Patient Win: From "Frozen" Back to Hiking Mt. Tam

I recently worked with a local client in our San Rafael studio who loves hiking but had been sidelined by back spasms.

Every time they tried to hike an incline, their lower back would lock up. They were convinced they had a "bad back."

The Diagnosis During our assessment, I noticed that as soon as the client stepped up, they stopped breathing and braced their abs aggressively. They weren't injured; they were inefficient. They were using their spine to do the work their hips should be doing.

The Fix We used Graded Exposure.

• First, we trained the hip hinge pattern on flat ground (Green Light).

• Then, we added a step-up movement while maintaining a relaxed breath (Yellow Light).

• Finally, we added a weighted pack to simulate hiking conditions.

The Win Last weekend, they completed a 5-mile loop on Mt. Tam with zero back tightness.

Ready to feel good again? Book your Strategy Call.