Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

STOP Doing THIS for Low Back Pain

Feb 6, 2025

Brendan Backstrom, a passionate advocate for overcoming low back pain, has developed a transformative program to gradually strengthen lower back muscles. He challenges the conventional wisdom that back pain is permanent, emphasizing a proactive approach to recovery. Brendan discusses how traditional treatments often overlook the lower back itself, leading to dependency. He encourages listeners to rebuild strength through simple exercises and a holistic understanding of their bodies, highlighting the importance of empowerment in the healing process.

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ANECDOTE

Dr. Berg's Back Pain Story

Dr. Berg suffered from lower back pain and sciatica for years after a weightlifting injury.
He found relief through Brendan Backstrom's program, prompting this podcast interview.

INSIGHT

Protecting vs. Building the Back

The common belief is that the lower back should be protected, not strengthened.
Brendan Backstrom challenges this, highlighting the lack of focus on lower back strengthening in traditional core training.

ADVICE

Gradual Back Strengthening

Rebuild lower back strength slowly, focusing on tissue tolerance, not muscle strength.
View recovery as a dial, gradually increasing intensity over time.

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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.