Stability vs. Strength in the fight against low back pain

by Stacey TAGS: Aaron BrooksactivationCorrective Exerciselow back painlower bodyPain Relief

It is single leg STABILITY, not simply single leg STRENGTH that can prevent low back pain.

Do you know why?

While our ultimate goal may be to heavily load our bilateral lifts,  our single leg exercises should not be done with a goal of heavy load in mind.

Rather they should be performed with solid form and stability.

Stability in the single leg stance will only help us with our heavy “big” lifts once we establish symmetry from left and right sides.

Here are several BAD things to watch out for in your single leg stance.

-       hip and pelvis  jutting out to the side while you are loading your standing leg.

-       standing thigh bone rotating inward

-       standing knee knocking to the midline

-       pronation of the foot (collapsing  of the foot/ankle)

-       toeing out

Compare the left and right sides and if there is a large discrepancy than have a greater clue as to what is causing your low back pain!

I also suggest you try this simple test with your clients or a partner.

-First have the client stand in front of you.

-Feel their lower left paraspinals (lower back) as you have them stand in a single leg stance on their right leg.

-Proceed to feel their lower right paraspinals (lower back) as they stand on their left leg.

Did their opposite side of the lower back engage in the single leg stance?

In comparison,were both sides of the lower back equally turned on when assuming the single leg stance on left and right legs?

If not,

think what is taking the brunt of the load when they perform single leg exercises!