diff --git a/posts.yaml b/posts.yaml index e175580..f97bdc8 100644 --- a/posts.yaml +++ b/posts.yaml @@ -1,3 +1,7 @@ +- file: posts/posture.md + title: Posture + time: 2017-08-16T13:30:00Z + description: "The story of how I (mostly) overcame back pain, and advice for others suffering from it" - file: posts/some-upcoming-crazy-thoughts.md title: Some Upcoming Crazy Thoughts time: 2017-07-16T13:30:00Z diff --git a/posts/posture.md b/posts/posture.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6165aa --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/posture.md @@ -0,0 +1,136 @@ +About five years ago, I decided to start working out at home since I +wanted to get in better shape. About three years ago, I got more +serious about it as I realized my health was slipping (specifically, +recurrence of asthmatic symptoms after 20 years of being clear). But I +only started weight lifting 1.5 years ago, and the reason was simple: +back pain. + +Like many people in our industry—our industry being the "sit in +front of a computer all day" industry—I suffered from chronic +lower back pain. I'd been having problems with it on or off since I +was a teenager (yeah, I was sitting in front of a computer then +too). But over the preceeding few years, it got significantly worse. I +had many episodes of waking up unable to get out of bed without +significant pain. I had a few cases of my spine turning S-shaped for +days on end, unable to stand up straight at all. + +I have a strong family history of back pain. Like going bald, I'd +taken it as a given for many years that this would happen. I went to +an orthopedist, who prescribed painkillers. And that could have been +the rest of my life: regular pain, popping pills, waiting to see if +I'd kill my liver with the pills before something else got me. And +most likely, inactivity due to back pain could have led to plenty of +other health problems. + +Today is a different story. I won't claim that I'm totally back pain +free—problems still crop up from time to time. But the +debilitating level I had previously is gone. And when some negative +event occurs (like getting knocked down and back slammed by a wave +this Sunday), I'm far more resilient to the damage. I'm writing this +blog post since I strongly believe many of my friends, family, +colleagues, and general fellow programmers suffer terribly from back +pain, when they could greatly improve the situation. I'll tell you +what I've done, and what I continue to do. + +If you suffer from back pain, I strongly recommend you consider being +proactive about it. Feel free to take my experiences into account, but +also do your own research and determine what you think is your best +course of action. There is unfortunately—like most things in the +health world—quite a bit of contradictory advice out there. + +## Two pronged approach + +From my research, I decided that there were likely two things I could +do (outside of pill popping) that I could do to improve the situation +with my back: + +* Improve the muscles in my posterior chain (lower back, glutes, + hamstrings) to better support my spine +* Change the way I was moving my back, though I didn't really + understand yet how + +The first bit is easy to explain. I'd been doing bodyweight workouts +at home until then, which—according to +[the program I was following](http://www.startbodyweight.com/), don't +really offer a good alternative to the deadlift for posterior chain +work. That's why I switched to +[Stronglifts 5x5](https://stronglifts.com/) and put a large emphasis +on the deadlift, also focusing on stabilizing my core a lot during the +squat. + +I'll be honest: I threw my back out badly a few times on the squat. I +almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't. I (finally) figured out how I was +misusing my back on the exercises, and now can squat and deadlift +almost twice the weight that had previously thrown my back out. I +consider it a huge success. + +In addition to the muscle improvements, the other takeaway is: +__lifting weights taught me how to use my back in a safer way__. + +## Posture + +But now on to the (for me) more complicated bit. I watched tons of +YouTube videos, read articles, browsed forums, and spoke with doctors +and chiropractors about proper posture. The problem is that there are +different schools of thought on what it means to stand or sit +correctly. From my reading, the most contentious point comes down to +pelvic tilt. To demonstrate visually: + +Pelvic tilt + +There's a basic question: should your pelvis tip slightly forward, +slightly backwards, or be neutral (perfectly vertical). As far as I +can tell, the most mainstream opinion is a neutral pelvis. I'm always +nervous to give anything close to health advice, especially contrary +to mainstream opinion, so instead I'll say: I found a lot of success +with the [Gokhale Method](http://gokhalemethod.com/), and specifically +Esther's book "8 Steps to a Pain Free Back." + +The reasoning Esther uses to arrive at her conclusions is solid to +me. Analyzing the shape of the vertebrae, and specifically the L5-S1 +joint, does make a good case for the pelvis needing to be slightly +anteverted. In addition, I buy her argument of the source of back +pain being the predominance of slouching introduced in the western +world in the earlier 20th century. The evidence of more uniform +posture among cultures unexposed to this slouching epidemic, and their +relative lack of back problems, is compelling. + +I won't try to describe the method here; her book and YouTube videos +do a better job than I ever could. I will, however, comment on some of +the takeaways that I try to keep in mind throughout the day: + +* Keep the spine in a stretched position as much as possible +* Stack the bones: try to ensure that your weight is being distributed + down your spinal column, through your pelvis, and down your legs, + instead of relying on your muscles or (worse) joints to keep you + stable + +Keep in mind that this is not an overnight change. You'll need to +practice better posture and get it to the point of muscle memory. I +think it's worth every second of investment you can give it. It's not +worth living your life in pain, afraid to move, and constantly doped +up. + +## Why now? + +Two things happened this week that made me want to write this blog +post. I took my kids to the beach on Sunday, and as I mentioned above, +got knocked down hard by a wave, which twisted my back in a bad +angle. For the next few seconds that I was under water, absolute fear +went through my mind. "Oh no, did my back just go out? How am I going +to drive the kids home? How will I work this week? What if one of the +kids gets pulled under the water and I can't save him/her?" + +The wave subsided, my feet touched the floor, I stood up... and +everything was fine. I know in my bones (hah!) that that kind of +impact would have put me out for a week just a few years ago. I'm +sitting at my desk typing this now, after having done a deadlift +session in the gym, and everything is fine. + +Yesterday I took a trip to the doctor (not the topic of today's +post). I sat in the patient's chair in his office, and noticed +that—contrary to prior visits—I was sitting perfectly +upright. I hadn't thought about it. The chair wasn't really well +designed either: using the back support would have required leaning +back and no longer remaining straight. It was a minor victory, but +I'll take it. diff --git a/static/pelvic-tilt.jpg b/static/pelvic-tilt.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c133ef Binary files /dev/null and b/static/pelvic-tilt.jpg differ