There are some super common, and really unhealthy attributions to why you might have a problem. These comments medicalise things that are NORMAL and COMMON!!My core is really weak!?!
My glutes don’t work???
My pain comes from my scoliosis :O
My posture is really bad!?!
Let’s debunk these generalisations right now!!!
My core is really weak!?!
You’re not the only one with a core that needs to be worked on!
Yes, strengthening it does relate to improving back pain (and other) symptoms…
BUT
Having a weak core doesn’t cause back pain.
There are probably many different reasons why your back is sore, and commonly it’s because you’re overloading it. That’s not necessarily because your core is weak. We say this because there are many people that continue life with a weak core and go on without pain or discomfort.
If we find that your core can be worked on, it’s only because strengthening it has been shown to improve back pain, but it’s not necessarily why it’s sore in the first place. This might also explain why back pain occasionally returns even though your core is actually quite strong… It’s multifactorial!
My glutes don’t work???
I promise they do work, they might need to get stronger!
The next question is…
“So what if your glutes don’t work?”
Yes, if they don’t work well it might put extra load on other areas, and strengthening them might help, but I can assure you, your glutes do work, and if they didn’t you wouldn’t be able to stand up and walk!
Some people’s glutes just work better than others and occasionally they need to catch up in strength.
My pain comes from my scoliosis :O
The spine you have is the only spine your body knows… if you weren’t ‘told’ that you have a scoliosis, would you know? Would it matter?
People with scoliosis need to build strength everywhere just like everyone with a spine shaped like a pencil. It might just mean your structure might encourage you to move more one way versus another and all it means is that your movement and training needs to be multidirectional and well balanced.
Low and behold - so does everyone’s movement and training!!
My posture is really bad!?!
So?
Not everyone with bad posture has problems. There are theoretically perfect positions that allow people to have well balanced weight distributions through their spinal joints. If your posture is always bad and it’s the cause of your pain, then why don’t you have the pain all the time?
You’ve probably had bad posture your whole life…
It’s just your pattern of movement.
You don’t need to feel guilty for having bad posture. But if you want to improve it, we can work towards a theoretically good position, but it may not necessarily be related to your pain or problem.
The point here is…
You don’t have to be stuck with your problem just because of some excuse that someone convinced you is the cause of why your problem keeps coming back.
It’s a multi pronged approach that is required to help you long term and it’s important that we don’t blame an unchangeable part of us - there is nothing more disempowering..
As always, we’re here to help support you.
