Oh, My Aching Back

By Tamela Thomas, Wellness Manager

Have you ever injured your back? Isn't it amazing how a back injury affects everything you do from lying down, sitting, the transition in between, walking and even breathing? As the back provides the portal for all of our neural transmissions to and from the extremities to the brain, it's no wonder a breakdown or injury to the back can be a powerful incapacitation. Currently, 18 million Americans struggle with some form of chronic back pain. It is a staggering number and even more shocking is the fact that many of these conditions could have been prevented in the first place.

This month's article by Dr. Noel Lloyd addresses simple exercises you can do to keep your back strong. If you already suffer back pain, Dr. Lloyd invites you to improve your current condition with 4 easy exercises.

Take Your Back to the Future

By Dr. Noel G. Lloyd, Chiropractor

Your back either is has, will or will again give you some real problems. Few people will escape this very painful reminder of our mortality. After 28 years as a chiropractor, I'm convinced that you can add some type of back trouble to death and taxes as one of life's certainties. Most, if not all, of those problems will be due to some type of misuse, abuse or trauma to the bones, muscles, joints, nerves or discs between the bones (cartilage pads).

My goal in writing this article is to give you practical, easy-to-take steps and strategies to avoid, lessen and even fully recover from serious back pain problems. What you will learn is how to take your back to the future.

My message is surprisingly simple: exercise. But not the way most of us were taught. Well-meaning coaches told us: no pain meant no gain. However, for back conditioning, the opposite is true. So what is the right way to exercise?

Never demand more of your back than you enjoy giving. In fact, you should purposely leave a little in the barrel each time you exercise so there's something left for the next day. There is a whole system of thought that goes with healthful, life-long back exercise and this is one of the fundamentals of the faith.

It is imperative that you know and accept the first rule of beginning your exercise program: Use less than you have. The last thing you want to have happen on your road to a healthy back is a negative experience or even an injury, so make sure you have the right mindset.

There are, of course, many exercises you can do, but what I want to leave you with today is the short list. After nearly three decades of giving exercise programs to patients, I've learned that the short list done with even moderate consistency is always better than a complex program put off or forgotten. Simply put: "It's the exercises you do, not the ones that you once knew."

#1—Walk

It is by far the best exercise for most backs, problem or otherwise. The rhythmic biped strides of a brisk walk alternately contract and relax the muscles of the back and can do wonders for almost every bodily function. Start here to bulletproof your back. Walk quickly (more than a stroll, less than a jog) but at your own speed for 15 to 30 minutes a day if you can. Remember, if you're out of shape you'll have to start slower. After your walk you should be thinking, "Hey, that was kind of fun. I'd like to do that again."

#2—"Quarter-ups," not sit-ups

Everyone knows that sit-ups are great for bad backs, right? Wrong! Full sit-ups create too much pressure on the spine and may re-injure your neck or lower back. Instead, do a quarter sit-up so your shoulder blades just get off the floor. These are also called abdominal crunches. Quarter-ups still provide the great abdominal workout while moving the lower back (lumbar spine) curve through a normal range of motion without undo stress. This gently takes the joints, called facets, through a conditioning program that realigns and increases normal motion. Your back will love you for this one. Start out with just six repetitions and over a few months work up to two- or three-dozen abdominal crunches.

#3—Bottoms up

Again, starting on your back with heels close to your backside, lift your pelvis up off the bed or floor. This causes a contraction of important spinal muscles from your buttocks to upper mid-back. Hold your pelvis high enough to form a straight line from your knees to shoulders for 10-15 seconds. Over time, increase that contraction to 45-60 seconds. This is an isometric contraction; the tighter you squeeze the muscles, the stronger they will become.

#4—Stretch, but stretch gently

Remember the windmill stretch from football practice? That's a terrible exercise. That high velocity bouncing stretch can cause real damage. Correct stretching isn't hard to do at all and our first stretching exercise is the best spinal exercise I know. It's done by rotating or twisting the spine from top to bottom, and can even be done before you get out of bed. First, lie on your back with your knees up and heels close to your backside. Let your knees fall to the right as you turn your head to the left. Relax into this twist until you are gently twisted from the top of your spine to your hips. Over time you may get to the point where you are able to lie with your knees pointed one way and head pointed the other. Rest in the stretch for 40 seconds. This exercise takes spinal joints to a far range of movement in rotation that increases motion, strengthens the ligaments and aids in alignment. The gentle twisting motion supports good health and nutrition for the cartilage pads between the spinal bones as well.

This simple program of exercises has accomplished some very important functions. First, we prepared all of your muscle groups with a brisk walk. Then we strengthened and toned muscles on the front and back of your spine with the abdominal crunches and pelvis tilt. Then we gently stretched all of your back muscles and conditioned your spinal joints with the twist exercise. Some people will feel better right away. Others will have to stick with the program for a couple of weeks to notice a difference.

Make sure you review these exercises with a WAC Personal Trainer since you may have special needs. Remember that good care makes sense and requires consistency, just like everything else in life.