When Brendan Backstrom was faced with low back pain at an early age, he refused to accept that chronic pain would plague his daily life. In this interview, find out about Brendan’s program that has worked for so many people to effectively strengthen their lower back and eliminate lower back pain.
The typical prognosis for low back pain is that you can’t ever completely resolve it. If you have low back pain from injury, you just have to learn to cope with it and accept it.
After injuring his lower back at 21, Brendan did not want to accept that lower back pain was something he’d just have to deal with. The culture surrounding the lower back says that it needs to be protected, not built or rebuilt. Brendan quickly learned that no technique or lifestyle is safe enough to protect the lower back from injury or re-injury.
The standard approach is that the core protects the lower back. Conservative treatment for a spinal injury focuses on everything in the core except for the lower back. With this approach, many people become more sensitive, vulnerable, and disempowered after a lower back injury.
Brendan developed a program to help people slowly and safely develop a strong back. He stresses the importance of rebuilding slowly and viewing recovery as a dial rather than a light switch.
Brendan teaches people to get reacquainted with their lower back. “You can build your own back brace,” Brendan says. Brendan’s technique not only strengthens the muscles of the lower back but also increases circulation to the spine, stretches the fascia, and decreases friction around the nerves.
Brendan explains that sciatica can be tricky to resolve but not impossible. He focuses on slowly strengthening muscles along the sciatic nerve. One of the best features of Brendan’s program is that he attempts to avoid pain.
Three years ago, Brendan experienced chronic SI joint pain in his lower back that affected his everyday life. His problem became so severe that it affected his whole body. Brendan continues to do traditional lifts such as squats but never neglects the lower back.
Brendan’s program isn’t something you’ll complete quickly. His plan takes around 1 to 2 years and can help you remodel the deepest part of your body to overcome lower back pain. His program operates on a “pay what you can” model to make it affordable for everyone.
