Does Running Ruin Your Joints?

A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found no evidence of accelerated rates of osteoarthritis among long-distance runners.

Further, weight-bearing exercise like running helps stave off osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density.



Posts showing good movement mechanics during exercise and daily life:

• Healthy Knees
• Spotting Back Pain During Running and Walking - What Do Abs Have To Do With It?
• Prevent Main Factor in Back Pain After Running and Walking
• Back Pain From Running
• Walking Softly Benefits Olympic Wrestler
• Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?
• Autumn Yard Work - Limiting the Person Instead of the Injury Again?
• Exercise and Aging - Don't Limit the Patient to Limit the Pain
• Not Old for the Olympics Part I
• Most Helpful Olympic Advice So Far
• Arch Support Is Not From Shoes
• Common Exercises Teach Hip Tightness When Kicking, Stretching, and on the Stairs
• Is Bad Martial Arts Good Exercise?
• Common Exercises Teach Bad Bending
• Are You Making Your Exercise Unhealthy?
• Runner Fixes More Pain With Straighter Push-Off
  
  

Labels: aerobic, aging, arthritis, impact, injury, osteoporosis, repetitive strain, running, walking

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Most Helpful Olympic Advice So Far

The commentators for US gymnast Justin Spring's great Olympic floor exercise routine last week told how Spring underwent months of rehabilitation for knee, ankle and other injuries. The commentators continued about his rehab, exercises, physical therapy teams, and surgeon. Spring landed the end of his difficult routine with straight-legged jolt. One of the commentators mentioned again about the surgeon who fixed the injury. The other commentator replied, "The surgeon should have told him to bend his knees."

The commentator is right. The best health care is not to collect money to cut and treat someone, but prevent the need for cutting them. Landing with a straight knee transmits impact to your spine, neck, ankles, hip, and knee joints. Landing with properly bent knees absorbs impact more through the muscles. Landing hard with a straight knee can push the upper and lower leg bones hard against the two tough pads in each knee called menisci (singular is meniscus) that help cushion each step.

Over repeated hard landings, holes and tears can bore through the meniscus. With repeated landings at an unhealthy joint angle, cartilage can overstretch or tear. The tough strap that crosses the middle of the knee joint, called the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), can overstretch or tear with repeatedly landing on a twisted knee. More on this to come. It is mostly an avoidable training error, not a gender issue as previously thought. Ankle wear and injuries can result from the same. Injury forces increase when the landing is on knee or ankles allowed to sway inward instead of maintaining motion at the midline. These injuries can heal without surgery. More on this in posts to come.

Sometimes injury results from a single high-force landing, such as a bad parachute landing, jumping from extreme heights, or a car crash where a passenger sitting with straight legs is propelled forward (or the engine backward) hard against their feet forcing compression past strength. An example is an ankle injury called a pylon injury, where the far end of the lower leg bone crushes.

Know the mechanism of injury so that you can get out and have fun, and do extreme sports while you move in ways that reduce unhealthful forces. Preventing repeated bad movement habits can also give your joints a larger margin for occasional unexpected dings.

1. Check what you do with your knees when you step or jump down. From small landings, bend knees a small amount.
2. Larger heights and circumstances (carrying a heavy backpack) can benefit from more shock absorption using the thigh and hip muscles with deeper bending. It should not be the knees that take up the shock of the bending. It should be the muscles of the hip and leg.
3. Keep effort on the muscles through how you position your knees. Letting them slide forward shifts weight to the joint. Keeping knees back by only sticking out the backside in back can shift weight to the lower spine. Keep knees back with neutral spine and you will feel the effort in the muscles.

Here is how - Free Exercise and Free Back and Knee Pain Prevention - Healthy Bending.
Here is why - Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?
Here is an example to get started - Down the Stairs.
Knee position when jumping - Healthy Knees.
Posts on avoiding surgery.
Check comments and replies already present in posts for more.
Click the labels below each post for more Fitness Fixer posts about each topic.
Try fun books.

