Lower back pain part 2!

If you still need more help with your lower back, this post is for you! Alternatively, you can find out more about our services here!

If you are suffering from lower back tightness, discomfort, pain from running and cycling, the problem may not be from your lower back itself.

Your hips consist of a complex group of deep muscles that link your lower back (lumbar) to your hips and and legs (femur). When these muscles get into an overactive (facilitated) state, they cause your hips to rotate forward (anterior pelvic tilt). When hips rotate forward, the lumbar spine is characterized by excessive curvature and overextension, lack of glute involvement, and with quad and low-back dominance.

The muscles are overactive / facilitated are:

1️⃣ Tensor Fasciae Latae (TFL)
2️⃣ Rectus Femoris
3️⃣ Psoas
4️⃣ Iliacus
5️⃣ Erector Spinae

This imbalanced and dysfunctional pattern develops with time and involves reciprocal inhibition: where the opposing muscles to the prime movers are relaxing to accommodate the contraction on the other side of that joint. As athletes, you tend to generally ignore all these symptoms and train through, unknowingly causing this over compensation to happen. The body follows the Law of Facilitation (body chooses the path of least resistance), eventually, the dysfunctional posture and movement pattern becomes the new norm and is where all the 💩😬 begins.

One activity that’s going to bring some relief almost immediately would be to self-myofascial release your TFL with a firm ball ⚫
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▶️ Establish where the TFL is – it would be where your coin pocket would be if you wore jeans
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▶️ Place the ball on the area and lie on your side as shown, with the ball 🔴 beneath
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▶️ The TFL would tend to be very sensitive to pressure, and you would know when you are on it
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▶️ Move in small movements vertically covering the length of the TFL about 20 times slowly
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▶️ Continue to apply pressure on spots that tend to be tighter for at least 10 seconds
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▶️ Stand up, take a walk, slow jog and note the difference

Try it out and tell us how it goes!

Article written by the Breakaway coaching team. @eugeneleecoaching