Options for Back Pain Sufferers

Our bones and joints are designed to give our bodies strength and leverage, but they're not really what holds us up. If you remove the muscle and ligaments, you just have a pile of loose bones with no chance of keeping them stacked properly. It's the marvelously intricate sets of opposing muscles throughout our bodies which keep things in line. This is particularly true of the spine. The long columns of vertebral bones balancing on the pelvic girdle and interlaid with fibrous discs, looks like a recipe for disaster, given the amount of bending, turning and twisting we do each day. Most of the mobility in our spines is in the length from our pelvis to our rib cage and this is where the maximum muscle strength and stabilization need to occur.



Many of us have done the infamous "crunch" abdominal exercise, but aside from the fact it tends to stress the lower back, it's not really very useful for stabilization and injury resistance. There's a complex cat's cradle of muscles running vertically and at angles on the front, rear and sides of our body core. It's this web of muscles surrounding our core which are essential to normal functioning and healthy backs.

The "Plank" to the rescue. Almost anyone can do this simple exercise virtually anytime and anywhere including in your bed. Start on a padded surface lying on your stomach with your toes closer to your body than your heels. Lift yourself up till your body is resting on your toes and your elbows. Elbows should be lined up directly beneath your shoulders and shoulder blades should be pulled back and down as if you were trying to touch them in the middle of your back. At the same time, tighten your Gluteus or "bum" muscles and pull your stomach in. Work the time to hold your position up as you get stronger, until you can hold that position with your body in a straight line for sixty seconds at least twice.

After your first front plank, turn on one side and then the other. Supporting yourself on one shoulder, do the same thing until you can do at least two, thirty second reps on each side. Don't worry if you can only do it for a few seconds, it doesn't matter where you are, but how much you improve.

This will not only develop increased injury resistance for your lower back, but improve your ability to do a wide range of every day chores and sports. Try an internet search using the key words exercise, Plank and exercise, Side Plank. You'll see numerous videos on how to do these and how to adapt them for those who are not yet strong enough for full planks.

As always, check with your physician if you have any health issues which might affect your ability to safely do these or any exercises.

Yours in good health.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7371726