Stop back pain with this tiny adjustment.
I have a super simple technique to share with you today to get you to stop hurting your back. Bear with me, it might sound ridiculous, but it can make *such* a difference
This is a teeny tiny adjustment that I teach ALL of my clients who come to see me for pelvic floor dysfunction, abdominal separation and back pain.
Are you ready?
Avoid back pain when lifting/bending when you:
• pick up baby from the bed,
• lift your bag off the floor,
• load or unload the dishwasher
• place baby in his/her cot
• pick up the washing basket.
Hands up - I'm guilty of giving myself an owie doing this as a sleepless new mum with my focus elsewhere.
You've bent forwards quickly to reach for an object down on the floor and bam - there goes your back!
It's never a happy moment, nor one that makes you feel like the sexy, capable mama you really are. Fear not - I've got you.
Remember that peach?
I guarantee you will feel less tension in your back with this teeny adjustment, and when done correctly - you'll get the right muscles working, which in turn takes the pressure off the wrong areas.
Are you ready?
• Poke your bum out,
• Lift your tailbone up,
• Untuck your pelvis,
• Reach your sit bones away from you,
• Tip the front of your pelvis forwards to meet the tops of your thighs,
• Close the gap between your hip bones and your femur
I use ALL of these cues to get the point across, so if the first one doesn't work for you, try another.
For some people finding and mobilising this bit can be tricky, so have a play with all these cues - keep moving and see what works for you.
Let me explain that when you perform a bending forwards action with the tail going the opposite direction (tucked underneath you)...
As you start to stand back up, you're putting extra load onto your lumbar spine (lower back), often with the additional weight of whatever you needed to pick up.
When you push that tush out the load shifts into your glutes and hamstrings (butt and backs of your legs a.k.a. bigger muscles that can tke the load more easily).
Try it out and let me know how you get on!
Stand up - bend down like normal to pick w=something up from the floor - then try it again but driving your pelvis further back out past your heels whilst lifting your imaginary tail. It's OK if you need to bend your legs to rach whatever you're reaching for. Trust me for a moment, have a go at keeping your legs straight for the way back up.
How was that? Can you feel your legs working? How does your back feel?
