Low back pain and the S-curve

Can you blame your low back pain on the shape of your spine?

According to Ester Gokhale, a former back pain sufferer, the answer is yes.

When traditional therapies failed for this California-based acupuncturist, she began a search for answers. This search took her across the globe, to indigenous people who suffer little or no back pain.

What’s their secret? Gokhale believes their good fortune is linked to the shape of their spines, which look more like the letter “J” than the letter “S.”

So, she returned to the States and developed a method of exercises to pull her spine into a shape that resembled a J. Then her pain went away.

Could this method help you? Perhaps. Remember that the American lifestyle, which tends to be sedentary, leads to deconditioned muscles. Without strong muscles, especially core muscles, there is little to support our upright posture. This, of course, leads to back pain. So, check out Gokhale’s ideas, which were recently outlined on NPR.

Then get thee to a gym. Strengthening your postural muscles just might lessen your “S” curve and bring you the relief you are looking for.