Tag Archives: how to prevent back pain

Alicia Weber, fitness expert with YourHealthUpdates.com – Shows How to Avoid Back Problems

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Approximately 80% of adults are estimated to have some kind of back injury in their lifetime and 10 percent will suffer from a back re-injury, according to Premier back statistics.

The best way to prevent back pain is to become educated in the ways back injuries occur and form a preventative plan.  One of the top ways to avoid a back problem is to lift objects properly.  There are 7 different proper lifts that you can pick from to keep a healthy back and use your leg strength and not your back to pick things up the right way! Follow along with the video below that shows the 7 proper lifts as the lifting techniques are spelled out underneath.

Avoid Back Problems with the 7 Proper Lifts

  1.  Deep Squat Lift -  Do a full squat where hips are below knee level.  Arms and legs are parallel with an anterior pelvic tilt. Always keep object close for strong base of support – good for medium to heavy lower objects.  Grab object at the sides or under the bottom of the object.
  2. Traditional Lift – Get in standard squat position except feet are anteroposterior on each side of object.  Good for heavy, low objects – place object between legs  to maintain low center of gravity while wide base of support. 
  3. Power Lift -  Go into a half-squat for lifting taller and lighter objects where hips are above knee level.  Arms and legs are parallel – grab sides of the object, while maintaining a more vertical position with an anterior pelvic tilt.
  4. Straight Leg Lift – Knees can be slightly bent in this lift known for picking up grocery bags.  Grasp sides of the object and hold object close to the body.
  5. One-Leg Stance Lift – This lift is also known as the “golfer’s lift” and it is for very light objects weighing upto a couple pounds at most.  The body will go horizontal, while maintaining a straight back and always keep the front leg over the heel (making a 90 degree angle). The back leg can be straight or slightly bent. Again secure object close to body.
  6. Half-Kneeling  Lift – good for objects of various sizes and weights.  However, AVOID this type of lift if you have a knee problem! This is a useful lift for people of small stature with great balance. The goal of the lift is to secure objects close to the body before standing.
  7. Stoop Lift -  This is a great lift for an object  below waist level. This is the common lift for different types bags and/or items with handles (i.e. suitcase, purse, brief cases, pails, tool boxes, etc). Just partially flex hip and knees, while maintaining a straight slightly forward back.  Feet are shoulder width apart and slightly anteroposterior from each other.

I hope these tips help you “back up” and regroup and start rearing in the right direction in back health!  Remember:  Keep using your Legs and Rear Muscles when lifting and NOT your back!  For more info – Alicia Weber is a fitness expert with YourHealthUpdates.com


How to prevent or get rid of back? What exercises are good for back strengthening?

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By:  Alicia Weber

If you are a person that believes walking briskly 30-minutes a day will take care of everything and there is no need for anymore exercise – THINK AGAIN!!

The primary muscles used in walking are the lower extremities including the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles. There are other muscle groups involved that act as stabilizers such as the gluteals. Walking alone fails to strengthen back muscles properly and chronic low back problems are a growing trend in America.

A walking-only program is really only targeting one area of fitness of the 5 fitness areas – aerobic capacity wellness.

One common trend I find among exercisers that limit their exercises to walking are weak back muscles. On the same hand, if these walkers start adding back and abdominal-specific exercises into their routines they can get immediate gains in fitness and feel even better!

According to the National Health Interview Survey there was an increase from 3.2 percent of the population in 1997 to 8.3 percent of the population in 2006 that experiences chronic low back pain.

There are several possibilities as to why there is an increase in low back pain including
1.) increase in obesity
2.) increase in stress levels that trigger low back pain
3.) increase in depression that is linked to low back pain
4.) sedentary lifestyle with prolonged sitting
5.) improper ways to pick up objects, poor posture, or overall lack of care for the back
6.) failure to strengthen back muscles (in particular the Multifidus M.)

If you have back pain, what do you think is your cause? Finding the cause is one step closer to working on a solution. Overall, back pain is a choice. If you fail to strengthen your back, then you will fall back in overall health! The bottom line is to keep your back strong by doing back strengthening and stretching exercises (see below) to prevent back pain.

The multifidus muscle is a thin muscle found deep in the spine. It needs to be strong, sturdy, and stable to keep each vertebra working effectively. The multifidus muscle is the key muscle in the back that needs to not only contract to produce strengthening effects, but it must be elongated. The multifidus is the strongest muscle in the back and the key stabilizer in the back.

It is possible that traditional back surgery could disrupt the alignment of the multifidus muscle causing the spine to have trouble maintaining an upright position as well as create pain and discomfort. Minimally invasive spine surgeries can result in less disruption of the multifidus muscle and in turn cause less trauma than traditional back surgery. If one is seeking back help via physical therapy, chiropractics, or other methods of back relief and severe back pain continues, then it would be best to get an x-ray. Consistent pain is a sign of seriousness.

Back strengthening and stretching can never go out of style. In fact, I am a firm believer that a back exercise should be performed everyday at least once. It is important in the selection of the back exercise and performance of the back exercise in achieving results.

 For instance, if you want to use the back machine in the gym – work on doing greater reps and lighter weight (i.e. a 115 lbs person may just use 50lbs and do 15 – 20 reps even if they could easily use a lot heavier weight.). So back exercises ARE about endurance training and NOT about power training (heavy weight and high intensity). Over doing the back with intense exercise and heavy weights can strain the low the back and cause harm.

Whether you are new or a veteran of back exercises, there is one stretch that can really open up the back and all you need is a chair.

The Moving Warrior Pose is a great way to stretch and strengthen the back! Do this exercise for a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of 2 minutes. Always start with just 1 set and over time build to doing several sets. The reaching out and stretching up and then reaching out and coming back in works gluteal stabilization, leg endurance, posture alignment, and stretches and contracts the Multifidus M. Once again, because the multifidus is such a small muscle in the back, we want to keep the intensity low and keep the exercise slow. Combine deep tortoise breathing with this moving warrior pose to get additional benefits. Try to do 2 – 4 breathing cycles/min or less. Read here if you want to learn more about tortoise breathing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEBSHMDXzmg

Always consult your doctor before starting a new exercise program even if it is for the back. When one is just starting back exercises the goal will be to work on more stretching. Once stretching is down, the person can add more strengthening. Focusing on the single multifidus muscle ( such as in the picture above in the gym back machine) is advanced and can be implemented into a back program overtime.  Learn more by reading BACK FAQS

The Multifidus M.