The connection between low back pain and walking may seem an unusual one. We often associate prolonged sitting or standing with low back pain and until recently, I certainly would have questioned the link if I had not worked out the cause to my own chronic back stiffness.
We all get aches and pains from time to time but sometimes these aches and
pains hang around. Muscles that are chronically stiff, tight, achey, or weak can cause ongoing pain for an individual.
I don’t know how many times I hear people say, “I really need to work on my core strength,” or “my trainer says I need to activate my core more.”
Do we really need to be so obsessed with our core? How important is a strong core and good posture in avoiding back pain and stiffness?
Recently I had the pleasure of treating a lovely 86-year-old post-polio survivor. For as long as she could remember she had been experiencing debilitating muscle cramps all over her body which have become progressively worse as she has gotten older. The cramps had become so bad she had become afraid to leave the house.
The often-crippling pain of plantar fasciitis presents at the base of the heel. In the early stages the pain is often described like a bruised bone, or feeling like you have a small stone underfoot. There can be a dull aching pain if you’ve been on your feet for a period of time, or a tightness in the arch of the foot.
