Relieve Low Back Pain | Reduce Low Back Pain | Canada's Leading Authority in Human Movement | Dev Chengkalath

In the previous post I wrote about what I consider to be the two basic core functions and why they’re important for fixing or avoiding lower back injuries.

Today, I’m going to outline a very basic program that I’ve used with quite a few of my clients in the past to help them get their back, back on track.

Part one: Warm Up

Before any exercise program it’s probably a good idea to get warmed up.

This is no different in principle for low back pain sufferers or high performance athletes.

The difference in method , however, is that the warm up for back pain relief isn’t the traditional warm up you’re probably thinking about.

There’s no jumping, pushing, pulling or throwing involved. There are no calisthenics.The pace is more controlled and the purpose is a little different.

You probably won’t be huffing and puffing.

Unlike the current dynamic warm up protocols, which are a bit more involved, the low back warm up is more focused on increasing your body awareness and prepping your body for movement precision.

With this type of warm up, we’re not necessarily as interested in breaking a sweat or ramping you up for high intensity exercise. Rather, it’s all about turning the right body bits on and grooving the right movement patterns.

Cat & Camel:

1 set of 6-8 reps

Quadruped Rocking:

2 sets of 6-8 reps

Clamshell

2 sets of 8-12 reps/side

Part 2: The Program

This is where you really start to work the core.

These movements may seem a lot less isolated than the traditional “core” or “abdominal” exercises that were typically prescribed for low back pain resolution. These are designed to engage your core in a coordinated manner while taking into account both core functions of resisting movement and transferring energy.

Don’t be fooled by their simplicity.

When executed correctly, these movements, for most people, will actually be quite challenging. You might just find yourself finally breaking that sweat!

Birddog variations

2 sets of 8-12 reps side x 8-10 s holds

Plank variations

2 sets of 8-12 reps side x 9-10 s holds

Suitcase Carry

2 sets of 30 sec per side

Sit to Stand

2 sets of 8-12 reps

For those of you looking for video on how these exercises should be done, you can check them out on my youtube channel here:

Dev’s YouTube Channel.

I’ve had my clients complete this type of program 1-3 times a day for 2 weeks and many have reported significant changes in their low back pain status in that short period of time.

Remember, while the above is considered a very basic core rehab program, some of these movements may not be suitable for every type of low back pain: too hard, too easy or just plain contraindicated.

Always, ALWAYS do your due diligence and seek the guidance of your healthcare professional before you try out something you found on the internet.

Yours in movement.

Dev Chengkalath

In this short video clip, the bridge and a few of its variations are demonstrated. 

This fantastic physical therapy exercise is great for activating and retraining your glutes and hamstrings. Just keep in mind when first starting with the bridge to focus on squeezing the glutes as the primary mover. Basically, try to keep your hamstrings relaxed as you lift your hips up.

For most people, this is one of the toughest parts of this exercise…hamstrings usually kick in too hard and may cramp. 

As well, when executed properly, this movement will teach proper hip extension using a braced core. These are both essential components of preventing, reducing or relieving low back pain.

To your bridging. 

Dev Chengkalath

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”

Chinese Proverb

Have you ever noticed that the first item on almost every list of anything related to health or wellness is “get educated”?

This is by far the most important aspect of any successful program, no matter what the program deals with.

This basic tenet can be found in effective weight-loss programs, injury rehab programs, heart-health programs and even nutritional systems such as my personal favourite “Precision Nutrition”.

The easiest way to reach a certain goal or achieve a certain outcome is usually to get educated.

Why get educated?

The answer is simple.

There are two items that are paramount for achieving success in relieving your low back pain: having a plan and taking action.

Getting an education will give you the foundation you need to decide what your plan is going to be.

Once you have a plan, all you have to do is take action.

This is a sure-fire recipe for success.

When it comes to low back pain, education can mean a whole bunch of things.

From my experience as a physical therapist, here’s my take on the 2 most important things getting an education with respect to your low back pain will give you:

1. The problem
2. The solution

Again, it’s that simple.

If you’ve followed my posts for any amount of time, you’ll recognize that I’m a simple man that believes strongly in the basics.

This goes back to my introduction to Occam’s Razor years ago.

When dealing with low back pain, almost everything we do can be summed up in that duology: we have a problem (low back pain) and we want a solution (stop the pain).

