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

“entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem”

William of Ockham

In its elegance, it has become a guiding philosophy in much that I do. That is the power of the law of parsimony.

In human movement science, injury rehab or athletic performance, the solutions to our problems are usually right in front of us, just waiting to be noticed, just waiting to be acted upon.

“All things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the correct one.”

The first time I heard of Ockham’s Razor, I was in high school. And since that time, in my clinical practice as a physical therapist in Toronto, I’ve applied it many times. And I’ve seen it work many times. From relieving low back pain to improving power, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Even the great Leonardo Da Vinci thought so with his variation of Occam’s Razor:

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” 

I’m not saying that this is always the case, but rather,  I’m saying don’t ignore the obvious for the sake of the more complicated. So try applying this concept into every aspect of your life. 

If you’re looking to lose excess weight, become a better athlete or just fix your bad back, look at the obvious first.

Eat clean. 

Exercise hard. 

Fix your movement.

Dev Chengkalath

As a human movement specialist and physical therapist, I sometimes get so carried away in all my excitement talking about relieving low back pain that I actually forget to define what it is.

For most of you out there, this may seem a little peculiar. I mean, low back pain is low back pain right?

Isn’t is when your back starts hurting?

Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple.

In fact, even the scientific literature is quite ambiguous on the subject. This is why you can pick up the newspaper one day and find that physical therapy works for relieving low back pain, and when you pick up the next day’s edition, you find that physical therapy no longer works.

In most these cases, the definition of low back pain was different.

For my purposes on this blog, I’ll be writing about mechanical low back pain and best exercises used to relieve it.  Mechanical low back pain an umbrella heading that includes many different types of injuries or traumas to the lumbar, or lower, region of the back.

The fact that low back pain encompasses such a vast array of injury and trauma to the tissues of the back is what makes treatment so challenging. And at times, this is why the symptomatic approach to treatment is taken.

It’s the easy way. Pick something that hurts, the nerve roots, the facets, the ligaments, and make them stop hurting. Or mask the hurt. Without actually removing it. Everyone is happy, until the next time your “back goes out”.

Before I get carried away and rant on, here is my basic definition of mechanical low back pain. This will ensure we’re on the same page and aiming for the same outcomes throughout these posts.

Mechanical low back pain is loosely defined when the source of the pain is in the spine and surrounding tissues. This may include the spinal joints, discs, vertebrae or associated soft tissues.

The pain with this type of low back injury is often related to tissues involved in movement and is usually relieved by rest or in certain positions.

Sources of mechanical low back pain can include sprains of the ligaments, muscular strains (also known as muscle tears), various vertebral discs bulges(”slipped discs”, herniated discs etc), spondylosis (degeneration in the vertebrae), spondylolysthesis (slippage of one vertebra on another), and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canals).

The good news is that a majority of types of low back pain issues can be resolved with the right treatment. Treatment that is based on not only dealing with the source of the pain, but removing the causes as well.

And you guessed it, the best treatments are based on creating more efficient human movement.

Dev Chengkalath

In my clinical practice as a physical therapist, I’ve come across some complicated backs. Very complicated. 

Some a few days or weeks young. Some a few months young. Some a few years young. Some with twenty, thirty, forty or more year histories. Those ones, not so young!

The other day, I had a few minutes between clients so I was discussing how to relieve low back pain with a colleague. In those brief moments, we ended up chatting about all the different ways out there to help resolve this fairly significant issue. 

We concluded, after debating back and forth a bit, that with all the advances in science and technology, the best outcomes to relieve low back pain still came down to two things:

Education. And Movement. 

So where am I going with all this?

Well my friends, with both young and old low back pain, the solution is still the same. If you just developed the problem, or if you’ve had it for years, you need to:

Educate Yourself. And Move Correctly. 

So to let you in on one of the most simple, yet effective movement strategies I use to help my clients relieve their low back pain here’s the hip hinge. 

As a throwback to the 1920’s this one is almost a silent film. For those of you needing further clarification, the clip description will elaborate a bit more. As always, feel free to comment or email me with your queries.

To your clean hinging. 

Dev Chengkalath

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

Lance Armstrong

Pain is an interesting phenomena.

No two people will feel it the same way. No two people will have the same experience. No two people will respond to it the same way.

It is as unique to you as your fingerprints are.

In my practice as a human movement specialist and physical therapist at SHAPE Toronto, I am privileged to be given an inside look at how people deal with pain.

At times, this pain is acute with known cause, a fall, a trauma, or a sporting injury perhaps. And oftentimes, this pain is chronic, of “unknown” origin and having outlived the doctor’s pill prescriptions, become an accepted part of my client’s daily life.

which pill?

About 8 out of every 10 clients I see come in with low back pain, have had an episode of low back pain or have decided that they’ll have to live with their low back pain.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

You don’t have to suffer for the rest of your life. You don’t have to give up golfing. You don’t have to stop playing with your kids, nieces or nephews. You don’t have to resign yourself to a lifetime of discomfort and disability.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND YOUR BEST YEARS ON YOUR BACK IN BED!

But, it will come down to what you believe.

If you believe you will be in pain forever, you most likely will.

If you believe you won’t be able to relieve your low back pain, you probably won’t.

If you believe you will get better, you will.

If you believe you won’t let this stop you from living the life you want, the life you deserve, it won’t.

Times have changed. Knowledge has improved. The stakes are a lot higher now.

Why is belief so powerful? How can these simple thoughts become such powerfully allies in your quest for that pain free life?

Well, my friends, thoughts by themselves will accomplish nothing.

It’s when these thoughts become actions, behaviours and habits that the magic happens.

Not only for low back pain, but for every aspect of your life.

Send me your comments or experiences with pain.

Let me know what you think.

Believing in you.

Dev Chengkalath

Thanks to Shauna for showing me how those Liverpudlians do it.

Now go out and move.

And be happy.

Dev Chengkalath