As a CrossFit level 1 trainer with a 13-year physical therapy career and an interest in golf, running, skiing, and hiking, it’s fair to say that Dr. Jackson Bellis practices what he preaches when it comes to maintaining a healthy back.

Dr. Bellis is always challenging his own body and encouraging his patients to safely challenge their bodies to see what they can do.

“I really think we can make a big change in back health. And I think looking at the way we move, and the things that work and don't work, is a big piece of it,” he says.

Back health has everything to do with the way we move. Some of the most frequent patients who come into our offices are runners, golfers, and truck drivers.

And while their pain might have different causes, it all really comes down to movement, and a few go-to exercises can help almost any type of pain, Dr. Bellis tells us. It’s all about the hips, the abs, and the glutes.

Dr. Bellis shares actionable advice for how stretching and strength-training can serve as strategies to maintain and improve mobility.

Tune in to episode #40 of Back Talk Doc with Dr. Bellis to learn more about the tactics we should all be doing to help treat — and prevent — pain.

💡 Featured Expert 💡

Name: Jackson Bellis, DPT COMT

What he does: Dr. Bellis has been a physical therapist for 13 years, spending 10 of those years of service at Carolina Neurosurgery. He is also a certified orthopedic manual therapist (COMT) with experience in dry needling, selective functional movement assessment (SFMA), and titleist assessment. He enjoys CrossFit, running, golf, skiing, and hiking.

Company: Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates

Words of wisdom: “One thing my patients always say is, I did not realize how tight I was. I did not realize how weak I was. If we never really get to the point where we're trying to see what our body can and can't do, we may not be enjoying it to the fullest.”

Connect: LinkedIn ⼁Website

⚓ Anchor Points ⚓

Top takeaways from this Back Talk Doc episode 

★    Think backwards. When trying to figure out the source of pain and how to treat it, it can help to think backwards and treat with opposite movements. For example, if someone has pain from bending forward, laying down in an extended position can help take pressure off the nerve. Treatment can be active, “like on the ground in a cobra position” or passive. “It’s a way to test out and find out Hey, this was a disc."

★    It’s all in the hips. “Everything in life is through the hips,” Dr. Bellis tells us. Understanding how the hips work can also help us understand what causes pain, and figure out the right treatments. Learning how to properly bend at the hips and use the hips during exercise can keep your back healthy and prevent injury. How to use your hips to bend (VIDEO)

★    The bridge and plank are key to a healthy back. Whether it’s lower back pain, seated pain, walking pain, or pain from bending over, Dr. Bellis swears by these two exercises that activate the glutes and the abdominals. Doing it correctly can help control the neutral position of the spine. “I have never had a person come in here with back pain who could activate their abdominals and activate their glutes,” he says.

⚕️ Episode Insights ⚕️

[00:00] Check out our sponsor: QxMD builds mobile solutions that drive evidence-based medicine and clinical practice.

[01:38] Introducing Jackson: Today’s guest is our very own Jackson Bellis, a physical therapist and manager at Carolina Neurosurgery’s Matthews office who has been with us for 10 years.

[03:12] Flexion-sensitive disc pain: We open our Q&A with Dr. Bellis with a common condition that can lead to a herniated disc: radiculopathy, or the type of back pain that comes from bending over.

[06:10] Restoring confidence: Figuring out what went wrong in the first place is step one in physical therapy for patients with herniated discs, and the first step toward building the confidence to bend again. All that power, Dr. Bellis says, comes from the hips.

[7:34] How to hinge: Dr. Bellis discusses common hip faults and how to properly use our hips to bend.

[8:44] Think opposites: One tactic that can help identify a disc herniation and reduce pain is working in opposites: extending the body in the opposite direction in which the pain occurred, making sure to work slowly and gently. Dr. Bellis gives us some at-home tips.

[12:01] Staying on the course: With constant twisting and rotating, golfing may be one of the hardest activities on your back. Dr. Bellis tells us how using the hips and upper back can keep golfers healthy. Back Talk Doc discusses golf rehabilitation in-depth in a prior episode with Dr. Graham Claytor.

[13:46] Standing pain: The causes of lower back pain when standing or walking usually comes from spending too much time in a hyperextended position. Treatment differs from patient to patient. We discussed spinal stenosis with Joe Cheadle on episode 16 of Back Talk Doc.

[18:37] Sitting pain: Carolina Neurosurgery often sees truck drivers coming in with increased back pain. Sources and treatment of that pain can differ, from pelvis imbalance to a disc issue.

[23:10] SI joint pain (or Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction): Treatments as simple as daily leg extensions can help relieve sacroiliac joint pain, the pain from the joints where the hip bones and the sacrum meet.

[27:24] Keep the glutes active: Dr. Bellis shares his go-to glute exercises and explains how they can help the back, from relieving SI joint pain to strain from golfing.

[29:54] Essential exercises: Dr. Bellis recommends two exercises for anyone and everyone, with or without pain: the bridge and the plank. These exercises can lead to greater control of the spine. “Like we talked about, where does the power come from? Power comes from the hips.”

[32:51] The great hamstring debate: Is stretching our hamstrings really necessary? It depends on who you are and the type of activity you do every day. “When I'm meeting my average person to learn how to bend over [to load] the dishwasher, I can get that person to learn how to hip hinge pain-free without necessarily having to stretch their hamstrings.”

[35:58] Words of wisdom: Dr. Bellis shares his advice on challenging your body and paying attention to previous injuries.

 

Subscribe & Contact

👉 If you enjoyed this episode of Back Talk Doc, check out our recent episode Fact or Fiction: the Truth About Lumbar Spinal Injections.

🔎 For more information on Dr. Sanjiv Lakhia and the podcast visit BackTalkDoc.com.

🎧 Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Back Talk Doc is brought to you by Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, with offices in North and South Carolina. To learn more about Dr. Lakhia and treatment options for back and spine issues, go to backtalkdoc.com. To schedule an appointment with Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, you can call us at 1-800-344-6716 or visit our website at carolinaneurosurgery.com.