Labels: ankle, impact, injury, knee, Olympics, practice of medicine, repetitive strain, stairs, surgery

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Down the Stairs

Readers Carol, Don, Teresa, AJ, and others asked about strength, and knee pain and placement when descending stairs.

Physical trainer Teresa wrote:

"Hello Dr. Bookspan,
"The post on "Better Exercise on the Stairs" from July 2007 contains the following statement: 'When descending stairs or hills, bend your knees when landing for soft shock absorption. Don't step down on a straight, locked, knee.'

"Some clients I work with have the habit of descending stairs on one leg because they can land straight-legged on the "weak" leg. Pain or fear of pain keep them from having the confidence to bend that "weak" leg sufficiently to support themselves for a soft landing on the other leg, but the "strong" leg will let them land softly on the "weak" one. When I get them to practice it, they find the proper motor pattern that is pain-free, but end up falling back on the old motor pattern that creates pain.

"Do you have any ideas on this one since descending usually requires more use of the toes than climbing the stairs does?

"I keep recommending your site to loads of people because you are sooo right. It's about motor patterns of moving our bodies, not just "exercise." Thank you for your time and assistance!"
Teresa Merrick, M.A.
ACSM HFI, NSCA-CPT/CSCS, NASM CPT
Master Trainer

Climbing stairs is a functional (real life) skill. Not having the strength to support your own body weight is serious weakness:

1. It is not healthy to land straight-legged with a locked knee on either a weak or strong leg. The functional life skill needed to descend the stairs is similar to what is needed for simple daily healthy bending (right drawing). Bending knees to retrieve and reach is something everyone needs to do many times a day. How many times a day do you think you bend for ordinary actions? Click How Good Would You Look From 400 Squats a Day - Just Stop Unhealthy Bending


2. Use the simple built-in life activity of healthy bending using the half squat (right drawing) to train your legs for the strength and mobility needed to descend stairs in a healthful way.


3. When you bend in the half squat, keep both heels down and your weight shifted back over the whole foot (right drawing), not just the toes (left-hand drawing). Pull back more to the heels if you slide forward.
   


4. No need to increase the inward curve, called hyperlordosis, or overarch (left). Hyperlordosis pinches the spine and can cause impingement and mystery back pain (Prevent Back Surgery). Overarching is sometimes taught to weightlifters because it shifts some of the effort onto the lower spine joints called facets, making the lift easier. It is healthier to keep the weight on the muscles and not overarch. Keep neutral spine (right drawing).
   


5. Keep heels down for bending using the half-squat, instead of lifting the heel. Keeping heels down shifts weight to the thigh and hip muscles and off the knee joint. Enjoy the free, built-in Achilles stretch with each bend. Specifics on this in the post Free Exercise and Free Back and Knee Pain Prevention - Healthy Bending.
   


6. Descending the stairs should not be a toe-intensive maneuver. Your body weight belongs on the strong muscles of the thigh and hip.

Once you have the idea of the healthy bending you need for daily life bending, transfer that healthy movement to the stairs:

• Keep more weight on the leg on the upper stair, instead of flopping and stomping all weight down on the foot that is stepping down.
• Keep your weight back more toward the heel on the upper leg.
• Keep heel down longer on the upper leg, instead of lifting the heel right away. Get the free, built-in, functional Achilles stretch.
• Bend knee slightly upon stepping down instead of landing straight-kneed. Remember this is the same strength and skill that you need and have been developing (or should have) for ordinary daily bending, which totals many dozens every day.
• Use good shock absorption from the thigh muscles of the leg stepping down.

Instead of dong artificial leg exercises like leg raises, use legs for real life to get automatic built in exercise in the way you need to move. The movement gives built-in strengthening and stretch and movement patterns. The built-in strengthening and stretch and movement patterns directly improve daily function.

More will come in future posts. Have a real life of activity and fun, and enjoy.

