The Good News
The good news is that by doing back exercise in the right
way, sufficiently often you
can keep your back healthy and strong.
There is a variety of exercises that help. Many are
simple and can be learnt by anybody with a bit of practice.
So even if your back already hurts, or is strained, there is
a good chance that you can make it better.
Note:
If you're already sick, or your back really hurts
and you think you've injured yourself, go and see your
doctor, or a health practitioner. Also read our disclaimer
before you attempt any exercise.
The Not-So-Good News
If
you don't exercise reasonably regularly, especially as you
age, the muscles supporting and surrounding your back will
get weaker and stiffer over time.
Then these muscles won't be able to work well enough when
you most need them to - when you put a strain on your back.
It's then much more likely that your will injure your
back when you do place a strain - even a small one - on it.
Your back can get injured from an action as simple as
reaching for something on your desk. More frequently
it's from a more obvious strain such as lifting something
heavy, especially if your posture is bad as you do it.
Back Exercise vs.
General Exercise
In some respects its hard to distinguish between back
specific and general exercises, because your spine is so
intimately connected with the rest of your body.
For example, swimming is a great, general 'whole-of-body'
exercise, because it combines aerobic and strength aspects,
whilst being low impact. You can push yourself as hard as
you want with very low probability of injury and minimal
stress on your joints.
The point is that swimming is a general exercise that
will help your back because it activates, strengthens and
loosens many of the surrounding muscles.
The Basics:
Every bit of exercise counts and
every bit you do gives you a benefit.
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Walking is a great for you.
-
Walk whenever you can. Walk up hills,
walk up the stairs instead of taking the lift. Go for a
walk in the mornings before work, go for a walk in the
evenings after work.
Walk
as soon as possible after you have hurt your back,
even if it hurts a bit. Your goal is to get mobile again as
quickly as you can.
-
If you work at a desk, help your back by
getting up and walking around every 20 minutes or so,
even if its just just for 30 seconds or so.
-
Do 5 push ups when you have a spare
moment. (if you can do 25 during the day, that will
really make a difference). if you can't do 5 do 3.
Women generally it easier to do push ups
balancing on their knees, rather than their feet. If you
don't want to do a push up lying down do one leaning against
a wall at 45 degrees
The more you exert yourself, the more your
body adapts to it.
In some respects your body is like your car.
If you use it regularly and look after it, it is likely to
be reliable and serve you well. Neglect it for long periods
and don't service it and you're asking for trouble.
• Your body likes variety.
Just like you, your body gets bored.
Exercising the same way all the time not only bores you, but
allows your body to coast and stop developing.
• Exercise whenever you get the chance.
It's fine to do small amounts of activity.
Your goal is to do about 30 minutes exercise each day.
• Aerobic exercise
This develops your heart and lungs and
endurance. To progress your aerobic development, 20 minutes
continuous exercise at an elevated heart rate is required.
You only need 3 aerobic, exercise sessions
per week to give your body all the exercise it needs.
Making
A Start
Specific back exercises are those which work
on muscles closely associated with your back. Some
favourites are as follows:
- Yoga -Corpse
stretch, Cat stretch, Wind-releasing pose, Sage twist,
Palm tree, Fish pose , Locust , Bending forward posture
- Pilates - The hundred, Spine stretch forward,
The rollup, The saw, Spine twist, Ballerina arms
- Stretching - Hamstring stretch, Lower back
stretch, Middle back stretch, Upper back stretch
- Using an Exercise ball - Back arch, Back
floor press, Ball squats
- Strengthening - Front lying chest lift,
Double knees to chest, Sit ups, Pelvic tilt, Stomach
leg lifts, Curl ups & Oblique curl ups.
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Here's a one leg hamstring
stretch.
Go here for more hamstring
stretches.
When
I started getting problems in my lower back, I
developed a routine including sit ups of various
kinds, leg lifts, trunk curls and yoga to build up
my stomach and core abdominal muscles that play an
important role in supporting the lower back.
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To
strengthen your back, get into the habit of doing your back
exercises every day. This is a lifestyle you're
creating for yourself, not a quick fix.
Look I used to be a creaky,
stiff 35 year old with a dodgy back and now when I'm 50 I
can easily do more sit ups than when I was a sport mad, 25
year old. I can even touch my toes 10 different ways!
Now you don't have to get this
far, but the point is that when I started I could barely
touch my toes and just leaning forward trying to do it was
hard work.
If you work on your stretching
steadily, day by day, bit by bit you'll find yourself able
to reach further, you'll slowly become more supple and find
it doesn't even hurt!
How Much Exercise
Do You Have To Do?
The short answer
is you don't have to do any!
But if you want
to get fit and strong, the recommended amount is 30 minutes
of moderate activity on most days of the week, or 20 minutes
of vigorous activity three days per week.
For your back
specifically, it's best if you do some exercises most days.
The reason most
of us stiffen up and ultimately injure ourselves is lack
of exercise, not too much. The problem for 90% of us these
days is that we live sedentary lives and don't exert
ourselves physically enough.
Sure, treat
yourself to the weekend off , but exercise works best if you
make it a habit and routine part of your lifestyle - like
brushing your teeth.
Why Back Problems
Tend to Hang Around
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Here's
a diagram of the middle part of your
back. As you can see it's a
complicated affair with many moving parts. This is
why the condition of the surrounding muscles are so
important in supporting it and holding everything in
alignment.
Studies have shown the muscles that provide
support to your back behave differently to other
muscles.
The
key difference is that they are slower to
automatically "switch back on" (i.e.
return to their previous level of function) after an
injury or a strain.
Unless
they are triggered by exercise, they can
take a long time to return to their previous level
of function, or they may never return to full
function and so your back doesn't get the support it
needs.
When these supporting muscles are working
properly, they respond to signals from your brain by
clenching or bracing fractionally before a strain
impacts your back.
This means your back is supported as the strain
arrives and so the chance of (further) injury or
strain is reduced.
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When this mechanism is not
working properly and
the muscles don't trigger, your back is left unsupported and
thus you
are more likely to re-injure or strain your back.
This is why back problems can
be so difficult to get rid of once you start having them and
why you can become prone to recurring problems.
This
is also the reason regular exercise is so important
- it helps to keep your supporting muscles active and able
to do their job.
Exercise Links
If you want a way to stop your
sciatica and back pain that has a 97%+ chance of working
for you and only takes 5 minutes a day go here Better
Back System
Yoga
is great for your back - Learn
about yoga basics
The Salute to
the Sun is a popular,
easy to do yoga routine that is very effective at building
your all round strength and suppleness, which will
definitely help your back.
Learn about hamstring
stretches
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