I continually want to provide you with tools to help you take care of your body and reduce your pain. However, that’s not as easy as it sounds. In other words, I know that not every approach is going to work for everyone. So, having a variety of options is essential in healing. Here’s one option. Foundation Training is one of the tools I have recently discovered that has shown promising results for back pain sufferers.
Foundation Training Philosophy
If you’ve ever had back pain, you may be familiar with the advice to strengthen your core. When you have pain, most people tell you to strengthen your abdominals. This is because many experts believe that strong abs will reduce pressure on your spine. However, this approach doesn’t address the back muscles themselves. Also, if all you do is practice crunches, the forward flexion of that exercise can further strain the back.h
Instead, Here’s a different approach. Dr. Eric Goodman, creator of Foundation Training, flips the training emphasis from the front to the back of the body in order to relieve back pain. His exercises directly strengthen the deep stability muscles of the back. He defines the core as the posterior chain, which is the neck, back, butt, hamstrings and heels. So, if you work this chain together, you’ll improve your back strength. As a result, you’ll have less pain.
In addition to addressing muscle weakness, Foundation Training also addresses faulty movement patterns that can keep you in pain. Let me explain. The lower back is designed to be a stable joint. Most of us, however, flex at the lower back to bend forward and pick something off the floor. Try it! Go ahead! Bend forward, and then observe the movement of your back. Most likely, it rounded forward. This is a faulty movement pattern. We bend forward from our spine instead of using our more powerful hips. Using the back in this way puts excessive pressure on the small muscles of the back. This causes degeneration and, ultimately, chronic pain.
Foundation Training focuses on hinging from the hips while keeping the lower back in neutral alignment. This allows you to better activate your hamstrings and glutes to produce powerful forward movement.
Foundation Exercises
In his book Foundation, Dr. Goodman outlines three progressive exercise routines. The fundamental exercise of the program is The Founder.
Image Source:
http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/foundation-training-relieve-pain-and-improve-performance
The Foundation exercises would be a good compliment to your exercise program. I plan to give them a try and see how my back responds. I hope you will do the same! If you do, let me know what you experience.
