Bad Back Exercises & Stretches
Now as strange as this may seem, and although I try to be a prime example of fitness and health, I have been spending the last 2 years recovering from a slipped disc operation. Anyone who has experienced a slipped disc will be able to vouch for me that it is extremely painful and I would hate to see anyone go through what I did. Especially when you realise that in most cases it is easily avoidable.
Causes
So what causes it? It is impossible to give one definite reason why peoples’ backs tend to give. There are many causes but you maybe surprised to know that most people with back related problems will tell you that the movement that caused their problem was very small and usually using a twisting motion that set the initial pain off. It seems so silly that such a small movement can cause such a big injury. Well, perhaps not when you consider that for the most part we are all setting ourselves up for serious back pain just by the way we lead our lives.
It isn’t just those doing physical jobs that are singled out for back problems, oh no, office workers are just as vulnerable – especially if they lead quite a sedentary lifestyle out of office hours. The constant sitting shortens key muscle groups that have a direct effect on our backs. When these muscles are shortened we become perfect sitting machines, however when we come to stand these shortened muscles don’t stretch enough. But of course we stand anyway causing the muscles to pull and put a lot of pressure on the areas they join. In this case they join all around the pelvis and lower back area. Team this up with weak opposing muscle groups that can’t hold our posture in the correct position and you have massive pressure all directed to the lower back. For a lot of us it is just a matter of time before the back has no choice but to just give up.
Solution
Well, it would be difficult to say that there is a cure as everyone’s situation is different and this could happen to even the fittest of you out there. But you give yourself a much better chance if you concentrate on good posture, stretching and exercises that will help to get all the problem muscles to the lengths and strengths they should be. You need to exercise and stretch to make up for all that sitting you do. If you add up all the hours that you sit you might get an idea why your back may ache and why stretching could be the solution.
In my next post I will take you through the first stretching technique which will help to lengthen your hamstrings (back of the thigh) and calf muscle (back of the lower leg) both key lower back pain contributors.
Disclaimer
As everyone is different I have to cover myself and make it clear that this advice is not suitable for everyone. If you are suffering from a bad back then get it properly checked out by a doctor or better still a back specialist before you take on any exercise or stretching. There are many causes of bad backs and not all of them are directly muscle related. Please be careful when you stretch, don’t take it too far.
