Brittany’s Story: From a Back That Locked Up After 15 Minutes to Daily Walks, Weekend Festivals and Lifting Again

Age: 34  |  Active in: Lifting 4 days a week, daily walks with her dogs  |  Condition: Low back pain and right knee pain  |  Care: Just over 4 months  |  Outcome: Walks up to 2 hours and lifts 4 days a week with no issues

The Problem

Brittany came to RXN Performance with low back pain and pain in her right knee.

The back was the bigger problem. She could barely walk for 15 minutes before it would flare up or lock up on her. That made a normal weekend hard. Festivals, events, a long day out with friends: all of it was on hold. Her lifting routine was on hold too.

What Brittany Had Already Tried

Nothing. Brittany had never tried any kind of care for her back or knee. She happened to stumble on RXN Performance, liked what she saw of our process, and decided to give it a shot.

What We Found in the Assessment

The back and the knee were where it hurt. They were not where the problem started.

In her movement assessment we found that her left hip did not move well. Because that hip was not doing its share, Brittany was shifting her weight onto her right side with every squat and every bend. Her right knee was taking the extra load. Her low back was picking up the slack for the stiff hip.

Where it hurts is not always where it starts. That is why every back case at RXN begins with a full movement assessment.

The Plan

Brittany’s care ran just over 4 months and had four parts:

• Fix the shift. We retrained her squat and hinge so her weight stayed even between both sides instead of dumping onto the right.
• Teach her core to work. We taught her to brace her core and, just as important, to move her core and her pelvis as separate pieces. When those two can move on their own, the low back stops doing jobs it was never built for.
• Calm the tissue and rebuild the range. Hands-on soft tissue therapy for the tight, irritated areas, plus exercises kept inside the range her back could handle. As her back got stronger, that range grew.
• Build it into real life. Everything was aimed at the walking, the long days out and the lifting she wanted back, through performance rehab.

The Turning Point

The first half of her care was tough. The changes were new and the back did not calm down overnight. Brittany trusted the process and kept showing up. Then the walks started getting longer.

The Outcome

Today, Brittany walks her dogs every day for at least an hour. On a long day out she can go 90 minutes to 2 hours with no issues at all. She spends her weekends at festivals and events with her friends. And she is back to lifting 4 days a week.

She got there in just over 4 months.

Why This Worked for Brittany

We did not chase the back or the knee. We found the stiff left hip and the weight shift behind them and fixed that. Brittany worked one-on-one with Dr. Ryan from her first assessment to her last visit, and she stuck with the plan through the hard part.

Could This Work for Your Back?

If your lower back pain or knee pain keeps coming back no matter how much you rest it, and it is keeping you from walking or lifting the way you want, a movement assessment is the right next step. We will tell you honestly what we find and what it will take.

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Written by Dr. Ryan Giniel, D.C., founder of RXN Performance in Uptown Dallas. More about Dr. Ryan →