Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Health & Body › Exercise to reduce back pain
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Exercise to reduce back pain - Page 2

post #16 of 28
3/5/09 at 1:36pm
Try Bikram Yoga, it worked for me.

http://www.bikramyoga.com/
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 28
3/5/09 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skidsm View Post
..the gist of it is that sitting leads to tightness throughout the legs, but primarily in the hamstrings. tightness in the hamstrings causes the base of the spine to move forward and the pelvic girdle to tilt back when seated, especially ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maharlika View Post
Try Bikram Yoga, it worked for me.

I convinced that keeping the hamstrings loose and flexible is an important part of minimizing/reducing lower back strains. You can either do it with yoga or just simple stretching, but you need to work on it every day.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 28
3/5/09 at 4:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skidsm View Post
yeah, i agree that. i don't think my post was clear.

this is a good article that describes my understanding of the problems and solutions for back pain deriving from seating: http://sitting-comfortably.co.uk/pos...blications.htm

the gist of it is that sitting leads to tightness throughout the legs, but primarily in the hamstrings. tightness in the hamstrings causes the base of the spine to move forward and the pelvic girdle to tilt back when seated, especially if the hips are at 90 degrees. the forward slide of the spine and the tilt to the pelvis cause the lumbar curve to invert, causing back pain.

the solution i've read about is finding a chair that keeps your hips less flexed, which will reduce the pull of hamstrings on the pelvis, and therefore allow your spine to stay in its natural curve.

i had just never heard lowering your seat as a solution, so i was curious about the physiology behind that recommendation.

No, like I said before you're confusing hip extension and flexion. The closer the knees are to the chest the greater lenth of hip extensors. Sitting lower increases hip extensor length and therefore hamstring length.

This is all just basic stuff and it's repeated over and over again but aside from extreme hamstring inflexibility it's rarely the cause of back pain. It could be caused by piriformis syndrome, ankalosinglingdingdong spondolitis, degenerative or slipped discs, etc.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 28
3/6/09 at 2:55pm
2 things that will fix your back problems:

1. Get a futon mattress from a Japanese online retailer and sleep on the floor. A cheaper solution - spread a comforter on the floor and sleep on it. It will take you a couple of weeks to get used to it because the pressure points when you lie on your side (shoulder, hip, side of knee) will complain in the beginning. But your back will thank you for it.

2. As Johnny_5 mentioned, do abs exercises.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 28
3/6/09 at 4:11pm
Do deadlifts with *proper* form to strengthen your back and improve your posture. Start off with low weight and make sure you get the form down before advancing. After doing deadlifts, I naturally remember to keep my back straight (naturally arched rather) instead of rounded.
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 28
3/7/09 at 7:49am
just try keeping your back strong and you wont need to worry about your back all life...
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 28
3/7/09 at 9:52pm
depending on where the pain lies and the severity, I would do stretches rather than exercises. Target any imbalances before moving onto any exercises that would exasperate the problem.

If you work in front of a computer all day, have the midline of the monitor slightly above your eye line - will force you to sit straighter.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 28
3/12/09 at 7:54pm
"Do deadlifts with *proper* form to strengthen your back and improve your posture. Start off with low weight and make sure you get the form down before advancing. "

Part of proper form is to use your glute (butt) muscles. If you're not, then you're mainly using your lower back which will make it worse.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 28
3/12/09 at 9:23pm
If you are having sporadic back pain you can try this form of strectching to relax it:

Lie flat on the floor, on your back, with legs straight.
Bring one knee up to your chest and grasp it with your arms to pull it tightly. Hold for 5 sec. or so. Straighten that leg and pull the other knee up to your chest to stretch the other side. Repeat that sequence 10 times or so.
Then bring both knees up to your chest and pull them in tight. Hold for a little longer than with one knee.
If you do that several time within an hour, the stretching should cause the back muscles to relax and the pain to go away.

If you want to do a little strengthening, do the dolphin exercise. Laying flat on your stomach, arch your back in a concave way so that your upper body comes up off of the floor.
You can also do a form of this by placing a stool or box under your hips, hooking your heels under something to keep them fixed. Then lower your upper body down to the floor and raise back up.
Doing that for the situps will strengthen the abs.
Both stronger back muscles and ab muscles will reduce the possibility of 'throwing" your back out when doing simple things.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 28
3/12/09 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
Not really, and the pain he's experiencing isn't related to abdominals.

BZZZZZZTT.

Wrong Answer.

You don't know why the hell he has back pain.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 28
3/13/09 at 2:04am
^ You obviously haven't figured out this is why you're talkin about.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 28
3/13/09 at 3:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
No, like I said before you're confusing hip extension and flexion. The closer the knees are to the chest the greater amount of hip extension. Sitting lower increases hip extension and therefore hamstring length.

This is all just basic stuff and it's repeated over and over again but aside from extreme hamstring inflexibility it's rarely the cause of back pain. It could be caused by piriformis syndrome, ankalosinglingdingdong spondolitis, degenerative or slipped discs, etc.

This man is correct.

Lower back pain takes time and some commitment to core training. I recommend bridges, roll-outs and cat-camels. I would be weary of getting too enthusiastic with squats and deadlifts (anything involving hip extension)
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 28
3/13/09 at 9:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charley View Post
BZZZZZZTT. Wrong Answer. You don't know why the hell he has back pain.
I know it isn't because he has weak abdominals. That crap's a bunch of Chinese whispers. Most back pain is not caused by muscle weakness and people who talk about the abdominals increasing back strength to reduce back pain don't understand what they're doing or how it works. It's a lot more complex than most GPs, chiropractors, and everyone else out there who simply say 'increase your core strength' with no further explanation until eventually the person hurts themselves even more because they actually had sciatica caused by piriformis syndrome or a hip subluxation or something else that shouldn't be diagnosed on the Internet or by anyone other than a very good orthopaedist or other specialist.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Health & Body
Styleforum › Forums › Lifestyle › Health & Body › Exercise to reduce back pain