Recently, I received the following text from a 21 year old college student.
“My back is in so much pain! Is there something I can do to help it feel better?”
Janelle is in college several hours away, and there wasn’t much I could do directly to help her.
However, there was much that she could do herself.
I have worked with Janelle before and am familiar with the patterns of myofascial restrictions in her body. I am also familiar with her ability to do some effective myofascial self treatment and was hopeful that we could find something to get her out of crisis.
She has given me permission to share some of her story.
*Spoiler alert* Her back is feeling much better and she is quite proud of herself for the work she has been doing all by herself to improve things 🙂
Why Was The Back Having So Much Trouble?
To begin, it is always helpful to have a sense of what is happening in the body that is causing so much pain in the back.
When I asked what was going on, Janelle shared the following:
My back is so messed up! We took the 4 wheelers out yesterday evening, and then it started getting pretty bad last night. It was terrible this morning and has continued throughout the day.
When walking, when my foot goes forward, I can feel the hip rotation and the pain just follows it through.
If I’m standing straight, it’s a dull pain, but then when shifting weight it has more of a sharp shooting pain. Same sharp pain if I’m standing on just one leg. Bending over without any support hurts like crazy too. I can’t extend my arms with more than about 2 pounds. Can’t really stand up straight with “proper” posture. And sitting with a straight back is a no-no.
Ah.
That bit of information helped a lot.
4 wheeling in St. George means a LOT of bouncing around and bracing in the body.
I work with many clients who vacation to the Southern Utah area, spending several days in the back country on ATVs and UTVs and 4 wheelers.
I ALWAYS recommend a “tune up” and check in for their body when they get back! It’s just good care for the body.
For Janelle, the bouncing and bracing was too much for a pelvis that was already prone to misalignment.
We were both familiar with the tendency her body has of a forward rotation of her pelvic bones, and she wondered if the 4 wheeling had caused that to become more pronounced. Wondered if things were “jammed” in her back.
It was a good awareness on her part.
I asked her to send me some pictures to help me assess.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
I have worked with a lot of clients with back pain. And every single one has some sort of similar misalignment happening in their pelvis.
Janelle was shocked to see visually how “slanted” her pelvis looked, like it had created a love handle on the right. There was also a sense of rotation that she could feel and we both could see.
NO WONDER HER BACK WAS HURTING!
How To Help Back Pain When There Is A Pelvic Misalignment
You can likely see in the picture that Janelle’s pelvis is not under her shoulders and that one hip is higher than the other. These issues needed some help.
But the bigger issue was getting her back out of the spasmed state it was in.
That happens most frequently by simply lying on a flat firm surface, usually the floor, with the feet bent or the legs on a chair – and allowing the spine and pelvis to settle.
It is NOT trying to relax.
It is NOT trying to stretch.
It IS sinking into the feel of support under the spine, allowing the body to unclench any protective bracing (this can feel achy).
It IS simple.
1st – Help Ease Any Spasms In The Back
This alone did much to ease the trouble Janelle was having. So much so, that she slept for a few nights with her legs elevated on a pillow.
Not only did this ease much of the pain coming from back spasms, but it also started to correct the lateral shift in the pelvis.
Which led to the other thing she could do to help herself.
2nd – Correct Rotations and Shifts In The Pelvis
There are a variety of ways to work with myofascial release self treatment to correct shifts and torsions in pelvic alignment.
For Janelle, this included opening some space between her ribs and hips so her pelvis could begin to self correct.
She did this primarily by lying on her side, with a pillow underneath, softening in her body while gravity and time did most of the work.
Eventually, she also spent some time lying on her stomach, with a pillow under her hips to help open through the low back area.
Watch a guided mini session here to learn more about easing back pain
Overall, Janelle spent about 15 minutes a day working with myofascial release self treatment to create space for her body to self correct.
The back pain eased after the first several days, and after a few weeks, she sent me this picture.
There is a noticeable difference!
Helping Back Pain Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated
I see clients every day who are amazed at how simple it can be to ease the aches and pains in the body. Sometimes that means working with a myofascial release therapist for a bit. Sometimes things can be addressed through effective at home myofascial release self treatment.
Regardless, if there is a twist, rotation, or torsion in the pelvis . . . there is going to be trouble in the body somewhere.
Often that is in the back.
If you could use some specialized help, use the form here to reach out about a FREE consultation.
It truly can be simple.
It might take some time and some consistent help and self treatment, but it truly is simple.
