THE WELLNESS & FITNESS CENTER'S BLOG

Who’s Got Your Back?

August 19, 2014, 10:37 pm - Categories: Education, Fitness

One of the most common causes of missed work is low back pain. It’s also the second leading cited reason for medical office visits behind only upper respiratory infections. Chances are you either have or will experience back pain at some point in your lifetime. So how will you cope? What can you do to prevent these issues or alleviate them enough to allow you to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle? Here are a few tips to help you be back safe:

• See your doctor. We know it sounds elementary, right? But the common misconception is that most back pain just goes away on its own. If pain persists for too long or is interfering with your daily activities you may want to consult a physician.
• Have the right mindset. A wise person once told me, “You only have one spine.” And while this seems ridiculously obvious, if we examine the subtext here we can draw a very useful conclusion. If you do something to injure your back, you don’t get a do-over. Your spine is the super-highway for almost all of the extremity functions we perform. Be conscious of your back posture, body position, and practice safe lifting techniques both on the job and in the gym.
• Create balance! Many professionals will tell you that a strong core can be the key to a healthy back. This is very true especially when we think of the core muscles as a girdle of sorts which encircles the whole of the torso. Not only is it important to have strong abdominals but also obliques, spinal extensors and lumbar muscles play a big role in supporting the low back and spine.
• Stay Flexible! The large prime mover muscles which run down the posterior (back) side of the body are often referred to as the “Posterior Chain.” This is due to the fact that these muscles are much more interconnected and affect each other much more than the muscles on the anterior (front) of the body. If you have a tight muscle group, hamstrings for example, then that tightness can affect the muscle groups directly above and below it which may be compensating. This would include the calf muscles and Achilles’ tendons, and on the upper side, the gluteus muscles and – you guessed it – lumbar muscles!
• Get up! Sitting for extended periods is very stressful on the low back in particular. Schedule yourself some breaks if your job requires you to sit for a long time. Get up from your seat and move around often. Spend some time each hour reversing your movements. That means if you’ve been hunched over typing at a computer, lean back; flex your back, arms, fingers, legs. Do some light stretching and then return to work.

Of course, you should be aware of safe lifting techniques at all times. Be sure to keep loads close to the body, avoid reaching outside of the body frame with a load, and lift from the legs and not your back. These are all rules to remain mindful to follow to minimize the risk for injury to your back while lifting any sort of weight – whether in the gym or in everyday life activities.

I think you’ll find if you keep these tips in mind you will notice a difference in the frequency of your back pain and how long it stays. If you need more guidance as to how to best put some of these tips into practice in your daily routine, ask one of our fitness professionals! After all, we’ve got your back!

By: Bryan J. Smelser, NFPT-CPT, Personal Trainer at Valley Health Wellness & Fitness Center