Don’t get me wrong. Back pain is *wildly* multifactorial. Different things can cause the same pain in two different people’s backs.
But I would be willing to bet that a big reason for your back pain has to do with your core set up (at least for women, extension based athletes, and new lifters–and probably even some older lifters who “cheat” on form but may not even know it). I see it in people’s videos online, with my own clients when they start out, and walking around commercial gyms (sports training facilities are a bit better at catching this).
Think the Kardashian butt pose. In coach speak, it’s called anterior pelvic tilt. It tends to be more common in women because of our anatomy, and it becomes much more pronounced as we go through pregnancy, but it’s also seen in men–especially athletes like pitchers because of the demands of their sport.
Ok so I didn’t have a champagne bottle or glass to balance but let’s pretend I’m that glamorous here, ok?
Often times, people can get away with it for a while. For some people, it’s what makes them so good in their sport. I know a number of professional baseball players who are heavily extended and it’s the reason they can throw 98 miles per hour (to my baseball dads out there, please don’t think is how to get your kid throwing 98–pitching mechanics are different for everyone and like, maybe let your kid play and have fun, k?). But when you start to load the movement in the gym, it can create some bad habits that wear on your back over the years, and it can absolutely cause back pain because of the shear on both the bony structures (like grinding of the facets in your vertebrae) and on the soft tissue like muscles, tendons, and ligaments that bear the brunt of the weight.
Basically, when you’re in the Kardashian butt pose position, you’re putting a lot of strain on your low back. Period. Adding weight INCREASES that strain.
When I start working with a client, one of the *first* things I do after an assessment is teach the canister position.
We start on the ground because it provides feedback on the person’s position. Lay with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent, and push your ribs and your lower back into the ground. You can also put your thumbs on the bottom of your rib cage, and pinkies on the top of your hip bones, and draw the two together. In that position, we then “brace,” as though we are pushing out preparing to be punched in the gut (rather than sucking our bellies in, which is what most women think bracing is).
We work on it in supine (laying on the ground on our backs) and then work on it in standing. And we reinforce it throughout our workouts.
This position, as minor a change as it seems, can make a huge difference in lifting. Think of it as your foundation–a strong foundation will allow you to build a sturdier home on top that is less likely to crumble at some point.
You see this position in nearly every exercise. Planks. Thrusts. Deadlifts. Squats (the top part). Even when hips are bent, the pelvic and rib positioning should be the same for everything from lunges to arm care exercises.
Try lifting (a light weight, y’all, don’t go getting hurt here) while holding a canister position, and try it without doing so. You’ll notice the difference in your low back.
The Fit Witt 