“Why does my back pain keep returning?” A question I hear frequently when coaching or working out at my CrossFit gym.
There are several reasons someone continually develops back pain when at them gym.
- If you are sitting most of the day, your posterior chain muscles, especially lumbar paraspinals, gluteal muscles, and hamstrings, shut down. Before you start exercising, it is necessary to activate the muscles first. Exercises such as hip extensions, lumbar extensions, good mornings, lunges, and split squats help to activate the necessary muscles.
- Your body will always find a way to complete a movement. If you are lacking movement in one area, another area will work harder to perform the movement. For example. If your thoracic spine is stiff, your lumbar spine will extend more to keep your torso upright for many of the barbell movements. The longer your body compensates, the more likely you are to continually have pain, regardless of how much you rest.
- Muscle tightness will not just “go away” on its own. Many times, you can do mobilization drills to loosen up the joints and muscles. But if the muscles have developed trigger points in them, it does not matter how much mobility work you do. In these circumstances you typically need more professional help to loosen up the muscles and get the joints moving better.
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