Lower Back Pain
Does that sound familiar?
Statistics show that almost 80% of society suffers from lower back discomfort (pain) during their lifetime. There are many underlying reasons why you or someone you know has a lower back issue.
In our practice over the last 15 years we have found out that many of our clients could easily avoid lower back pain by adjusting a few crucial things.
Our society spends most of its time during the day in a seated position (sitting in the office, sitting in the car, sitting in front of the TV, sitting everywhere).
If you examine the position in which you sit, you can easily come to the conclusion that our hips (hip flexors) remain bent (shortened) for a greater part of the day.
Remember that our body adapts to what it is forced (trained) to. If the hips stay bent, muscles responsible for hip flexion (illiopsoas, quadriceps) will eventually become shorter which can adversely influence opposing muscle (lower back muscles). Tension created by lower back muscles on the spinal cord (discs) can easily lead to discomfort and pain. Furthermore, it can lead to a herniated disc, pinched nerve, or pulled muscles.
We have seen clients who pulled their back muscles by picking a piece of paper off the floor.
How To Avoid Lower Back Pain
- Strengthen your abdominal muscles: Weak abdominal muscles can create imbalance between the front and the back of your spine leading to potential injury. Core training is a must at the beginning stages of your program.
- Lose weight: Extra weight around your midsection (belly) can significantly increase tension placed on your spine. Losing excess of weight will keep your lower back from taking the unnecessary stress.
- Train the muscles responsible for your good posture (posterior chain). Strengthen your back muscles (lats, rhomboids, lower traps, gluts)
- Stretch the muscles that are shortened (hip flexors, calves, pectorals)
- Lift weights with the correct form. This applies especially to squats, dead lifts, over head presses, or simply lifting up your child or grocery bag. Use your legs not your back.
- Swim. Swimming is a great exercise to improve low back issues. Water gives you low resistance on the joints and at the same time massages you.
- Stay balanced while carrying heavy objects (sofa, TV set, dumbbell etc) Keep the weight close to your body and do not allow the object to force you to carry it slouched to the sides.
- Sleep in the correct position. Sleep on your side with knees slightly bent. You could place a small pillow in between your knees which will keep the hips in their natural position and decrease the tension on the spine. Try to avoid sleeping on your stomach or back. It puts stress on the spine.
Exercises To Help Alleviate Your Back Pain
Exercise Description
isometric abdominal
Classification
Core (body weight)
Instructions
- Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent.
- Hollow out your stomach by sucking in your abdominal muscles.
- Tighten abdominal muscles in this position.
- Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat.
Exercise Description
Plank
Classification
Core (body weight)
Instructions
- Start by placing your forearms on the ground and forming a plank with your forearms and feet.
- Hold this position keeping your body parallel to the ground for the required time.
Exercise Description
Alternating Superman
Classification
Lower Back
Instructions
- Lie face down on floor with arms extended overhead. You may place a rolled towel under forehead to clear face from floor.
- Raise right arm and left leg 4-8 inches off floor.
- Lower and raise alternate opposite arm and leg. Remember to keep head and back in a neutral position. Shoulders and hips should remain squared throughout movement.
Exercise Description
Opposite Arm Opposite Leg Raise
Classification
Lower Back
Instructions
- Start by placing yourself on your hands and knees.
- Slowly raise your opposite arm and opposite leg and extend them out away from the body.
- Return to the starting position and repeat with the other side.
- Repeat for the required repetitions.
- Always keep this movement slow and controlled.