Ever feel like no matter how much you stretch you can never seem to get rid of that nagging tension in your back? And I’m talking about the kind of tension that just seems like it shouldn’t be there. It’s not like you deadlifted 400 lbs, right? Or maybe you did and we need to talk about technique and/or load management. But that’s a topic for another time.
Postural stress could be the reason you are getting that back tension. Let me first say, there is no such thing as perfect posture. The best posture is a changing or dynamic posture. If you are experiencing tension, there are strategies you can employ to counteract the posture you seem to default to. Having “good posture” is learning to spend more time in what we call the “neutral zone”. Insert Star Trek joke here! This neutral zone is a range between being slightly flexed and slightly extended where the tension on the front of the body matches the tension on the back of the body. Therefore, posture is active!
Think about it, you have back tension because the muscles in your back are either in a shortened state all of the time or they feel a constant pull. I’ll break down the two most common problematic postural situations:
Posture 1 (left image): Thoracolumbar extension with anterior pelvic tilt – larger low back curve, rib flare, and hyper-extended knees.
Posture 2 (right image): Flat back with posterior pelvic tilt – little to no low back curve and bent knees when standing
In both of these postures the client usually doesn’t have a good sense of active pelvic control and defaults to the least energy demanding posture at the time! Both postures can also lead to neck tension and headaches. Often, these types of postures aren’t symmetric left to right either. What that means is that there is sometimes a rotational component to the underlying issue.
To tackle these types of aches in your back you first need a postural assessment followed by a movement assessment to help determine where the actual issue lies. Following these assessments, manual care to the target muscles and joints is a good place to start to allow the body’s tension to reach equilibrium. Then it is time to implement the most important part, the active component. These postural stresses can be minimized with repeated movement exercises to help ingrain a new sense of body positioning. To help with Posture 1 type pains, flexion-based exercises would be prescribed and for those with Posture 2 pains, extension-based exercises would be prescribed. Along with spine exercises, it is very important to address the associated hip mobility issues that accompany these postures.
So, if you happen to have unexplained back tension and want to figure things out, book an appointment today and let's talk posture!
Dr. Mark Bird, BSc (Hon), MSc, Acu, DC Chiropractor at The Coach House Therapeutic Centre www.drmarkbirdchiropractic.com
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