Related:

Better Exercise on the Stairs
Common Exercises Teach Hip Tightness When Kicking, Stretching, and on the Stairs
Click the label "stairs" under this post for all Fitness Fixer articles on stairs.

Labels: achilles stretch, fix pain, impact, knee, leg strength, leg stretch, lower back, squat, stairs

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Exercise and Aging - Don't Limit the Patient to Limit the Pain

A Reuters news item last week reports that "baby boomers" are accumulating wear and tear injuries, and they should consider cutting back on amount and type of exercise they get.

The article points out that contributors to injuries are biomechanics, poor flexibility, and "pounding" or stomping down unnecessarily hard when running, jumping, walking, etc. Even with that knowledge, the news report goes on to say the answer to reduce injuries is to cut back activity. In Sunday's Fitness Fixer post, Forearm, Upper Body and Hand Exercise, I wrote that it is not a healthful or useful solution to "limit the patient to limit the pain."

The Reuters article quoted a foot and ankle podiatrist saying, "It is really important that people continue to be physically active, but they need to think logically about how to remain active as they age… Probably when you start getting into your 40s and 50s, the half marathon is a great alternative (to full marathons). Or, if you did two or three marathons a year, cut it back to one a year or opt for 10K or 5K runs." The podiatrist himself is a marathoner. He stated, "Having run 25 marathons, it was hard for me to cut back."

I would suggest looking at biomechanics, poor flexibility, and "pounding" first, before telling someone to stop doing what they love:

• Biomechanics - Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?
• Flexibility - What Does Stretching Do?
• Pounding - Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints

I have some exciting developments about getting you information on Exercise and Aging. Will announce soon.

Labels: aging, fix pain, impact, injury, myths, running

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Runner Fixes More Pain With Straighter Push-Off

Last year, reader Ted fixed back pain by learning to use neutral spine during running and daily life. This week he checked in to say the back is still fine, and that he went on to fix other painful sites.

Fixing pain and injuries by doing some exercises may temporarily ease symptoms. Instead, you can stop the source of injury by making movement habits healthy while exercising and moving through daily life, so that you can get exercise at the same time that the area can heal, and the pain not return.

Ted writes:

"Dr Bookspan, last summer, you helped me return to running, and did an article on me and how the neutral spine fixed my back problem with running.

"The back is a NON ISSUE. Thank you so much.

"Currently, I am working on hip/hammy/knee issues (probably due to over-training). Just thought I would share a thought on the ''Duck Foot'' issue you had talked about (I read the Fitness Fixer religiously). While running on the padded infield of the Stadium Football Field, I was still noticing pains in my hip (caught my foot on the ''upswing'' during a run, hip has hurt off and on since October).

"I focused on my feet, specifically, how I pushed off after the foot-strike (very soft, I often scare other runners because they can't hear me coming up on them). A straight push off after the foot-strike made the pain go away (probably because it aligned my foot/knee/hip during the movement). Also, when the knee pain flared, tensing my quads made it go away.

"I have enjoyed reading your ''Running Articles' please keep 'em coming.
AND
Thank you for fixing my Back.
Much Appreciated,
Ted H"

"Ps. I got your new book (Health & Fitness THIRD edition). VERY good info, I'm trying to use it everyday."

To fix the source of pain, it works best to understand healthful movement retraining and not just "do" a series of rules. One important example is keeping feet parallel or facing forward. The idea is to understand that a straight push-off comes from keeping all the joints in the kinetic chain from feet to hip and spine from twisting in unhealthful ways, not just straighten one segment by twisting another. Yanking or forcing the feet straight is not the point of good positioning.

