If you want to beat back pain without doctors and drugs you have to be willing to test different things out on your body. What I have been focusing on these last two weeks is how to test the Superficial Back Line for tension and potential hot points where dysfunctions could form. For you specifically, we are looking for how this posterior chain could be affecting the health of your back. I personally focus more on lower back pain but these techniques can be applied to pain throughout the entire posterior chain. Today, I want to show you how to address the feet when it comes to optimizing the tissue release it needs as well as a powerful test to demonstrate how over tight tissues can send negative signals up the rest of the body.
Testing The Feet For Lower Back Tightness
If you missed last weeks post we introduced the Superficial Back Line, what it is and how powerful of an effect it has on the lower back. If you missed it, don’t sweat it. You can check it out here. Today, we are going to dive a little deeper into your feet, the first place to start when it comes to releasing this Superficial Back Line. Most people trying to navigate their own back pain will start where it hurts. Their hamstrings are tight, so they start at the hamstrings. Their lower back feels tight, so they stretch the lower back. This is advice your standard doctor would prescribe but someone who studies human movement will tell you to start the furthest away from the sight of pain. That’s because they understand how the kinetic chain works.
To keep this message short and sweet let’s jump right in.
It all starts with your feet. We shove these things into leather, straight jackets and walk around assuming the shoes will fix any compensations or gate dysfunctions we may have. That’s just putting a band-aid on a symptom. The medical industry’s way of fixing foot problems like flat feet is to get arch supports in your shoes to help with the issue. This makes sense but if flat feet can be corrected through tissue work and strengthening, what is the insert doing to help FIX the problem? It seems to just be another band-aid if you ask me.
When addressing the entire posterior chain, let’s show the feet some love then test and see how powerful releasing these tissues can be.
In the video below I am going to go into detail on how to use a lacrosse ball, tennis ball or any kind of round tissue release tool on the foot. This video will prepare you for the test I am going to show you in the next video that demonstrates how powerful the tissues in your feet are.
Now that you know how to break up the tissue in your feet. Watch this next video before doing ANY release on your feet so you know how to test yourself. You want to know whether or not what you’re doing is worth your time. I have a cool way of testing exactly that.
To see whether this is going to be beneficial for you, start with one side then test the results. After doing the single side make sure to do the other side to even it out.
This test just further supports the impact our tissues have on the body as a whole. When you’re looking at back pain, not that every little thing applies to you but I want to give you the pieces for you to test yourself and tell whether or not this is something you need to explore further or not.
Let me know how this technique worked on you. Did you notice any relief on the side that you worked on compared to the side you didn’t?
Be sure to tell me about your experience in the comments below!
You never know how this simple tip could help someone you know. Be sure to hit the share button and show your friends!
Addicted to your health,
William
