Rule #2 of back pain, find out why your back hurts. You should start with a medical diagnosis if you have pain (see a Doctor!), as this is nothing to fool around with. Once you can rule out any major/ structural issues medically, you can usually trace back pain down to one of two causes:

1. Acute trauma (fall, ill advised heavy lift, etc)

2. Repetitive overuse/ poor movement patterns

Ask, what is different in your life since your back has been hurting? Have you picked up a new hobby, started a new job, have a longer commute, did you fall? Asking questions about what has been different in your life since you’ve notice the back pain is a great starting point to start working on corrections. In my case, it is 100% reason #2. When my back started to hurt, I thought about how I’ve been moving differently since my son has been born. Additionally, how have I been moving differently since he’s been walking?

His car seat has changed recently, and my car is low for loading him in. I realized that I’ve not been following the principles of functional movement that I know will keep my back safe when performing this type of awkward move:

1. Abs tight
2. Hips lead the race
3. Sturdy structure

Here is a great drill to make sure you are moving in the right direction for a lift!

More on those concepts later. In addition to the car seat angle, my son loves to run over to me and be picked up. It’s one of the great joys of my life, and honestly I’ve never considered applying safe lifting techniques to lift a 21 pound person. However, I have a new appreciation for sticking to these principles of functional moment… by trial and error I’ve noticed my back feels better by following them this week.

I’ll be posting to share my journey as a parent to manage back pain, as I believe it’s transferable to any life change (new job, activities change, family status change, etc).

To correct the imbalances I’ve created currently, I’m doing a combination of stretching, and myofacial release techniques (more on that later as well). Cheers to your health, have a great, pain free week!