The Myths around low back pain with Dr. Kieran O’Sullivan
Dr. Kieran O’Sullivan is a Physiotherapist, Clinician, Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Limerick. His research interests are pain & injury with low back pain specifically. This episode helps debunk a lot of unhelpful myths that plague back pain sufferers. Most of the template from today’s discussion comes from the research paper Back to Basics: 10 facts every person should know about back pain.
Firstly, we dive into the myth that low back pain is caused by ‘weak core muscles’. Dr. Kieran O’Sullivan dives into the helpful understanding around general strength without necessarily focusing on isolated ‘core activation’.
Next we investigate the myth around poor posture. A lot of people will hear lifting is bad for your back and slouching with cause strain, but Kieran highlights the importance of being comfortable when sitting and building up levels of tolerance for lifting anyway you feel necessary.
Lastly, our topics revolve around running with pain, effective treatment, unhelpful treatment and passive ‘hands-on’ methods. This is an eye opener from a lot of people and hopefully an empowering discussion.
Congratulations on listening to this podcast and starting your run smarter journey. The run smarter podcast is designed to help you build on your knowledge, so you can tackle all your running goals. Hosted by Brodie Sharpe with the mission to ‘bring clarity & control to every injured runner’. Firstly, gain the universal principles every runner needs to know by listening to the first podcast seasons. Secondly, find podcast topics tailored to your specific situation with either Brodie’s solo episodes, or special guest episodes. Lastly, execute on what you learn and transform into a stronger, healthier, SMARTER runner.
Relevant Links:
- Follow & contribute on the Run Smarter Podcast Facebook page
- You can also follow our instagram page for latest audio snippets, research and blog posts
- You can find Dr. Kieran O’Sullivan on Twitter here.
- Empowered Beyond Pain podcast here.
Other podcast episodes:
- Pain Science 1: Explaining pain for runners
- Pain science 2: Understanding Chronic pain for runners
- Addressing Common Running Misconceptions Part 1: Pain
