Preventing and alleviating lower back pain can be done successfully by making changes to your exercise regimen and daily lifestyle habits.A staggering number of people suffer from-or will eventually develop-chronic lower back pain, so here are some of my top tips for preventing and alleviating lower back pain:
1. Keep Your Hips Flexible and Mobile
Tight hips are a huge culprit of lower back pain. If your hips are tight and you are unable to get proper range of motion, your lower back muscles are going to be forced to pick up the slack and work overtime. Make no mistake about it, lower back pain is a result of using the lumbar spine and associated muscles too much and too often. If the areas of the body below (the hips) and above (the thoracic spine) are not working right, the body is smart enough to go get the necessary range of motion somewhere else, and this usually means the lower back is called upon to do the job…not good. Furthermore, tight hips (the flexors in particular) can alter the position of your pelvis, and this can result in force being placed on your lower back discs…again, not a good thing.
Incorporating mobility, flexibility, activation and strengthening exercises for the hips-particularly the hip rotators and flexors-is absolutely necessary. Also, as a double bonus, mobile, flexible and strong hips which work well will help to reduce knee pain, so this should provide more incentive to train them and give them the proper attention. The hips are the key to the universe!
2. Keep Your Thoracic Spine (mid-upper back) Mobile
Many of the new clients who come to see me lack adequate thoracic spine mobility, and, just as is the case with the hips, this can make the lower back work overtime in an unnecessary, inefficient way. Also, again, as a “double bonus”, keeping the thoracic spine mobile can also help to prevent and alleviate shoulder pain.
3. Train the Core Muscles for Stabilization and Stop Doing So Many Damn Crunches and Sit-ups
While many understand having strong abdominals can help keep the lower back healthy, most are using incorrect methods to increase strength in this region. Crunches, sit-ups and similar flexion based exercises are part and parcel of many individuals exercise programs. However, these exercises should be minimized or completely eliminated from the programs of most people.
The repetitive bending of the lumbar spine while doing traditional abdominal crunches is a bad idea. In fact, one single ab crunch places forces on the lower back which exceed the recommendations set by many occupational health and safety organizations. If you repeatedly bend a coat hanger back and forth, what happens? It will become weaker and eventually break. Such is the case with the lumbar spine.
The lumbar spine is in need of more stability-the ability to resist movement. It is NOT in need of more mobility, which is the quality being trained when doing crunches and sit-ups. Again, we want to minimize the amount of work being done by the lower back muscles, and repetitive flexion and extension obviously is counterproductive. Now, other areas of the body (the ankle joints for example) are in need of more mobility, but the lumbar spine is not one of these areas.
So, I would recommend drastically reducing the number of crunches, sit-ups and similar exercises. They should be replaced with stability based exercises-where there is no movement at the lumbar spine-such as the prone and side plank exercises. Your back will thank you for it.
4. Get Your Butt in Gear!
The gluteals or “glutes” (your butt muscles) are very important when it comes to the health of your lower back, and they are some of the most powerful muscles in the entire body. However, most people have rear end muscles which are inactive or “turned off”. If the glutes are shut down, they are not going to function correctly, and, once again, your lower back muscles are going to be forced to pick up the slack. Not good. If you try to lift something from the floor, and your butt muscles don’t fire, your back is going to have do most of the work. We want to avoid this.
Incorporating glute strengthening and activation exercises is of paramount importance. Supine bridges, stability ball leg curls, and various forms of the deadlift are great exercises to enhance the activity of the glutes, so give them a shot.
5. Stop Sitting So Much
We sit in the car while we are driving to work. We then sit at our desk all day. Then we sit in the car again on the drive home from work. If you stop at the gym, you sit in machines while you are exercising. Then, when we get home, we plop down in front of the TV or computer and sit some more.
The problem with excessive and prolonged sitting is that is shuts the glutes down (#4 above), tightens the hips and pulls the pelvis into anterior tilt (#1 above). The solution? Don’t go more than about 20-30 minutes without getting up and walking around a little bit (stretching the hip flexors would also be a good idea). When you are at the gym, do as many standing exercises as possible. Instead of watching 4 hours of reality TV at night, go out for a walk.
So, there you have it, some simple tips for preventing and alleviating lower back pain. All of these tips are great in theory, but it’s up to you to put these recommendations and concepts into action-YOUR BACK WILL THANK YOU FOR IT!
If you need help developing a comprehensive lower back health program, please do not hesitate to contact me at pj@cincinnatifitnesstrainer.com
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