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Lower Back Pain Causes & Solutions Heal Kicks

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Please read the watch points carefully! If back pain is severe, omit this exercise and seek expert advice.
Heal Kicks:- Start Position
  1. Lie on your stomach with feet hip width apart.
  2. Zip and hollow (imagine there is an egg under your navel and you do not want to break it).
  3. Clench the buttock muscles.
  4. Make a diamond shape with your arms by touching your finger tips together just under your forehead.
  5. Press down on your hands, and lift your upper body off the ground - like a Sphinx, but with its head looking down.
  6. If the Sphinx Position causes pain in your back, bring your head back down to rest upon your hands.
  7. Apply scapular anchor, and tuck your chin.
Heal Kicks:- Action
  1. Zip and Hollow, and breathe normally.
  2. (With the foot pointed): Kick the right foot into the buttocks (only as hard as is comfortable!), and release the leg ready to kick again.
  3. (With the foot flexed): Kick the right foot into the buttocks.
  4. Repeat both sides five to 10 times.
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Heal Kicks:
Start Position
SnglHlKickStrt
Action
SnglHlKickFin
What it does
  • The clenched buttock muscles stabilize the lower back (3).
  • The kick challenges the back while it is in extension.
  • Explores excessive back extension. Excessive back extension (labelled "Lumbar Extension Syndrome" by Shirley Sahrmann[1]), is a movement pattern that causes back pain. Carefully practicing it will teach you how to extend your back safely. It also teaches the mind and body to recognise and avoid the feeling of "excessive back extension".
Comments
  • If you do have pain upon extending your back, that is strongly suggestive of a "Lumbar Extension Syndrome", which is a common "directional susceptibility movement" (DSM) of the lower back(1).
Watch Points
  • Hollow your abdomen!
  • Clench your buttock muscles!
  • Apply the Scapular Anchor!
  • Stay long from the tip of the toe to the top of your head!
  • Make sure that both hips stay in contact with the floor.
  • Only extend the back within its limits of pain!
Reference
  1. Shirley A Sahrmann: Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes; Publ. Mosby 2002
  2. The Official Body Control Pilates Manual Available from: http://www.bodycontrol.co.uk/
  3. Bruce Thomson: Engage Gluteus maximus!- (Section on Back Stabilization).

© Bruce Thomson, EasyVigour Project
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