By Jason Greenspan
Low back pain has reached nearly epidemic levels in America. Low back pain equally affects men and women and is the second most common cause of activity limitation other than arthritis in people between the ages of 45 and 65. Of those who suffer an episode of low back pain, approximately 50% will experience a recurrence within one year. Some researchers report that up to 80% of all adults will suffer from some bout of low back pain at some point throughout their lives.
There are multiple risk factors that can cause low back pain. These range from sports injuries, weakened core muscles, tight muscles, obesity, poor posture, improper lifting techniques, prolonged sitting and inactivity and structural issues like disc degeneration and spinal stenosis, which is basically a fancy name for arthritis. And even stress can cause back pain.
Jason Greenspan, owner of Silver Stars Fitness.
At Silver Stars, we take a proactive approach. This means we always begin the fitness program with “foam rolling.” The foam roll is a dense material shaped like a cylinder that is a great substitute for a massage. The goal of foam rolling is to relieve tenderness and break up knots within the muscles. If it hurts when you roll, it is a sign that you have a knot and must make foam rolling a part of your daily routine. If you don’t “roll,” muscles get tight and that can lead to impaired mobility that can cause low back pain.
After foam rolling, we’ll stretch the hips, primarily the hip flexors, which connect to the lumbar spine and the mid-back muscles. The mid back or the “thoracic” spine is meant to be mobile, but is often tight. If the mid-back can’t move, the lower back will and the low back isn’t meant to move. If it moves during activity, you’re at risk for back pain.
After stretching, we move on to further loosening the mid-back muscles and hips by incorporating various mobility drills and “core stability” exercises. The purpose of the “core” is to prevent unwanted movement around your pelvis and lumbar spine during activity. The “core” is made up of your abdominals, low back muscles, hips and buttock.
When working the core it’s very important that you choose exercises that will help stabilize your spine with minimal risk. Three exercises that have been shown to protect the spine are the bridge and front and especially the side plank exercise. These three exercises focus on the buttock, deep abdominals and low back muscles, primarily the quadratus lumborum which is a major stabilizer to the lumbar spine. The buttock muscle is also very important to preventing low back pain, as it acts as a shock absorber to the lumbar spine.
When the buttock muscle is weak, your chances of back pain increases. A good test to see if you have an ample amount of strength in the buttock is to perform the bridge and see where you feel the exercise the most. If your buttock is strong and doing its job, you will feel the exercise mainly in the buttock, with a little help from the hamstrings and low back. When the buttock is weak, you will feel most of the stress in the back of your legs and the front of your thighs. And, believe it or not, having a good amount of mobility in your shoulders can prevent low back pain.
If your shoulders are tight and you lift your arms overhead, your back will arch, setting you up for pain. A good test to see if you have mobility in your shoulders is the thumbs to wall test. Stand with your back flush against a wall and place your hands in front of your thighs. With your thumbs up, slowly raise your arms to the wall. If your elbows bend while lifting your arms, or your back starts to come off the wall, this is an indicator that you need more mobility in your shoulders.
Exercises like crunches, sit-ups or any exercise that requires you to lift both legs off the ground at once and movements that require you to lift the upper and lower body simultaneously, especially without building stability first, could cause low back pain.
Also, being aware of your standing posture can go a long way in preventing low back pain, as poor posture can put stress on not only the back, but on the whole body. A good tip is to try to stand tall and keep your weight evenly distributed as opposed to leaning to one side, which we tend to do when we’re tired. And don’t cross your legs when sitting. This old habit will tighten your hips, buttock and eventually lead to back pain — and, of course, try not to round your back as we often do while sitting.
Silver Stars Fitness is a Manhattan based fitness studio that specializes in working with the baby boomer & beyond fitness enthusiast. We offer small group classes and private fitness services in a comfortable studio setting.
To find out how to prevent low back pain or sign up for our services, please contact us to set up your free consultation @ 646-573-9724, or info@silverstarsfit.com. We are offering 10% off initial purchase of services. Sale is valid until May 1st, 2016.
850 7th Ave (between West 54/55)
www.silverstarsfit.com