Ted has more helpful stories to come in future posts. Click these posts for more:

• Back Pain From Running - Ted's story
• Spotting Back Pain During Running and Walking - What Do Abs Have To Do With It?
• Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints
• Which Shoes Help Exercise, Fall Prevention, and Ankles?
• Plantar Fasciitis Part I
• Health & Fitness Third Edition at Last

Labels: feet, fix pain, impact, knee, readers inspiring story, running

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Walking Softly Benefits Olympic Wrestler

Reader Dennis is an Olympic Medalist in wrestling. He is the student who asked me how to walk without shocking his joints in the post Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints.

Not long after, I saw Dennis running by at a fast clip, with beautiful neutral spine, good leg and foot alignment, and a light landing with each foot-fall. I asked him why he had asked about running lightly when his running was great. He said he had changed to running lightly after I worked with him on it. I asked if it made a difference and he laughed, "Of course. It used to hurt."

Dennis is muscular and squarely built. He used to leave an impression on the floor when he walked, and had knee, neck, and lower back pain after running.

Getting good exercise with healthy impact is fun, feels good, helps bone density, and probably is good for many body systems that benefit by impact and movement. Getting healthy exercise and enough bone loading is possible without jarring landings and transmitting damaging force to the joints. Dennis did several things to stop injuring his joints during movement:

• He stopped keeping a large inward curve in the lower back while running. Changing to neutral spine decreased the compressive pinching and loading of the vertebral joints and soft tissue - Spotting Back Pain During Running and Walking - What Do Abs Have To Do With It?

• He stopped letting his arches flatten downward. Using his own leg and ankle muscles, Dennis held neutral foot position maintaining a good arch without needing any inserts or special running shoe - Arch Support Is Not From Shoes.
  
  
• Stopped letting the knees bend inward toward each other when running, and held neutral foot position - Healthy Knees.
  
  
• Held upright head and neck position instead of jutting the chin forward - Common Exercises Teach Upper Back and Neck Pain.

Using the information in my classes, Dennis fixed recurring ankle injuries, and various back neck and other joint pain and went on to win medals in wrestling. His stories and photos will follow in reader success articles to come.

More:

• Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints
• Does Running Ruin Your Joints?
• A Reader Asks About Osteoporosis and Walking Lightly
• Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?

Labels: feet, fix pain, impact, readers inspiring story, running, walking

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A Reader Asks About Osteoporosis and Walking Lightly

One good question launched many answers. The post Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints explained a light step prevents joint, soft tissue, and plantar fasciitis pain. In the comments, Carol asked if there were, "a connection between walking lightly and oesteopenia?" This is interesting, since osteopenia is lower than normal bone density, that lack of enough pulling or tension on the bones reduces bone density, and a certain amount of impact and loading keeps bones denser. The simple answer seems to be, that walking lightly should not be enough to reduce bone density, by itself.

Walking, running, and jumping lightly is good exercise to load the bones, while being better for your ankles, knees, hips, and spine than jarring with each step. The post Why So Many Aerobics Injuries? cited news accounts attributing joint pain and injury to high impact activities, with examples of popular aerobics personalities of the 1980s who now say they are too crippled to exercise. Their injuries were avoidable, but not by avoiding impact exercises. Impact activities can be done safely by not stomping down hard. Even repeated jumps from a height can be done with soft landings. Good athletes run, jump, and box with far less impact than most people walk, and have good strong bones. Exercise, done right, is crucial for your bones - Exercise is More Important Than Calcium Supplements for Bones.

When muscles pull your bones during walking, running, and other exercise, the pulling increases bone density. Adding external weight loads bones further. That is a major way weight-bearing and weight lifting exercise increases bone density. The effect of muscles contracting to provide good shock absorption when moving also pulls on the bones,which should be good. The post Forensic Anthropology and Bone Density looked at influencing the shape of our bones by how we move.

