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View Full Version : Lower back tension, and how not to follow Warrior Wellness



CarlS
05-27-2004, 11:20 PM
Having reached the advanced Warrior Wellness program over many months, it struck me that months of practice had not transferred over to help me with the basic spinal rock exercises. Even sitting in the piked position was uncomfortable.

This should have been my focus from the beginning, but instead I concentrated on things like increasing the size of the various joint circles, without worrying too much about my alignment. Being young, I had rather assumed that I wouldn't have to worry about any serious residual muscle tension. I had forgotten about 10+ years of hanging my head, and had been moving my head out of balance and slouching throughout exercises. Exercises such as torso circles, which should have been of great benefit, were further ingraining bad habits through poor execution.

I decided to focus on the problem and discovered that there is a belt of tension running along my lower back, particularly on the left side. A GP/acupuncturist described the spasming muscles as 'like wood', but that the damage was not yet serious.

I'm now on the long road to recovering the movement in my back. My plan involves a lot of the basic Polozheniye drills in general to improve my carriage, but targeting my lower back is a different story. Torso circles, or any exercise where bending only from the hips, seem very difficult to do properly, and this is why I started 'cheating' on them in the first place.

I am attempting to roll up and down, articulating the vertebrae on the ground, but cannot do many repetitions at a time, and rolling up is very difficult, considering how slowly I must move. I am going to start doing a small number of repetitions throughout the day, GTG style.

Any suggestions about how to loosen up the lower back and hips when starting with near paralysed flesh would be greatly appreciated.

Scott Sonnon
05-28-2004, 07:09 AM
Carl,

Creating that kind of lower back tension happens from poor form in lifting (it's not possible to do through dynamic range of motion, such as Warrior Wellness.)

Read "OverArching Bridge to Recovery" (in the CST PERSONAL PROGRAM LOGS) for how I recovered full range of motion and relaxed strength in my lower back.

Robert V
05-28-2004, 03:57 PM
Carl,

That was some very mature insight. Thank you!

Please also pay very close attention to what you are doing when you are not exercising. Sitting, walking, and standing. It can be that simple, and yet that simply destructive.

I've realized that the "illusion" of my straight posture while marching in the military and my ballet study, actually arched my spine, shortening those muscle and slowly cementing tension in that area. I think Polozheniye is a great place to begin. But "notice" at all times. Just "notice".

Robert

CarlS
05-28-2004, 10:56 PM
I should have read sooner 'Lumbarred from Pain-Free Mobility?', which is very helpful.

Thank you for the advice, Robert.