Treatment of Back Pain

www.thebackpainproject.org One of the first things we look at when a patient comes to see us with back pain is their hamstring flexibility. The hamstring is a big, strong muscle group on the back of the thigh, and its job is to bend the knee. These muscles attach to the pelvis, and since the pelvis is basically the platform on which the lumbar spine sits, overly tight hamstrings can “lock down” and immobilize the pelvis, preventing it from moving normally. If pelvic movement is restricted, this can force the lumbar spine to try to “make up” for the missing movement and alter normal its movement patterns in the lower back, causing it to overwork and fail. In this way, tight hamstrings can overwork low backs. In this video we show you how to check your own hamstring flexibility as well as how to perform a doorway hamstring stretch if your range of motion is limited. NOTE All stretches should be reasonably aggressive without being painful, and this includes back pain. [My apologies for the camera work. I'll have a better camera operator next time!]