The reader went on to comment, "I have always been very light on my feet, and now in my 50s I have found out I have low bone density. I have a cousin who shakes the house when she walks who has been told that she doesn't ever have to worry about her bone mass." Walking lightly alone should not have caused the osteopenia. Questions would be, what other exercise the reader does, and what things might be decreasing her bone density? For the cousin, "shaking the house" by itself may not be enough bone stimulus that anyone could tell her that she "doesn't ever have to worry." Has the cousin taken a bone density test and was found to be high (for whatever reason)? Then you can say there is lowered risk of fracture. Is this cousin is very heavy, which helps load bone? Does this cousin do regular exercise to increase her bone density? It is not likely to be a valid prediction that someone never has to worry about bone density just because they walk badly.

The reader went on to ask, "I went to a bones for life class and was taught to do heel bouncing to stimulate bone growth. i.e. dropping repeatedly from toes onto heels while standing in proper alignment. Do you agree with that exercise?" I did a few searches on the bones for life class and found that the class uses many exercises, not bouncing on the heels alone. Bouncing for a few minutes would not be enough to undo an entire sedentary life style and the various things people do that actively take away from bone density. You need to do all the other exercises. How much the shock wave of the impact may additionally load or stimulate the bone is an interesting open possibility.

There are studies looking at effects of vibration and tapping on bone building. Mechanisms have been studied from the effect on cat bones of their purring, to various machines that bang or vibrate. Some advertising for vibration machines goes as far as making claims that they will increase bone density. So far, none have been found to have as much bone building effect as muscular activity (exercise). Too much occupational vibration, like jack-hammer, helicopter and similar environments produces joint pain, injuries to the spine, eyes, ear, nervous, and other systems. That was one of the topics I was looking into when I did aviation medicine research, explained in Indiana Jones Rocket Sled. A news article that came out on last year's fitness fad of vibration plates promising weight loss and fitness building, mentioned a few of the problems with too much vibration, and, ironically had an accompanying photograph showing severely hyperlordotic (overarched) lower spine positioning by a person listed as the trainer. Hyperlordotic spine posture, by itself, damages the facet joints of the spine over time. It seems safe to say that the jolting of the vertebral joints against each other in this overly arched position would only be worsened by vibration. The post Prevent Back Surgery shows examples of overarched lower spine and why it causes so many injuries in fitness.

It would be interesting to know if low levels of vibration and impact, through tap dancing, Flamenco dancing, pogo stick jumping, and similar activities, would change bone compared to the same amount of exercise without the impact. Some studies claim that swimmers or cyclists do not have as high bone density as runners, while others do not find that when they control for the direct muscle work applied to the area. There are even studies showing that Tai Chi, a most mild form movement with almost no foot-falls at all, can increase bone density in older people, just from the movement.

Along with walking or running, and weight lifting to build bone density, and using your muscles to stop stomping which can hurt the joints, you can prevent bone loss by avoiding things that reduce bone density:

• Smoking
• Drugs that are known to greatly increase risk of bone fracture: stomach acid drugs and steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, regular use of SSRI antidepressants such as Prozac and Paxil. Numerous medications used to treat different cancers may produce osteopenia (bone shortage) and osteoporosis in long-term cancer survivors. See Stomach Acid Drugs Increase Osteoporosis and Hip Fractures
• Lack of sunlight. Calcium cannot be absorbed or do its job without enough sunlight
  
• High consumption of meat and dairy products
• Drinking alcohol too often
  
• Lack of fruit and vegetables, and vegetable calcium sources
• Eating wheat and related grains by people with celiac
  

Osteoporosis and osteopenia cause major problems for men, not only women. More on this to come. Move, walk, lift weights, stand on your hands, and jump for fun, exercise, and bone building. You do not need to ooze around on tiptoe to avoid impact injuries. Jump and dance and stamp your feet for fun, for bone building, and for all the refreshing good feeling it gives, without jarring your joints and retinas loose. Have fun.

Carol ended her comment to me with, "Thanks for your site - I've learned a lot about alignment, which has helped in many ways." Thank you Carol for writing so many helpful questions for our benefit.


