After reading "Back Mechanic," I've had a profound shift in my understanding of -- what used to be -- my own back pain: the usual cause is muscle imbalance.
Something to the tune of: our back and torso muscles are responsible for keeping our spines (and all their structures) aligned in a healthy, mechanically-sound position. Things start to go wrong when the muscles are weak/atrophied/unbalanced, and no longer "hold" the vertebrae in their proper positions, which can lead to the disks bulging out and other mechanical issues that lead to low-intensity damage.
With this in mind, I started stretching my back, and focusing on getting into a "neutral," or healthy, posture on a day-to-day (to remove the muscle tightness caused by me unconsciously hunching, and exacerbating the problem -- after having a herniated disc). In theory, this remedies the muscles pulling my vertebrae in the "wrong" directions and intensities.
Coupled with weight training (squats, deadlifts, OHP, and bench), I believe I've managed to strengthen my back muscles, and "realigned" their efforts into the way my spine should be held up (instead of the way it was held up, due to sitting around all day).
It's gotten much better, and I don't have pain or unintended tightness anymore.
N.B. I've also relieved myself of knee pain, by focusing on the way my hips are "held" during walking. It seemed like mine were tilting too much forward (and not holding my body in place properly), so knee pain manifested (and perhaps was even the catalyst for my herniated disc). Once I straightened them out, I was able to walk pain-free.
Something to the tune of: our back and torso muscles are responsible for keeping our spines (and all their structures) aligned in a healthy, mechanically-sound position. Things start to go wrong when the muscles are weak/atrophied/unbalanced, and no longer "hold" the vertebrae in their proper positions, which can lead to the disks bulging out and other mechanical issues that lead to low-intensity damage.
With this in mind, I started stretching my back, and focusing on getting into a "neutral," or healthy, posture on a day-to-day (to remove the muscle tightness caused by me unconsciously hunching, and exacerbating the problem -- after having a herniated disc). In theory, this remedies the muscles pulling my vertebrae in the "wrong" directions and intensities.
Coupled with weight training (squats, deadlifts, OHP, and bench), I believe I've managed to strengthen my back muscles, and "realigned" their efforts into the way my spine should be held up (instead of the way it was held up, due to sitting around all day).
It's gotten much better, and I don't have pain or unintended tightness anymore.
N.B. I've also relieved myself of knee pain, by focusing on the way my hips are "held" during walking. It seemed like mine were tilting too much forward (and not holding my body in place properly), so knee pain manifested (and perhaps was even the catalyst for my herniated disc). Once I straightened them out, I was able to walk pain-free.