Quick notes on the Low Back

1. There is negative correlation between low back pain and flexibility.

This is for all the athletic trainers out there that believe when you injure something it needs to be stretched because it must be tight.   The more flexible your low back, higher risk of injury.  You don't want a flexible low back.  The lumbar spine needs high levels of stability to prevent disc injury.  Where we want mobility is in the hips, both front and back.

I wouldn't recommend this anytime soon!

2. Dysfunctional glutes lead to back trouble.

We've talked about this in the past couple days.  Injuries usually occur because the areas above or below it are dysfunctional.  Glutes are the king of lower body and spine dysfunction.  The first place to look with back troubles are for glute firing patterns.  Shore up the core, and fire the glutes.

Lower Crossed Syndrome I

Lower Crossed Syndrome II

3. Single instant injury to the back is a myth.

Most back injuries are from cumulative trauma over longer periods of time that end with an injury.  Everybody focuses on that one event when it may have had nothing to do with the injury. Nobody focuses on the past several months of training with poor technique that lead to the back failure.  You didn't blow your back out when you picked up that pencil, you blew it out because you're deadlifts make you look like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

4. Repeated spine flexion is what causes herniated discs.

Tests have proven there are only so many times a disc can withstand repeated flexion.  Once you reach that limit, back and disc problems.   There is a limit, don't try to find it.

Don't let your athletes look like this

5.Teach athletes to lock the spine and develop motion and power from the hips.

Enhance spine stability and enhance hip mobility.  Don't let the lumbar spine move.  Teach it to be as stabile as possible.  Work on developing hip mobility, and movement.  Training the hip to be mobile can be found in an earlier post of mine  HERE.