Exercises for stability at the base of the spine
(let’s not make this complicated!..)
Good for people with spinal stenosis, prolapsed discs, and Bertolotti syndrome—in short, anyone with a painful joint at the base of their spine.
I made this video for a brave client who’s been struggling with a (very!) painful back, and quite a few other issues, for a very long time!
There are many teaching points here, and it’s all easy to understand if you put your mind to it. (Enjoy!)
Video notes
Good for people with spinal stenosis, prolapsed discs, and Bertolotti syndrome—in short, anyone with a damaged joint at the very base of their spine.
Aim of the exercises
A stable (but not immobile) base of spine
Mobile hip joints
Mobile mid to upper spine
Strong muscles everywhere
Good posture and awareness according to the mnemonic TRA-S
The good posture in mnemonic
Most, if not all pain at the base of the spine can be managed and improved with posture and awareness strategies in fact I'd go as far as to say that these are the most important things I can share with you today.
My posture mnemonic
T for tall (or lengthening)
R for relaxed
A for aware
S for smooth movement
TRA-S is your posture mnemonic. Use it to become aware of, and improve your posture.
Tall and relaxed breathing
As a quick aside, while maintaining your tall and relaxed, practice breathing into your abdomen and the four lowest ribs
Exploring your movement boundaries
If you find and then stay within the boundary of your comfortable range of movement, you will never hurt yourself!
Over time, you can explore and gently push the boundary wider,
thus making possible what previously was not possible.
(You need TRA-S to find and explore your boundaries)