What Does A Bacon Sandwich Have to Do with Back Pain?

By Dr. Morgan Sadler

When I mention the word BLT. Most people immediately think of a nice fresh bacon sandwich with fresh lettuce and some local tomatoes on top; Definitely not back pain?! 

But I’m here to let everyone know that this phrase can be tightly linked to preventing back pain from even popping up in first place!

I like mnemonics, because they help us hold onto important information. And BLT is something that is huge with back pain prevention.

The B stands for bending. Now I’m by no means saying you should never bend over again. Tying our shoes, picking up the groceries, and even putting on our pants would be near impossible! But I am saying that bending can be a big movement that research shows kicks off back pain.

Its not the bending itself, but its how you bend. Dr. Sisson has covered this in past articles, and its all about positioning yourself the right way while you bend. The key here is not to necessarily focus on bending the knees a good bit while lifting, its more about keeping the chest up. By keeping your chest up as you bend, the lower back can be in a stronger more extended position and that’ll cut your back pain risk down significantly.

The L stands for lifting. This goes along with our last point. By getting our backs away from neutral while lifting or bending we increase the odds of hurting ourselves. So again, its not important to avoid lifting. Lifting is key to keeping up our strength and living life to the fullest. Its all about how we bend. We want to keep our chests up and keep the load as close as possible to our bodies. That is a simple mechanical trick to protect the back.

The T stands for twisting. Twisting has been shown to increase the odds of back pain. Usually this is when we’re lifting heavy loads. So, when doing daily activities feel free to twist, it’s a natural human movement. But when lifting the groceries, grandchildren, etc. its important to keep the spine neutral and simply move your feet. This is another simple, but highly effective tool I use with personal clients to protect their backs while enjoying life.

That’s it, I want to thank Dr. Sisson for letting me in on this guest column post today. As he says, movement is medicine!

P.S. If anyone reading today wants to get some more adjustments to protect their backs at home and work. Then click here to find our free 13 step check list to help prevent/improve back troubles!