Getting educated will help you define your problem and will help you formulate your solution: The whos, the whats, the wheres, the whens and the whys.

Getting educated will let you figure out the steps you need to create your plan and then set you up to move on to the next stage: Taking Control.

In the next post, we’ll dig a little deeper into what taking control really means.

So until that time, poke around my blog to learn all you can about the causes, sources and solutions for your low back pain.

Yours in movement,

Dev Chengkalath

In my physical therapy practice in Toronto, I often get people who have been in fairly chronic low back pain for a good chunk of time, something you might be familiar with. 

So let’s use your situation as an example. 

Because of the length of time you’ve been suffering, there’s a good chance that you’ve been to see at least one, if not multiple, health care practitioners such as physicians, physical therapists or chiropractors. 

One of the most common self or health professional “prescribed” treatments that you’ve probably been given in the past is to statically stretch your low back. 

Sound familiar yet?

In fact, you could even google low back pain relief related terms and you’d probably come across dozens upon dozens of websites all proposing various low back static stretches to get you feeling better.

Unfortunately, for most of you, stretching your low back in this manner doesn’t deal with the root causes of your low back pain.

Sure, it’ll feel good.

Temporarily. Stretching usually does.

But feeling good doesn’t always mean doing good. And in this case, stretching the poor muscles of your lower back is probably not a good idea.

Don’t get me wrong.

There are times when those tissues do need to be stretched out, but it’s not as often as most people think. 

So what’s the solution?

What should you do instead?

What you need to do is stabilize your spine. Unfortunately, here’s where it gets a little more complicated.

Stable doesn’t mean immobile. In this case, stable really means mobile under control. Control being the operative word.   

In the following clip, the Cat & Camel mobility exercise is demonstrated.

This movement is geared towards keeping your spine limber while still keeping control.

It’s NOT about going as far as you can, it’s about going as far as you can, UNDER CONTROL. 

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Yours in movement.

Dev Chengkalath

Mistake 1: Not doing anything.

This is one of the most common mistakes that I see in clinical practice as a physical therapist (physiotherapist) in Toronto working with people to relieve their low back pain.

People ignore their pain for too long, hoping that it will just go away. In most cases, simple mechanical low back pain will resolve within a couple weeks.

But sometimes, it just doesn’t work out that way.

It’s incredible the number of times I’ve had clients come in and tell me that they’ve had four, five, six or more episodes of low back pain, lasting for weeks on end, each one getting worse. Or 10, 15, 20 years of chronic low back pain without effective treatment.

Where do you draw the line? When do you say enough is enough?

So if it doesn’t sort itself out, it’s time to take immediate action.

There are solutions out there, but they aren’t going to find themselves.

Go see your local physical therapist ASAP for diagnosis and treatment and take charge of your health.

Mistake 2: Masking the symptoms.

Another very common mistake I see with many low back pain sufferers is that they mask the symptoms of the injury without treating the root cause of the pain.

Think about all those times that you may have popped the Tylenol or Advil to “ride out the pain”. Or how about all those times that you just slapped on an ice pack or heating pad to soothe those aching back muscles?

Did any those interventions actually solve the problem or did they just let you mask the symptoms?

Don’t get me wrong. There isn’t anything wrong with dealing with your low back pain symptoms with the above “treatments”, as long as you’re also looking at removing the cause of the pain. It’s not good enough to just treat the source of the pain (the tissues that are irritated-the ligaments, muscles, nerve roots, facets etc), you need to figure out WHY those tissues are getting irritated and remove that “why“.

Mistake 3: Not moving.

A few days of rest at the onset of acute injury may be indicated and helpful. However, many people often take a few days of rest to mean stop moving completely and protect the back at all costs. In fact, back in the day, complete bed rest was the most often prescribed treatment. 

Inviting but not always the best idea.

Now I can understand why you wouldn’t want to aggravate those injured tissues and set off another painful episode of low back pain. But as well-intentioned as this may be, it could actually weaken your back further and perpetuate your pain.

Undertaking the proper progression of movement based exercise could be just what you need to get pain free and stay that way. Once again, go see your qualified health professional to learn how to optimize your movements or you can check out some of the best exercises to relieve low back pain here.

And there you have it. Three common low back pain mistakes that keep you in pain. 

To your low back pain solution. 

Dev Chengkalath