Sciatica Pain

Sciatica pain, also know as low back pain, is an all too common discomfort for many people, and has a nasty way of keeping us out of the gym and/or getting us through the day.

Lower back pain stems from poor use of the core muscles during daily tasks and exercises. When your core is not engaged, your back is doing the majority of the work, which causes strain on many muscles leaving you wishing you had never picked up that over weighted barbell, or choose to squat more than you had the strength to withstand.

In order to avoid conflicting such pain on yourself, you need to properly warm up, and spend some time mobilizing prior to your workout. This is NOT a waste of time, and is absolutely necessary for your body, muscles, and your recovery. Please refer to Adrien Adams’ Blog on Mobility for great tips, and advice on mobility.

http://crossfitroundrocktx.com/march-mobility-focus/

Use your CORE! I can personally speak of three athletes in my Hard Core Cardio class who each have suffered from severe back pain that at times would leave them bed ridden for days a few times a year, but sense starting HCC they have yet to suffer any kind of back pain!! Why? Because they now understand the meaning of actually engaging the core properly, and spend 2 days a week in a class focusing on core strength. It has proven to be the best decision they could have made as athletes.

Do NOT lift too heavy! If the weight on the barbell is more than you have the strength for, your body has no choice but to call on other (wrong) muscle groups to pick up the slack. It’s simply not worth the risk, and will leave you in pain keeping you from progressing the way you want to on order to reach your goals.

Don’t RUSH! Setting up for let’s say a back squat takes so much more than just grabbing the bar and doing a squat. First and foremost…. do you have the mobility/strength to preform a back squat in the first place? Prerequisites for the back squat are, proper air squat, and without failing the Hands-up Wall Squat Test.  If you are unable to perform these two movements successfully, you may not add weight for a back squat. Once you have passed the tests you can proceed to your back squat. Once again, set up is key, so when you begin your weighted squat start with your feet shoulder width apart, then brace your spine and screw your feet into the ground. If your lower back is arched, squeeze your glutes and lock your abs down to ‘hollow out’ under the bar. Run your set-up checklist: back tight, glutes and abs locked, feet screwed into the floor.  This handy little checklist, and making sure not to over-do will decrease your chances of injury greatly.

My final tip for you is something I say often times in class…”do it on purpose” meaning, when you are doing an exercise focus on the muscle group intended for that specific movement. Try your hardest not to allow other muscles to take over, be patient and always, always, always use proper form.