3 Simple Tests You Can Do to Find the Root Cause of Your Low Back Pain

3 Simple Tests You Can Do to Find the Root Cause of Your Low Back Pain:

Back pain is extremely frustrating (and scary)!

And the harsh reality is that MOST people - around 80% of Americans - will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives.

And to make matters worse - MOST of you who experience low back pain will experience it again and again and again.

I don’t share this to be negative! I am sharing this because MOST of the treatments out there attack SYMPTOMS.

Things like Advil, back stretches, adjustments, massage, etc. are all great - have you tried any of these?

Because if you have then you already know that what I am about to say is true!

They’re great because they provide relief… 

But that relief is TEMPORARY.

And this fact is exactly why your low back comes back a few hours or days after using some of these strategies…

Because instead of addressing the root cause - the REAL reason your back pain started in the first place - you are managing symptoms.

And most of the patients we see in our physical therapy practice AMP Performance Rehab in Chester, NJ come in with the same issue - nobody ever addressed the root cause of their back pain.

Now before I show you the top 3 exercise positions our patients experiencing low back pain struggle with the most, I hope you and I can agree that getting to the root cause of low back pain is THE most important step to start your journey to full recovery!

WIth that, let’s get on with the show…

 The 3 Simple Tests You Can Do to Find the Root Cause of Your Low Back Pain:

1. 90/90 Hip Mobility Screen

What we know about low back pain is that one of the leading causes has to do with side-to-side differences in hip mobility. This one usually surprises people because a lot of physical therapists do NOT look at your hips when you have low back pain! This was the case with one of your patients David - he came to see us after going to a few other local PT and chiropractic practices. He loves running and lifting weights, but had to stop because his low back pain was getting worse and no one could help. He would feel better after getting regular adjustments and using the TENS electrical stimulation machine at PT, but his pain would come back the second he tried running or going to the gym. When David finally came to us we quickly realized that he had a huge difference in his left and right hip mobility that no one addressed…

And when we addressed this he was able to get back to running and lifting weights! 

We discovered this using the 90/90 Hip Mobility Screen you see here!

Do you have a noticeable difference on your left versus your right hip? Maybe one feels tighter or pinchy or you can’t even get into the start position? If yes, then there is a great chance your hip mobility needs to be addressed!

2. Prone Press Up Screen

This is a commonly prescribed PT exercise, but oftentimes it AGGRAVATES your low back. Why? Well… if you perform this exercise and feel a pinching or stiffening sensation in your low back then that is a sign that your low back pain is coming from too much pressure in that area. If this AGGRAVATES your low back then this is telling you exactly that! This exercise increases pressure in the painful area so you need to do things that reduce pressure in the low back and learn how to distribute load through your hips and core!

Just like David, we have another patient Laura who came to us with back pain anytime she bent backwards, picked up her daughter from the ground, and stood up from a chair. She was popping Advil because it seemed to dull the pain but it never fully resolved. After a few months of this she reached out to Dr. Monica, who was able to quickly identify that she simply had too much pressure in her low back. Dr. Monica was able to design a customized exercise program to help Laura resolve the issue so that she was able to pick up her daughter without issue!

Do you notice a pinch or stiffness in your low back when you do this? If yes, then you likely need to learn how to redistribute pressure to your hips and core!

3. Dead Bug Screen

The dead bug is an exercise that you can use to determine if you need to strengthen your core. To perform this, Lie on the ground and press your back flat against the ground. Now lift your hips and arms like you see in the video. Here comes the test: move the same side arm and leg away from each other WHILE keeping your back flat! 

Tough I know. But if this increases pain in your low back or you experience a lot of shaking in your body, then there is a great chance that you will benefit from specific core strengthening exercises!

As I’m sure you already guessed, I have another example of this! Just last week we had a new patient, Kelly, come in for a free consultation. They have been experiencing low back pain and pelvic floor issues after returning to the gym after pregnancy - they had been doing kegel exercises and some hip strengthening work like clamshells and bridges with their pelvic floor PT, but their low back and pelvic floor issues were not improving. At the discovery visit Dr. Monica used this screen to identify that her rehab was missing THIS important component - an individualized core program! We are excited to get started working with Kelly because we know that this is what’s been missing from her rehab plan!

I hope that you learned something valuable reading through this and going through the 3 tests to uncover the root cause of your low back pain.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there are DIFFERENT REASONS why any person might have low back pain,

Which is exactly why traditional treatments for low back pain do not typically work - because there is simply no one-size-fits-all strategy that will work for every single person!

This is exactly why we have a waiting list at our Chester, NJ physical therapy practice AMP Performance Rehab - because so many people have tried traditional methods to solve their back pain and none of them worked LONG TERM.

The main difference between our practice and most others is that everything we do is one-on-one with YOU and customized to YOUR individual needs. We just don’t believe that you can treat each and every person the same way.

For many of you reading this - you will likely be able to take the information learned in this article and have everything you need to help yourself… and that is AMAZING!

But there will be some of you reading this who will want more - specifically you will want more one-on-one guidance…

And because of that we are offering you a free discovery visit - this includes 3 things:

1. You get to come into our office and ask Dr. Monica any specific questions you may have

2. Dr. Monica will put you through our detailed Total Body Diagnostic assessment

3. We can discuss next steps about what your specific treatment plan will look like

Does that sound good?

If you’re unsure about whether the discovery visit makes sense for you, I can tell you who it is for and who it is not for:

A discovery visit is perfect for you if you truly value your health and are interested in learning and understanding WHY you have long standing pain even though you’ve tried a bunch of different treatments that have not helped you.

A discovery visit does NOT make sense for you if you are looking for a quick adjustment, massage, injection, or would rather take advil. If you spent time reading this article and going through the exercise positions shown then I’m sure you do not fall into this category :) 

When you click this link and request a Free Discovery Visit, our client care coordinator will reach out to you to schedule your appointment. She will also send over a free discovery visit preparation guide so that you know exactly what you can expect when you come in to meet with us.

To better health!

Shaun

—
Dr. Shaun Astorga, PT, DPT, OCS

Founder

AMP Performance Rehab

Chester, NJ

Text: 862-500-4735

www.ampperformancerehab.com

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