Dr Siff,
I work with patients who suffer from back and neck pain daily. When you use
common sense and think about it, your back is simply a column of bones held
together by ligaments, and these bones do not move by themselves. It is
actually the muscles around these bones which control the movements, and
hence if you develop a muscle imbalance, then you will get back pain.
The work I do is based around a lady by the name of Aileen Jeffirees, and
her theory is that the psoas muscles, which have a direct attachment onto
the spine, will compress your lumbar spine if they are tight. Almost every
single person that I see with back pain will have correlating psoas trigger
points. Therefore, I disagree with the crunches, simply because if you do
crunches to strengthen your abdominal muscles, you are in essense tightening
your psoas muscles, and increasing the compressive forces in your back
(which will increase one's back pain even more).
I have had amazing success treating the psoas muscles, and achieve results
of ~20-70% better just within the first session.
Henry***
>From: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: BACK BENDING & BACK PROBLEMS
>Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 19:59:56 EDT
>
>Someone on another Internet group commented on the high incidence of
>spondlyolysis among girl gymnasts, football linemen and ballet dancers and
>stated that it might have to do with excessive back-bending, jumping or
>impacts involved in some sports. It was added that it could also be caused
>by tight hamstrings or tight hip flexors or that tight muscles are even the
>result, rather than the cause of the problem.
>
>A solution that was suggested was that, your back doesn't bother you too
>much, you should work at straightening your backbone using 'pelvic tilts'
>and crunches because the more you arch your back ,
>the worse the problem will become. The clsoing remark was that you must
>straighten the backbone and strengthen the abdominal muscles to prevent
>back
>problems like this.
>
>I commented that the author quite correct in commenting that nobody really
>knows the precise aetiology of Spondylolysis, but that the problem probably
>is multifactorial.
>
>I added that it is even doubtful if frequent back bending is a major cause
>of
>the problem, because spondylolysis was not at all common among Olympic
>weightlifters who performed the Olympic Press with a marked backbend under
>heavy loads (weights exceeding 300lbs or 140kg were commonplace). In fact,
>the correctly executed Olympic Press, with its special double bending or
>swaying action of the trunk can offer an excellent way of strengthening the
>abdominal muscualture and enhancing trunk flexibility.
>
>Of course, learning it should be a gradual process for the average person,
>because it does involve the acquisition of special non-elementary movement
>skills.
>
>For those who may never have seen or tried this lift, see the following
>webpage:
>
>http://www.olympus.net/personal/cablebar/PRESS.htm
>
>Would anyone else like to comment on the issue of back pain and disability
>in
>its many forms, as well as some of the practical solutions that are offered
>to manage them?
>
>Dr Mel C Siff
>Denver, USA
>http://www.egroups.com/group/supertraining
>
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