I don’t want to oversimplify things but, OK, never mind – I’m going to oversimplify things. When a new client comes to me and asks why their shoulders hurt, I immediately begin exploring their upper back strength.
Almost always, I can tell right away that their upper back is weak. Thus, their shoulders hurt because they’re being asked to do things they’re not supposed to do in order to compensate for muscles that aren’t doing their jobs. When a new client comes to me and asks why their lower back hurts, I go right to exercises that require strength and activation of the core, glutes, and hamstrings.
Almost always, I can tell right away that two of the three are weak and/or underactive. Oftentimes, it’s all three. Thus, their lower back hurts.
Now look, there are certainly times when I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly is causing pain. That’s what orthopedic doctors and physical therapists are for, and I have a shortlist of both to whom I refer clients when I can’t help them. Those instances are rare, though.
To review:
Pain is often a response to weakness.
Tightness is often a response to weakness.
Doing more stretching is not going to solve the underlying problem.
In most cases, following a well-designed strength training program will.
If that doesn’t work, then it’s time to see a doctor or physical therapist, but if you go that route, please take a couple of things into account:
If you tell your doctor, “It hurts when I do this…” and he or she says, “So stop doing that …” RUN … don’t walk … to another doctor.
There are patterns and planes of human movement that have been established over thousands of years. In my experience, nobody is such a unique snowflake that they should just erase one or more of them from existence.
Second, a doctor or therapist’s job is to help you live in such a way that you can move in these well-established patterns and planes of human movement until, quite literally, the day you die.
If they seem more interested in helping you sit comfortably in a chair, then it’s time to find another doctor or therapist.
Major Lesson of the Day – As with most things, the answer to a better, longer and higher-quality life is to get stronger and more active, not weaker and less active.
