We often times refer to the pain we experience in the lower part of our back as back pain when it could actually be a result of tight muscles and/or joints in the surrounding areas.
If you have a tight piriformis or psoas muscle (see diagram below), there is a good chance you may misinterpret that as back pain. These muscles get tight for a variety of reasons, most of which are little things we do consistently or on the daily basis like sitting for long periods of time in a particular position, standing for long period of time without shifting weight purposefully, repetitive motions like riding a bike or running without performing the supporting and opposing stretches necessary for keeping your body mobile and flexible.
I found this great video for relieving tightness in those surrounding muscles and/or joints - have a look!
And if you have been doing things like pigeon, figure 4 poses or succumbing yourself to actually lying on a kettlebell for relief, then you should definitely take some tips from this video with some new things to try!
Now, let's talk about lower back pain when it comes to working out.
One of the biggest culprits I have seen is kettlebell swings and this "lower back pain" is felt when doing these movements during a workout.
Here's a social media post from earlier in the week.
Do you like butts?
Yeah, me too, me too.
So, there is a thing out there in the workout world that we call a "muted hip" when it comes to kettlebell swings. If you are a member and you have it - you and I have talked about it. A muted hip will often times feel like a fired up lower back ("hot") or perhaps some discomfort on one side or the other when we do these RKB's or AKB's during our workouts. I found this video for you guys to watch, as it's probably the best one I have seen so far with techniques and tips that could really turn those swings around for you and put an end to that muted hip.
Couple of points to add to this is that perfecting your kettlebell swings not only translates into the booty, but it strengthens our hip flexors which allow us to squat better and if we squat better maybe other things stop hurting like our hips and knees. Check it out and let me know what you think!
If after the video you still can't quite get it, keep trying when you can (where it makes sense in your workout) but you can also go down in weight in you KB and swing just with one hand (alternating hands perhaps too) until you get it just right.