Lower back pain is the primary cause of musculoskeletal degeneration seen in the adult population, affecting nearly 80% of adults. Research has shown low back pain is predominant among workers in enclosed work spaces ( such as offices) as well as people who engage in manual labor. This is also common for workers who sit more than three hours at a time. Another very common theme is the U.S is knee injuries. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) occur annually in the U.S population. Approximately 70% of these injuries are non contact injuries. This comes as no surprise considering the lack of activity and increased obesity occurring in our country. Their are many causes of knee or back pain, but the majority of these non contact related injuries occurs from poor mobility in your hip complex. Poor posture and repetitive movements creates dysfunction within the connective tissue in the body. For example, if you spend the majority of the day sitting, your hip flexors will tighten up. Overtime this can pull your pelvis forward forming an arch in your lower back. This causes postural distress and overtime will lead to pain and injury. Most people will try to stretch out their lower back, when the should be stretching out their hip flexors. You can stretch your back all you want, but you wont be addressing the problem until you start lengthening your flexors. This will be the only way to get your pelvis back in its correct position and alleviate your pain.


  The same is true for the knee. Both hip and ankle flexibility play a major role in the knee and how it operates. People who spend long hours sitting or standing tend to have imbalances in both these areas. Pattern overload will cause inflammation and irritation to the ligaments of the knee. Once the pain has started, people either try to work thru it, which can cause more damage, or they try to avoid using it as much as possible, which further weakens the knee. The key to correcting this issues is fixing the imbalances that cause them. The human body needs to be stretched and strengthened. Range of motion is important to keeping the kinetic chain balanced. So if you have knee or low back issues, you should consider seeing a fitness professional that can asses your posture and movements and help prevent further injury and give you a program to address and correct this imbalances.




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