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If you don't exert yourself reasonably regularly,
especially as you age, the muscles supporting and
surrounding your back will eventually get weak and stiff.
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, or from a more obvious
strain such as lifting something heavy, especially if your
posture is bad as you do it.
Why Back Problems Tend to
Hang Around
Your back is a complicated mechanical system 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.
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.
Basic Back
Exercise To Help You Become More Supple &
Strengthen Your Core Muscles So You Have Less Chance
Of Injuring Your Back
Remember:
1. Every bit of back
exercise counts and every bit you do gives you a
benefit and builds your back health.
2. Your back is central to the
mechanical operations of your body. Improve your
overall fitness and you also improve the condition of
your back.
Why Muscle Fitness Is So
Important To Your Back
The core stability muscles in
people with healthy backs actually begin to brace their
torso a split second before any movement takes place.
By taking this action, the
brain signals to these muscles to prepare for movement, so
that risk of back injury is eliminated or greatly reduced.
Targeted exercise helps
makes these muscles strong and flexible and reduces your
chances you of injuring or re-injuring your back.
In people with a history of
back problems these muscles are weak and this bracing action
is largely reduced, or is not there at all!
So as you can imagine, the
chances of further injury are hugely increased.
This is probably the main
reason why people with back pain and sciatica find it so
hard to get rid of and why they have constant recurrences of
their problem.
Back Exercise That
Helps
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Walking
is a great back exercise. Walk whenever you can. Walk up
hills, walk down 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.
Get
mobile and start walking again as soon as possible after you
have hurt your back.
Do
this even if it hurts a bit. Your goal is to get moving
again as quickly as you can.
At Work:
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If you work at a desk, do back exercise
by getting up and walking around every 20 minutes or
so, even if its just just for 30 seconds or so.
-
If you work at a desk, keep mentally
checking and adjusting your posture - don't
slouch - sit forward on your seat.
-
Visualise a slight curve in your back
that starts at your hips, curves forward towards your
stomach and back towards your shoulders. Keep lifting
your shoulders and putting this curve back in place.
When You Have A Spare
Moment:
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 back exercise you do, 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 of 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.
The
Better Back System
If you
want a way to improve back health with a 97% chance of
success that will take you only about 5 minutes a day
check out the Better
Back System . If you just want
to learn more read on.
A
Simple Back Exercise
The objective with any back exercise is:
1. To strengthen the supporting muscles,
especially those in the lower back and/or stomach area:
2. To make connecting muscles (especially
major ones such as your hamstrings) more supple, so they
don't tighten up and place a strain on your back. If you
have tight hamstrings you're almost certainly to experience
low back pain.
Refer to our disclaimer before attempting
this or any other exercise.
The Hamstring Stretch
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a demanding
stretch, so if you are in doubt, or too stiff, or your back
already hurts, start
with one leg at a time (see below). Also,
stop if it hurts
Both Legs At Once
Sit on the floor (use a padded mat or a rug,
don't do this on a hard surface) with your legs out in front
of you. As shown below, you may only be able to get part of
the way to your toes when you start. Don't worry, that's OK.
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Slowly
lean forward and try to touch your toes. It doesn't
matter how far you get, the objective is to get a
little bit further forward every time. |
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You
should feel a stretch in your hamstrings and it may
hurt a bit. A bit of pain is OK, but if it feels
like you're doing yourself damage stop. |
You may feel a tension and throbbing through your whole
body. You may also hear the blood "pulsing" or
'throbbing' in your ears. These are good! They're signs of
your body adjusting.
Do your best to hold the position for a minute or so, or
until the throbbing and pulsing sensations have died down.
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Eventually, after practising this
for several weeks or months (it depends how flexible
you are when you start), you'll be able to touch
your toes. Now you can celebrate!
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| After
that your next step is to grab your toes and pull to
increase the stretch. After that progressively get
further down so that your chest is lying on and
parallel to your thighs. |
Remember: This is a powerful stretch
and can be quite difficult at first. If that is the case for
you, then try one leg at a time.
One Leg At A Time:
Sit on the floor (use a padded mat or a rug,
don't do this on a hard surface) with one leg out in front
of you. Tuck the other leg in so that the sole of your foot
is pressing against the inside thigh of the leg that is
stretched out.
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Slowly lean forward and try to touch
the toes of the stretched out leg. It doesn't matter
how far you get, the objective is to get a little
bit further forward every time.
You should feel a stretch in your
hamstrings and it may hurt a bit. A bit of pain is
OK, but if it feels like you're doing yourself
damage stop.
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Eventually
you'll be able to touch your toes and then grab the
and then progressively get further down so that your
chest is lying on and parallel to your thighs. |
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As
with the 2 leg stretch, your next step is to grab
your toes and pull to increase the stretch.
After
that progressively get further down so that your
chest is lying on and parallel to your thighs.
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Learn More About Back Exercise & Good
Health
Yoga - Learn
about yoga basics
Yoga - Salute to the sun - Learn
about The Salute to the Sun
The Salute to the Sun is very effective at
building your all round strength and suppleness which will
definitely help your back.
It's easy to adapt the Salute to the Sun to
your particular fitness level. Just keep on increasing the
number of repetitions you do.
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