More:

• Forensic Anthropology and Bone Density
• Exercise is More Important Than Calcium Supplements for Bones
• Stomach Acid Drugs Increase Osteoporosis and Hip Fractures
• Prescription Acid-Reducing Drugs Produce Heartburn and Dependency
• Exercise and Aging - Don't Limit the Patient to Limit the Pain
• Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?

Labels: aerospace, biking, facet joints, fibromyalgia, fix pain, impact, injury, osteoporosis, plantar fasciitis, sunlight, swimming

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Fast Fitness - Leap for Balance on Leap Year

Here is Friday Fast Fitness for the intercalary year (Leap Year) - Leap to develop ankle and knee stability, leg power, and balance.

1. Leap forward, landing on the other foot with soft shock absorption. Don't land hard, which jars joints.
2. "Stick" your landing, without wobbling or setting the first foot down.
3. Leap backward to the original foot and place. Hold your landing steady. Try several leaps forward and backward, then change the leading leg and repeat.

When landing, keep ankle stable by preventing your foot from rolling to the outside. Info in the post No More Ankle Sprains Part II.
Train knee and hip stability by preventing your knee from swaying inward upon landing - Healthy Knees.

More Related Fitness Fixer:

• Sixth Group Functional Training: Advancing Ankle and Knee Safety With Single Leg Movement
• Fifth Group Functional Training: Ankle and Knee Safety With Lateral Movement
• How To Treat Ankle Sprains and Prevent Them
• No More Ankle Sprains Part II
• Which Shoes Help Exercise, Fall Prevention, and Ankles?

Random Fitness Fixer:

• Gluteal Muscles Myth - Shaking The Dog's Paw

Labels: ankle, balance, fast fitness, feet, hip, holiday, impact, jumping, knee, leg strength, sprain

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Walk Lightly - Shock Absorption for Happier Joints

"Your tread must be light and sure
as though your path were upon rice paper

"This rice paper is the test
Fragile as the wings of the dragonfly

"Clinging as the cocoon of the silkworm
When you can walk its length and leave no trace
You will have learned"
- Master Khan to Grasshopper in the 70's TV series Kung Fu

Walk, run, jump, and move lightly.

Movement is good for you. Muscles pulling on bones increases bone density. Vibration transmitted through the body from motion of running, dancing, jumping, and having fun is healthy, refreshing, and stimulates cell growth. A certain amount of impact from movement is necessary for health.

Banging down too hard with each step is not good for your body. It increases risk of joint pain and plantar fasciitis. I tell my students to stop jarring their joints without shock absorption when they walk and move and jump. One day, a student asked me "How?" Here are some things to try:

1. I asked the student to stomp his foot.
Then I asked him to place his foot down lightly. That is how.

2. Use an analog bathroom scale. Step on heavily and see the numbers go up high. Then step on again lightly and see that the last number reached is a lower number. In sports medicine, we use force plates to measure ground forces when an athlete jumps or runs by.

3. While moving, make less noise. It doesn't mean to tip-toe. Walk and run with regular heel to toe gait, but lightly.

4. Try walking with a full-to-the-brim cup of hot coffee or any liquid. Don't tip-toe, just walk softly without spilling any.

5. Practice jumping in the air and landing softly. Bend your knees when landing. Increase the height of the jump, maintain soft landing. Work up to jumping down from increasing heights without making a sound, or much sound.

More Fitness Fixer:

• Does Running Ruin Your Joints?
• Why So Many Aerobics Injuries?
• Are You Making Your Exercise Unhealthy?
• A Reader Asks About Osteoporosis and Walking Lightly

Labels: arthritis, feet, impact, knee, leg strength, martial arts, plantar fasciitis, running, walking

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Prevent Main Factor in Back Pain After Running and Walking

One of our readers, Nick, wrote me that he had had slowly increasing lower back pain despite exercising regularly. He ran, he stretched, he did abdominal exercises. Nick's doctor told Nick to give up running and take up low impact activity. Giving up running made Nick miserable but he did it. The pain came and went, but overall did not change. One day during a walk, his pain had spread into the back of his hip and was unendurable. He didn't feel able to make it back home, and wound up in the emergency room.

