Have you ever experienced back pain in your life and wondered why did it occur? Did you ask yourself if you slept in the wrong position or if you brought a big bag of groceries the day before? But have you ever gotten into a question if you use your spine correctly?
The sad truth is that most people have never moved in a neutral spine position. We tend to use our spine more as a hinge rather than a column, which causes many problems, including pain.
Your body exists to serve you, to make you go for a walk or run a marathon. It is capable of many truly unique things, and it won’t disappoint you unless you know what it needs.
What you should know at this point is that your body seeks stability. It is the primary purpose of it. So it will find it even in a wrong position rather than keep you unstable and let you fall.
What’s impressive is that your body can function in destructive movement patterns for a very long time without any side effects.
All thanks to the regenerative abilities. However, each material has its own specific strength and, unfortunately, eventually succumbs to the forces acting on it. That is why we are experiencing pain, muscle stiffness, lack of power, or other problems after a certain age.
As we have used our full repair potential and have not given up the harmful patterns, our body begins to show us that something terrible is starting to happen.
Is there any hope?
Yes, definitively. You just have to take care of yourself. Don’t ignore the pain and try to get rid of it in the usual way. This is your body’s alarm signal. When a fire breaks out, and the alarm starts howling, we do not turn it off and return to work in a burning building, but extinguish the fire and repair the damage. And that’s the exact action you need to take.
What is a neutral spine position?
In the book ” Becoming a supple leopard”, Dr Kelly Starrett uses the phrase “braced.” To visualise what should happen to the spine while we are moving. All the muscles of a trunk should be activated to create the force which will allow us to use the total potential of our body.
How to brace your spine:
- Stand with your feet straight. Squeeze your butt, and imagine you try to screw your feet in the floor by rotating them externally.
- When your pelvis is centred, now you have to align your rib cage over it.
- After finding the middle, it’s time to engage your muscles. It will help you to lock in the position.
- Bring your shoulders back ( close up your scapulas).
- Now is the last step. Your ears should be aligned over all the previous parts of your body.
You are probably thinking now it’s impossible to walk in this position. First, it’s complex and very tiring. But trust me that you will perform it in your everyday life with a little bit of practice and patience. It is tough to change a pattern that you have been using all your life.
Right now, you are probably using way too much strength to keep your abdomen tight, and all the positions seem stiff.
But what if I will tell you that it will drastically change your life?
Can you imagine life without pain? Can you imagine your body in good condition to old age? It is not impossible!
Soon I will lunch an entire course on how to help your spine and stay healthy. Stay tuned.