How to Fix Low Back Pain
- Michael Zaronas
- Mar 11
- 3 min read
Let’s jump into 3 steps you should take to fix your low back pain!
Understand How the Spine Works
Identify the Causes of Pain
Train your Spine with Appropriate Exercises
1️⃣ Understand How the Spine Works…
God designed your spine like a s’more.
Yes, the two graham crackers with chocolate and a marshmallow in the middle.
In this example, the two graham crackers are your vertebrae, and the marshmallow is your disc (sorry, no chocolate!).
👉 When you’re standing straight in a neutral position, the forces (gravity, body weight) are pressing straight down on your spine.
Like squishing the s’more right in the middle. The marshmallow oozes out equally on all sides. Everything is peachy.
👉 When you round forward, the forces are now pressing on the front of your spine.
Like squishing the s’more on the front of the graham crackers. The marshmallow oozes out the back side.
The same principle holds true when bending your spine in all directions.
See this awesome visual below for a better illustration.
Now…rounding and twisting are not bad.
God designed your spine to be incredibly resilient.
It’s supposed to bend and move and do lots of different motions.
But - it DOES need to be strong enough to handle it…
2️⃣ Identify the Causes of Pain
Pain happens when your spine isn’t strong enough to handle these forces.
Pain happens when you’re moving your spine too much in one direction and not enough in the other directions.
The marshmallow is oozing out on one side too much, and you’re not pressing on the opposite side enough to ooze it back the other direction.
For example, I’ve worked with lots of people that have back pain when picking things up off the ground.
That pain is coming from too much loading on the front side of your spine and the disc is oozing out the back.
It is NOT WRONG to pick up things with a rounded back.
It’s TOTALLY FINE.
But your spine needs to be STRONG ENOUGH to handle it.
And your spine needs to be MOVED ENOUGH IN THE OTHER DIRECTIONS…
3️⃣ Train Your Spine with Appropriate Exercises
Once you know the type of motions that trigger the pain…
And what position your spine is in when it hurts…
Then that now gives us a starting place on the road to recovery.
🟠 Step 1: Light Movement in the Opposite Direction of the Pain
If your back is hurting when you round it forward…
then start with some light movement leaning backward.
Try some Cobras, Cat Camels, and Open Books.
🔵 Step 2: Load with Isometric Exercises
Isometric exercises build muscle tension in the target area without any dynamic (forward/backward) movement occurring.
It allows you to strengthen the muscles without re-triggering the pain.
Try some Planks, Dead Bugs, and Farmer’s Carries.
Then, load with Deadlifts and other variations.
🟢 Step 3: Load with Dynamic Exercises
You’re going to have to round your spine again at some point.
So it better be strong enough to handle it so that the pain doesn’t come back.
Try some Hyperextensions, Weighted Crunches, Side Bends, and Weighted Rotations.
NOTE: The key is to load the spine and progress up in weight over time. That’s what builds strength.
Hope this helps!
Obviously - this is not medical advice for your specific situation, so take this knowledge and apply it to yourself!
Schedule to meet with me here and I’ll help troubleshoot your back pain!
Michael Zaronas, CPT
Owner, Head Coach
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