Lower-back pain is miserable and all too common: roughly experience it at some point in their lives.聽But widely accepted methods of coping with that discomfort, like avoiding exercise, might actually make things worse.
鈥淵our body is designed around short-term survival instincts, so when you have pain, you try to avoid it,鈥 says , a British Columbia鈥揵ased physical therapist,聽trainer, and cofounder of聽. It might seem logical to avoid exercise-related discomfort by eliminating certain movements altogether. But this can propel you into a cycle of inactivity, leading to weaker muscles and more soreness and pain over time, he explains. To break the cycle, you have to train, even if it hurts a little鈥攊t鈥檚 one of the best things you can do for the lower back.
If you鈥檝e sworn off deadlifts and bent-over rows, it鈥檚 time to get reacq