Hi folks,
A few years back I put together a programme for self-managing back pain. It works. And it works incredibly well. You do not need special tools or equipment. You just need your body. I wanted something that could be used by an athlete in the gym just as much as the travelling businessman at the airport. The process I put together is something I call compound stretching, and the idea goes a little like this.
Muscles never work alone. When you "flex your biceps" (like the boys do when they are trying to impress the girls) and it bulges impressively three things have happened:
1) The elbow has flexed (bent). By the way, it is not the bicep muscle that flexes. The elbow joint is flexing. The bicep muscle is contracting. Which is the second thing on the list of events.
2) The bicep contracts whilst shortening.
3) The triceps (the muscle running along the back of the upper arm opposite to the biceps) has to lengthen to allow the bicep to shorten.
Folks, we are talking about moving the elbow joint in one direction, using two muscles (biceps shortening and triceps lengthening). Essentially the lower spine, which flexes, extends, and twists, has to perform far more complex movements. A far more complex muscular structure allows this to happen. But the principles remain the same. Some muscles need to shorten to make a movement happen, and others muscles need to lengthen to allow the movement to happen. Strength and flexibility, in balance, is so critical to spinal functionality. And that is what my programme of compound stretching is based upon. Actually, with my programme, some muscles are working hard and shortening (contracting) whilst others are working equally hard and lengthening (stretching). Before we continue, I want to cover one more aspect to this.
When body builders want to get big muscles they focus mostly on just three main exercises. These exercises (Deadlift, Squat, and Bench Press) work the whole body, and they use big groups of muscles working together. Exercises that use more than one muscle are called compound exercises. Think of a bicep curl. You know? When you pick up a dumbbell and use it as resistance whilst you bent and straighten the elbow. That is an isolation exercise. You are working the biceps only. Body builders might use this exercise to refine, further define, and finish the development of the biceps muscle, but they won't build it this way. They will build it primarily by performing big feats of strength and power involving compound exercises. That is the mentality behind my compound stretches. Sure we can stretch the hamstring with a hamstring stretch, but that is just one part of the body moving in isolation to all of the others. A hamstring stretch might feel good on the hamstring, but (in my experience) by itself will not do as much to relieve back pain (or increase functionality) as a good compound stretch. Why? Because a compound stretch, like a compound exercise, forces the muscles of the body to work as a symphony. You would not go to a classical orchestral performance expecting to hear the wind instruments play a song, then the strings play another, and percussion play yet a different song after that. No! you go to hear the orchestra play as one. And that is exactly how the body works (which is why I believe it should be exercised that way too). You can find the story of the development of this programme here http://www.managing-back-pain.webs.com/ But recently I discovered something new!
I always knew that having abdominal muscles tied up in knots often exasperated and contributed to back pain. Previously the only weapon I had to combat abdominals tied up in knots was compound stretching of the abdominals and nearby muscle groups. There was a time when they always worked for me - until recently. Something else was going on. Even with everything I had learned about balancing the postural muscles of the body strength-and-flexibility-wise my back was sore and I could not fix it completely for quite a number of weeks. Finally, I found the answer! (well, my Naturopath did actually).
Un-realised by me, I have suffered digestive issues since my early teens. These were to do with intolerance's to certain food groups. These intolerance's have sapped my energy after eating so much of the wrong foods over so many years (decades actually) that, in the past, I have even wondered if I were developing diabetes. Blood tests always told me my blood sugar regulation was fine. So I pretty much ignored my sometimes erratic energy levels and worked on getting fitter and stronger instead. This time, I had something I could not ignore any longer - a tightly twisted and tender tummy area coupled with a sore back I just could not relieve.
Long story short my food intolerance's have now been handled, my tummy feels better, my back is fine, and I have tons of energy. The symptoms surrounding the withdrawals from the toxins I had consumed for so long include a complete loss of appetite, nil energy, chills all day, cold sweats all night, headaches I thought would make my head explode, and I was pretty much confined to bed 24/7 for almost 2 weeks. The complete detox, which began as a two week detox diet, took a period of almost one month from start to finish. I thought the process would only last for the length of the diet. I was wrong. After the diet the body had to handle the hang-over. It makes sense (in hindsight) because that is how fitness increases to:
1) You train (think of this as the detox diet)
2) You recover (think of this as the body dealing to the toxins)
At times during the detox process I thought that maybe I should just give in and go back to eating whatever but I hung in there and boy am I glad I did!
So, the good news? Detoxes can fix things you didn't know (or believe) were wrong with you.
The bad news? Once the body begins the process, the process takes over the body. And the process can get pretty rough. So don't detox when you are busy. Do it when you have nothing other to do. And, although everyone is different, be prepared for the process to last for a month or more. Once clean, stay clean and enjoy your new found vitality.
On balance, is the detox worth the trouble? I would say "Yes!", "Yes!", and "Yes!". I can't wait to start training again (it has been a whole year since I was last well enough to train!).
Wayne
Cell +64 21 176 4266
Office +64 9 282 3169
website www.freedomfitness.co.nz
email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com
ps: Although temperatures are a little chilly of late around here in the morning, I now find these bracing. I bound out of bed in the morning, excited and anticipating another great new day. Before my detox my body could not regulate temperature well at all. Cold felt freezing and warm felt blisteringly hot. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning, and I never wanted to leave the house and go into the sun during the day. My sensitivities to temperatures had been observed by my Doctor but what to do about it he knew not. Well, thankfully, now the problem has gone.
pss: Always check with your trusted health professional before following any new form of eating plan or exercise programme.
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