Watch Your Back !

Body Weight & Your Back

Back pain is often caused by excessive body fat around your waist.  Without the support of strong abdominal muscles, this extra weight will gradually cause a forward pelvic tilt, which causes pain and tension in the lower back.

To help improve your condition, strengthen you abdominal muscles regularly.  Again, exercise within your limits it takes dedication and perseverance.   Stretch your lower back muscles, buttocks, and hip flexors.  You can ask a Hamilton Personal Trainer which stretches are best for you.   By strengthening the abdominal area and stretching the hip and back areas, you can gradually correct the forward pelvic tilt which causes many back problems.  Since excess abdominal fat may put undue strain on the lower back, work to gradually decrease your body fat through regular cardiovascular exercise and a healthier diet.  Remember, if you are overweight and you start to walk one extra mile every day without stopping, while maintaining your current caloric intake, you should lose about 4.5 kilograms in one year.

Exercising for a stronger back.  Before beginning any rehabilitation program, consult your doctor or Hamilton Personal Trainer for their recommendations.  For people who already suffer from lower back problems some exercises have been shown to be successful in treating the condition.

Relaxation techniques to relieve stress and muscle tightness.  The pelvic tilt, to stretch your lower back muscles and strengthen your abdominals.  To perform a pelvic tilt, lie on the floor with your knees bent.  Rotate your pelvis by flattening the small of your back into the floor, and hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.  Relax and repeat.  Remember not to hold your breath!  Regular physical activity.  The vertical load experienced in weight bearing exercise such as walking and lifting weights pushes fluid into the disks which helps to nourish them.  Weak abdominal, buttock and thigh muscles deprive your back of essential support.  Your back’s balancing act is made possible by these muscles, as well as those of the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and of course, the back muscles themselves.  Together, these muscles balance your back’s natural curves and provide support.  When lifting weights, take extra care to use correct technique and to keep your spine in proper  alignment: use head rest pads and keep your back against the back rests.  Concentrate on tightening your abdominal muscles during any lift, as this maintains the correct pelvic tilt position, which will support your back.  Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise, in addition to any specific back exercises, is also critical in maintaining a healthy back.  Brisk walking, stair climbing and swimming are recommended activities for the back.

Most of these exercises can be performed anywhere,  at any time.  Depending on your doctor or Hamilton Personal Trainer’s recommendations, you should include back exercises as part of your exercise program at least 3 times per week.

The Back… Upper and Lower

Upper Back:  The main muscles of the upper back are the latissimus dorsi, teres major and the rhomboids.  The muscles dominate the middle and outside (lateral) parts of the back, and when well-developed, they give a triangular appearance to the torso.  The “lats” are powerful shoulder extensors, so they are well developed in swimmers and rowers.  Other sports which require strong upper back muscles are gymnastics, golf, racket sports and cross country skiing.

The rhomboids lie between the shoulder blades (scapulae) and the vertebral column.  Their main function is to pull back (retract) the scapulae and they also assist in forcibly lowering the arms from a raised position.  Consequently, the rhomboids are used in activities in which the lats are involved.  The rhomboids also play an important role in maintaining correct posture, as they keep the shoulders from drooping forward and becoming rounded.

Lower Back:  The muscles of the lower back act to maintain an erect posture by stabilizing the posterior trunk.  There are numerous muscles involved in this function, which are together called the erector spinae group.  Their main purpose is to extend the spinal column, and they also stabilize the spine during forced expiration (coughing or sneezing).  The erector spinae muscles lie beneath the latissimus dorsi muscle on either side of the spine.  Trunk extension, or straightening of the back, is the most powerful movement of the trunk and, therefore, is extremely important in athletics and activities of daily living.

Weakness of the lower back muscles may result in an inability to maintain an upright posture which allows the shoulders and upper back to droop forward.  If the weakness is severe enough, the lower back will lose its support and become unstable.  This increases the likelihood of injury and pain, not only to the spine, but also to the ankle, knee and hip joints.

Injuries to the back are commonly caused by extremes in range of motion, such as hyperextension, hyperflexion and severe rotation of the spine.  Instability of the lower back causes a greater demand on the abdominal muscles because of a forward shift of the trunk posture and weight. This change in weight distribution disrupts postural balance and adversely affects the correct biomechanics of the body.

In order to avoid injuries to the muscles of the lower back, it is extremely important to warm up before any physical activity.  Great care must be taken to ensure that correct form is used during all weight lifting techniques, since dthe lower back muscles are active to some degree in nearly every single lifting exercise and can therefore be injured.  Extra care musdt be taken when performing exercises which work the lower back muscles directly.

For more information on back exercises, see your favorite Hamilton Personal Trainer today!!!