Strong Lower Backs: Having One That Works
You
never know until you hurt it how much you use your lower back all day
long. When your lower back is injured, every movement becomes painful.
Simple actions, such as getting out of a chair or bending over the
sink, become excruciating, and your daily routine becomes difficult and
frustrating.
Back
pain affects 60 to 80 percent of U.S. adults at some time during their
lives, and up to 50 percent have back pain within a given year.1,2
Some of these problems are easily treated and never return, but in five
to ten percent of patients low back pain becomes chronic and the person
continues to have recurrences and exacerbations.3
Effective
treatment of uncomplicated lower back pain involves treatment in a
chiropractor’s office and beginning and continuing an exercise program.
A recent study conducted by the Medical Research Council, a research
organization based in the United Kingdom, has found that patients given
a combination of spinal manipulation and exercise experienced greater
improvement in back function and greater reduction in pain compared to
those treated with spinal manipulation or exercise only.4
Most
mechanical lower back pain is associated with tight leg muscles and
weak abdominal muscles. Leg muscles need to be stretched and abdominal
muscles need to be strengthened to avoid recurrences of lower back pain.
People
are generally not aware of these relationships. You may know you
“should be exercising”, but you may be unaware of the importance of
stretching. Also, abdominal strengthening is usually the last thing a
person thinks of when he or she thinks of doing exercise.
Exercise
is a three-step process: stretching, exercising, and abdominal
strengthening. Stretching prepares you for the work of exercise, and is
done first — before anything else — gently and gradually. You may be
tighter than usual on a particular day. This is not important — you
should never try to stretch to where “you think you should be”. Just
stretch, making sure to pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s easy
to injure a muscle if you’re thinking about something else, or if
you’re rushing, trying to squeeze in some stretching before dashing off
to the gym.
Abdominal
strengthening helps support the lower back. Spinal muscles are not
designed to carry your body weight. If your abdominal muscles are weak,
then your back muscles will be used to carry your body weight, and
eventually you’ll have a lower back injury.
Abdominal
strengthening not only helps keep your lower back healthy, but also
helps maintain good posture. Postural benefits include an easy, relaxed
gait; muscles that are long and supple, rather than short and tight;
and an open chest that allows for easy, smooth breathing.
Your
body is a machine. Everything’s connected. A lower back problem affects
many other areas, ultimately. By making sure to stretch regularly and
by including abdominal exercises in your gym routine, you can help
ensure having a lower back that works.
