Kinesiology THURSDAY – Oh, My Aching Back!

Does your back feel sore after a long drive or day at the office? Do you have a hard time standing up straight when you get out of bed? Is it hard to pick things up off the floor?

Lower back pain will plague 80% of the population at least once in a lifetime and accounts for more visits to the doctor than the common cold. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

In order to solve the back pain dilemma, it is important to understand a little bit about how the body is designed. The lower back sits in between the powerful hips and the thoracic spine, two key areas of your body that are designed for rotation. A majority of lower back injuries, such as herniated discs, sciatica and lumbar strains are due to excessive rotation in the lower back and yet, real life requires rotation.

The solution to eliminating lower back pain lies in being able to make the right path of resistance the proper path. Instead of avoiding rotation, minimize the rotation force in the low back, by making sure your hips and thoracic spine are moving optimally. Learning to load the big muscles of your hips and thighs and loosening your upper back will also go a long way in protecting your spine from injury. 

By mastering three simple exercises, you can jump start your way to a pain-free day:

The squat will strengthen the muscles of your hips and thighs that will dissipate the forces of lifting, pushing and pulling before they get to your back. If you perform this exercise with toes pointed straight ahead and your chest up, you will ensure proper form the next time you have to pick something up off the floor.

The prone sky reach is an excellent way to activate the deep muscles that support your spine as well as loosen your thoracic spine, or mid-back. This exercise activates your core muscles in the most important plane of motion, the transverse plane, and if you concentrate on making a straight line from hand-to-hand, you will teach your spine a healthy way of rotating.

Finally, the revolving triangle is an extremely effective stretch that teaches the hips and hamstrings to rotate the way they need to for most daily activities. If you master this stretch, not only will your back be safer, but your performance in many athletic activities will automatically improve.