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.

Abdominal Muscles

The abdominal muscles are made up of the rectus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique and tranversus abdomnis.  These muscles from the anterior abdominal wall which protects, supports and maintains stability of the front of the abdomen and, therefore, helps maintain erect posture of the trunk.  The abdominals are important in nearly all daily activities and athletics, so it is very important to maintain their strength.

In addition, the abdominal muscles play and integral part in respiration (especially coughing and sneezing), and the help to maintain correct posture of the torso.  Since the abdominals hold up the front of the pelvis (by their attachment to the pubic bone), weakness of these muscles can result in a forward pelvic tilt, which is often the cause for lower back pain.  An excessive forward pelvic tilt can lead to a greater curvature in the lumbar region of the lower back, which causes the painful pinching of the disks that lie between the vertebrae.

A simple glance in the mirror will tell you if you are in danger of developing lower back pain.  Look at the profile, or side view, of your abdomen:  if your lower abdomen protrudes forward and your lower back curves or “sways” inward with your buttocks protruding, you may be faced with back problems later in life.  If your are concerned about your risk for lower back problems, consult a Hamilton Personal Trainer.

The most frequent abdominal injuries usually occur as a result of improper warm up or stretching before strenuous physical activity, especially weight lifting. If the muscles are not prepared properly before a lift, the incidence of injury is greatly increased.  For more information about warming up see you Hamilton Personal Trainer or Fitness Consultant.

When performing abdominal exercises, always maintain the proper pelvic tilt position to protect your back.  Since they are postural muscles, the abdominals have a large proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, so they can be trained for a high number of repetitions.   It is also important to distinguish between so-called “abdonimal” exercises that use primarily hip flexor muscles (which like deep in the abdomen, and attach to the lumbar spine), and those exercises that us primarily the abdominal muscles themselves.  For any exercise where the major movement involves bending at the hip, the hip flexors are the primary muscle group, with the abdominal muscles acting as stabilizers.  In order to use the abdominals as the primary muscle group, you must do exercises in which the primary movement is trunk or spine flexion which involves pulling your rib cage down towards your hips.

A strong, well-defined abdominal area can only be achieved by dombining a healthy diet (that is low in fat and has the proper amount of calories) with an exercise program that includes bot cardiovascular and abdominal training.