Eric Goodman: Resolving Back Pain – LiberatedBody.com
Even though he was considered conventionally “strong” Eric Goodman was a broken down mess at 25 who had major spinal surgery recommended to him. The creation of the Foundation Training is the culmination of figuring out how to heal his injuries and back pain himself using his anatomy and chiropractic training. We talk about our super compressed modern bodies and what that means for us, what the posterior chain is and why rehabilitating its functional strength and integration matters, how outdated our conventional notion of the core is- and what “core” actually means, and how it’s possible that an x-ray of Eric’s spine today would still show a big old mess there, and yet he is pain free.
Listen to the Podcast here: Liberated Body
Show notes:
The major back surgery that was recommended to him at 25. How he used to have the conventionally “strong” body but was so broken down. Foundation Training is the culmination of 8 years of figuring out his back injury himself using his anatomy and chiropractic training.
The spine and hips should the strongest part of your body rather than the spine being the main mover of the body which is what many people are doing these days.
The modern body is super compressed- we are losing the war against gravity terribly. What about the digestive issues, the depression, the mood issues- these are just other forms of compression.
Posterior chain inside jokes ensue.
Defining the posterior chain and why to focus on it in the modern body. The deep front line- the anterior chain is not supporting us and connecting well.
Posterior chain integration is key- most people need their posterior chains to get a lot stronger and a lot longer in order for their lives to get better.
The notion of the core as outdated: A contracted abdomen literally pulls you into a ball- shoulders as well.
When the abdomen lengthens and learns to hold tension the lower back lengthens and learns to hold tension, and the posterior chain then starts to integrate.
Redefining the core- it is the center of your body. This, skeletally, is your pelvis. Your core musculature is anything that supports your pelvis in space.
Next book isn’t just on back pain but on the larger cultural problem of compression.
Trying to get the body back to tensegrity. Foundation Training is pure muscular counterbalance.
How and why simplicity gets overlooked- the bias towards complex procedures.
How an x-ray of his spine today would still show the degeneration, yet he doesn’t have pain. Explaining to people how that’s possible.
He describes his extreme diagnosis.
If you think that you’re going to control an injury without addressing the environment around that injury, you’re wrong.
The communication between the neurotransmitters in the digestive tract and the neurotransmitters in your brain have a lot to do with how much pain you experience. The body is this infinite web of communication.
Western medicine might be the most important thing in the world when it comes to emergency situations, but it might be the wrong group to give us advice on daily living.
Doctors are groomed to be elitist- they are not arrogant, but they are groomed to believe that the information they have is much more significant than the information coming from others. And they have extremely valuable information, but they are in a system the suffocates them. And they have learned how to fix, not how to prevent.
It’s a huge mistake to have to become unhealthy to learn about health. (as doctors do in their grueling medical training)
Self-care is so much more significant to society than healthcare. If patients started realizing their ability to take care of themselves it would free up so much time and energy in our healthcare system.
Eric’s current interest in using a slackline to play with balance, and getting really strong and healthy in your core (and everywhere).
Source: LiberatedBody.com