute and psoas stretches.  For more information on correcting this imbalance and for psoas stetches, please refer to my stretching guide at:
http://www.catalystsportstherapy.com/stretching-guides/psoas-stretches.html