Why does my Back Hurt? and how do I make it better in 4 mins a day? Foundation Training 101

Why does my Back Hurt? and how do I make it better in 4 mins a day? Foundation Training 101

Why does your back hurt?

Whether is is an acute flare up of a back spasm or a chronic nagging pain, the chances are very good that you are are stuck! Stuck in a hunched forward position in the head, neck, and shoulders and contracted in the hip flexors with weak butt and low back muscles.

This is an almost universal malady in today’s modern society, which comes from too much time sitting in cars, too much time in front of computers or other screened devices. Another huge contributor that causes us to contract into this position is the constant barrage of fight or flight response our nervous system is under, from pressures real or imagined at work and at home.

Once again, the systemic problem we have is a contraction and holding tight of the muscles in the front of the body and a weakness and lack of effective engagement of the muscles in the back of the body. We are essentially curling up into a ball, with our head and shoulders forward and our pelvic muscles clenched tight in the hip flexors.

I see this pattern over an over again in my practice, and as a result, patients experience low back pain, sciatica, knee, and ankle pain, neck pain, headaches, upper arm pain, midback pain, it is a long list!

So how do we change this?

The body requires a reset!

A way of retraining the muscles to do the opposite of what they have become accustomed to. There are several resources which combine for a very effective solution. I will introduce them one at a time in the next several blog posts.

Here is one of the best places to start, with the basic exercises of Foundation Training:

If you are in pain now, or if this is your first time doing these exercises start here:

One thing which is not emphasized in the first video, because it is an older one is the aspect of Decompression Breathing. This is a hard but important skill to learn and you can eventually do it sitting and standing.

This video shows how to decompression while sitting- give it a try 3 times a day for a week while sitting at work and you will see alot of improvement.

The last 2 videos have the primary warm up exercises and foundation trainings to do before any workout or just starting your day as a busy parent and lifting your child!

Good Luck and let me know your results! Please contact me with any questions or refinements of how to do these exercises, as they are subtle but powerful and must be done correctly and in a sequence to be effective!

Of course the most complete way to learn the Foundation Training exercises are with a certified trainer or via their streaming subscription content online.

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