Lower Crossed Syndrome

Do you spend most of your day sitting, driving, working on the computer?  Do you NOT exercise CORRECTLY enough?   If the answer is yes, then you may have something called Lower Crossed Syndrome. LCS is a grouping of weak muscles (abdominals/glutes) and tight, over active muscles (hip flexors/lower back). These groupings create a predictable movement pattern in the low back that often leads to injuries not only in the back, but in the hips, knees and shoulders.  

For example, if you sit in a chair for eight hours a day, in time, your hip flexors will become shortened or tight.  Your brain will automatically start to shut down your glute muscles which are on the opposite side. Since your glute muscles are now not working properly, your body must recruit other muscles such as the hamstrings and low back to assist in movements that should primarily should involve the glutes.  When compensation occurs, injury is much more prevalent.

LCS, which is basically, Tight Hip Flexors and Tight Lower Back paired with Weak abdominals and Weak Glutes may look like this:






As you can see, this combination of muscle imbalances leads to an excessive arching of the lower back and rounding of the upper back, a flabby stomach and a flat butt. Not only does it look bad, but it places extreme stress on your lower back and prevents you from moving the way you were intended to.

So how do you fix this?
Foam Roll
Trigger points in your muscles may prevent them from working properly.  Foam rolling for 10-15 minutes a day could help break up these muscle adhesions.

Stretch your Hip Flexors.
Half Kneeling Lunge

Strengthen your core through stabilization exercises.  (Planks and Anti Rotational Movements)
Situps are not good if you have LCS. Sit-ups further recruit your hip flexors and add stress to your lower back. We want to prevent that. You need to practice being  in straight alignment, not hunched over.

Strengthen your Glutes:
Squats, Hip Bridges, Mini-Band Steps, Alternating Superman.




Please contact me if you have any questions!



Healthy Regards,


Rob Licata, BS, CSCS, TPI-CGFI
Bodyology Personal Training
www.bodyologypt.com