3 Things to help with back pain

You may have heard a stat that went something like, "80% of all people suffer from at least one episode of back pain that will effect their daily activities for at least one week."  I'm actually not sure where this stat came from, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is an underestimate.  I don't know many people that have never had some sort of back issue at some point in their life. 

I'm no different.  While my back pain is pretty rare I have still had my share of issues occur.  Even if you are in great shape things can still happen.  When we look at our average day, we sit most of the time, at our desk, driving, watching tv....While in this seated position, we are putting our lumbar spine into a flexed or rounded position.  Upon standing it is likely that this position will stick.  Then we move around or exercise and get hurt because our backs were in a high risk position. 

So if you injured your back what should you do about it?  Honestly, the easiest answer is go to the doctor to see what is going on.  I know that is not the answer you are looking for, but don't worry I have some other things you can do (but still see a professional about it will save you a lot of time and pain). 

When back issues come up I will get the question, "what is the best stretch I can do for my back?"  Unfortunately there isn't a back stretch that will really help you out.  In fact, you don't want to do much low back stretching.  When we look at the lumbar spine as a joint, it's main responsibility is stability.  We do not want movement to occur at our lower backs, pretty much ever.  So if you stretch this area out, you are gaining more mobility there.  So while the stretch might feel good while you are doing it, afterwards you have increased range of motion at a place we really do not want it. 

So instead of giving you back stretches to help with your back pain or to help prevent it from occuring, here are three things you SHOULD do to help out that busted up lower back:

1.  Improve Hip Mobility

I mentioned that the lower back was a stability joint so we need it to be stable.  The hips, on the other hand, are very mobile.  Or at least they are suppose to be.  Many times when we lose hip mobility from sitting too much or lack of exercise, we make up for it by putting the back under higher strains and create movement where it should not occur.  So work on improving your hip mobility with a few stretches.  Below are a few videos of some of my favorites.

2.  Improve Thoracic Spine Mobility

This is for the same reason listed above for the hips.  The thoracic spine, or upper back, should be  a mobile joint.  Try some of these exercises below to help improve thoracic mobility.

3.  Improve Core Stability

So we improved our joints that need to be mobile, so now we need to improve strength and endurance at our stable joint of the lumber spine.  For these exercises we want to see the lumber spine neutral and no movement occur at the lower back.  Even if the arms and legs are moving we really have to focus on bracing the core and prevent ANY movement from taking place at the lower back.  Again here are some of my favorites for this.

So there you have it.  If you have back is or have had some in the past, try improving these three things instead of trying to stretch out your low back.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Premier Training
My Workout Creator