When I met this client (let’s call him “D”), he complained of chronic upper back pain that forced him to actually take breaks from his work day.
After an evaluation that included a gait analysis (how he walks), we determined his feet were the problem.
Wait.. his feet impacting his upper back? Yes… let me explain.
When D walked, his feet turned out excessively. This movement means that the hip muscles (glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors) are not working to assist him while walking.
➡️ Those hip muscles are large muscle groups! They are designed on our body to assist the process of moving the leg behind you when you walk.
➡️ When this movement is not happening properly (like in D’s case), then the muscles of the lower back, midback and upper back then become “overworked”.
They are doing the job of muscles that are asleep at the wheel…
So we began our program working with D on his feet, knees and hip alignment.
A majority of his exercises were focused on getting his feet to face forward while he walked (thereby actually using his hip muscles), rebuilding his natural foot arch, stretching and strengthening the calves, strengthening the glues and getting the hips into proper alignment.
- Within 2 weeks D’s pain was reduced by more than 50%! WOW! 🥳
- These results proved our hypothesis that his pain was stemming from the weakness in his feet.
- After the intense work on his lower body, we have gradually also been working on his upper body positioning, strength and flexibility.
D reports being pain free, stronger, more flexible, and able to get through his workday with ease.
