BACK EXERCISES…DO THEY HELP?

If you are suffering from a chronic or recurring back or hip problem, you have most likely considered or at least wondered whether exercises would help.

If you have done any searching on Pinterest or Google you have found hundreds of people recommending various back exercises to “cure” your back pain. “Strengthen your core muscles to stop back pain” has been a popular theme over the last few years. Have you seen this ad or variations of it on Google produced by a yoga instructor calling herself a “back expert”?

Outrageous!

Am I baffled? YES!!!

I am baffled that people make such claims and recommend a general stretch or strengthen exercise or exercise program to eliminate back pain without any knowledge of an individual’s specific problem.

It’s like visiting your family doctor with a complaint of “not feeling well” and having him or her prescribe a medication as treatment without testing and diagnosing the problem…. Ridiculous.

It’s not that the exercises are bad. In fact most of them are excellent. The problem is with their application. Let me explain.

It is true that most back and hip problems are mechanical in nature and muscular in origin, but you cannot expect a blanket exercise or group of exercises will help. All back and hip problems are unique to each individual.

Without getting into too much detail, you need to realize that all body muscles work in pairs during any activity. (standing, walking, sitting, exercising) In the case of the pelvic, hip and spinal muscles the pairs are left & right, front & back.

A breakdown in the balance between the muscle pairs causes mechanical dysfunction in the sacroilac, hip or spinal joints that causes inflammation and pain. Somewhere one of the pairs is too tight or too weak creating an imbalanced system.

So …  why would you strengthen muscles that don’t need strengthening or stretch muscles that don’t need stretching.

Any exercise or program should be unique and specific for each individual. The lack of specificity is the reason most exercises will provide very limited relief at best or no benefit at the worst.

So what do I suggest and why should you listen to me?

I have been a practicing chiropractor for over 40 years and have successfully treated hundreds, probably a few thousand lower back problems during that time. In the majority of those cases I have been asked about exercises.

Early in my career I prescribed a single page handout that included curl-ups, fencer stretches, cat back, hamstring and quadricep strengthening and stretches. Soon two things became apparent. First, they didn’t really help. Secondly patients tended not to do them, at least not for very long. They were boring and there was no motivation or means to check for improvement.

After observing the exercise craziness for years I realized that there had to be a better way. I began to develop a muscle testing system that would identify my patient’s specific imbalances. I then provided specific exercises based on their test results. I produced a scorecard to monitor progress. All of which could be done in the comfort of their own home.

After years of successfully using the system in my office I was persuaded to put the system into a book and so I did.

I put my system together with another of my most favourite topics, “The wiggle In Your Walk Must Go” about a common and poorly understood problem with the pelvis and sacroiliac joints that can lead to some serious spinal problems if not addressed.

Since the publishing of my book, I have produced a workbook to accompany my system, a video series demonstrating the tests and exercises and several articles and reports.

Over the last year I have collected all of my material and put it together in the form of a course. All of my material, the book, workbook, videos, audios, articles and reports, are available in this couse and be saved or downloaded for your use at any time.

I suggest you check it out above by clicking “Course Information” or by clicking the link below. There is no financial obligation to view this information

https://www.wiggleinyourwalk.com/wiggle-in-your-walk-testing-and-exercise-program/