Justin G. Walls, Certified Personal Athletic Trainer

Back pain can present in a few different ways, which we had discussed in a previous post . Today we are dealing with the iliopsoas and how dysfunction in this muscle can present as back pain The iliopsoas is involved in hip flexion, but due to its insertion at the 12th vertebrae of the thoracic spine and first through fifth lumbar vertebrae, it is better classified as a postural stabilizer. The psoas hooks up to the lowest part of the back and then extends down to the lesser trochanter on the medial side of the femur. This means that an irritated psoas can be felt from your lower back and buttock all the way down to the middle of your inner thigh. That's a big pain and you know where you will feel it! Psoas tendonitis can be caused by shortening the muscle due to anterior pelvic tilt (does your booty look like J.Lo?), overuse (too may hills during a run or just too much running/walking), or poor posture (are you really supposed to bend over that way?). The simplest way...

The NY Times  has an article from this week about training with kettlebells, and how successfully training with them can reduce back pain by training the posterior core muscles that are often weakened by long hours of leaning of desks and computers at work. The best exercise for relieving back pain is the Kettlebell Swing: When the Swing is executed correctly, it incorporates every posterior chain muscle, loosens tight hip muscles, and improves abdominal strength. The back is kept straight through the movement and the head is always 'looking down field'. Knowing the correct weight and proper form are important to correct execution of the Kettlebell Swing requires some flexibility and patience with getting the form. 

No, the question is not absurd! Some of issues related to waist size cannot be solved by dieting or even regular "exercise" such as running, hiking, or biking. Let's discuss the "belly" problem, frankly: 1. Large and flabby - if the abdomen protrudes beyond the bottom if the ribs AND it jiggles quite a bit as you move, then you may have a water and mineral retention issue. Usually this is the result of too much salt and plain flour in the diet. Sodium is stored in the abdomen until it passes through the kidneys and excreted. Until that time, it surrounds itself with water near the suprailiac (a.k.a. "love handles"). Solut ion: Drink more water, sweat more, and limit salt intake from 500-1000 mg per day. 2. Large and firm- If the abdomen is protruding but doesn't jiggle, then most of the fat is sticking to organs and not skin. Jiggly fat is subcutaneous fat, which is just below the skin and burns up faster. Hard fat is viscer al fat , which s...