His x-rays were inconclusive and he was sent home with anti-inflammatory medicines, instructions to stretch his hamstrings, and rest or try other non-impact activity. This is a common story that readers mail me. It is unfortunate because:

1. The real cause of the pain was missed.
2. You do not need to give up running.
3. This kind of back pain is not inflammatory so does not benefit by anti-inflammatory medicine, which often causes its own problems.
4. Hamstring and other stretches commonly prescribed, more often contribute than help lower back pain, see Sitting Badly Isn't Magically Healthy by Calling It a Hamstring Stretch.
5. Forward bending abdominal exercises are a large and misunderstood contributor to back pain - see Good Life Works Better Than Bad Ab Exercise.
6. Impact is not the problem. With a little common sense you can see if you clomp instead of walking or running lightly. Use leg muscles to step lightly instead of bashing down with no control. You should be able to run and jump with little impact. Many people walk with higher impact than a good runner lands during running. Future posts will cover this.

Most important was the missed cause - lower back pain during and following running, walking, lifting, and other upright activity is usually from allowing the lower spine to over arch. This hyperlordosis is not caused by an anatomic problem "condition." It is a bad posture, which is easily correctable. Hyperlordosis is one of the most commonly missed causes of lower back pain.

Left drawing shows neutral spine. Right drawing shows one kind of hyperlordosis.

In the left neutral spine figure, the hip is level and horizontal from front (ASIS) to back (PSIS). The hip is also vertical from the top of the leg (greater trochanter) to the center crest of the hip. The right drawing shows allowing the front of the hip (pelvis) to tilt forward, which increases the lower spine angle. A small inward curve in the lower back is necessary for disc health and shock absorption. A high angle is as painful as any other pinching and pressuring of an area.

This is what I had Nick do. You can try it too.
Check yourself these two ways to see if you stand in hyperlordosis:

1. Stand up and look sideways in a mirror. Your belt should be level-green line in left neutral drawing. The side seam in dress or trousers should be vertical from leg to waist - black arrow in left drawing, not tilted forward at the hip
2. Back up slowly and gently into a wall. If your backside touches first, it may be an indicator that you lean forward at the hip. If your upper back touches first it is usually a good indicator that you lean the upper body backward, which increases a second kind of hyperlordosis. See Neutral Spine or Not? for more.

Here is how to reduce an overly large arch:

1. Stand with your back against a wall, with heels, hips, upper back and back of your head touching.
2. Put your hands on your hips, thumbs facing the back.
3. Roll your hip under so that your thumbs come downward in back.
4. Feel the large space between lower back and the wall become a smaller space.
5. Keep your heels, hips, upper back and the back of your head touching the wall and stand tall and straight. Lower back pain that is caused by hyperlordosis should ease right away.
6. Keep the good new neutral spine when you walkaway from the wall, and all the time.

Two more good techniques are on

• Innovation in Abdominal Muscles
• and Using Abdominal Muscles is Not Tightening or Pressing Navel to Spine.

More posts on understanding and recognizing hyperlordosis:

• What is Neutral Spine and Why Does Sticking Out In Back Harm?
• Fixing the Commonest Source of Mystery Lower Back Pain
• More step-by-step instructions and photos in the Ab Revolution manual.

Check back often. I am working on the next part of this post: Another Common Cause of Back Pain With Running.

Nick was quickly able to return to running by stopping hyperlordosis. So was Ted - Back Pain From Running. Recognize hyperlordosis. It will save office visits, even emergency room visits, tests, time, money, stress, and worry. Reduce hyperlordosis to neutral spine with a simple repositioning technique to stop and prevent much pain.

Labels: fix pain, hamstring, impact, lower back, neutral spine, readers inspiring story, running, walking

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