Change Your Movement 

Continuing my 3-part series on strengthening your low back, next is up changing your movement. Most lower back problems stem from mechanical or movement dysfunction. This means that at some point the healthy movement in your lower back became compromised. Usually from either not enough movement, or the wrong kinds of movement.

You can imagine the most common culprit for not enough movement is too much sitting.  I like to say that sitting to your spine is like sugar to your teeth.  A little here and there and some brushing and flossing probably won’t hurt you, but a crap ton is sure to rot them away.  The same thing applies to sitting.  Too much sitting proves to be detrimental to the discs in your spine that allow proper shock absorption and flexibility.  The bad news is once you lose those precious discs they never come back! Ouch!

So not only is it important to limit your sitting to 30 minutes at a time, but to make sure that you supplement some walking and stretching to brush and floss away the negative effects of sitting. To step it up try this Level Ninja approach: alternate your sitting and standing for no more than 30 minutes at a time, then walk and foam roll for 5 minutes.

The other common issue is too much of the wrong kinds of movement.  The wrong kinds of movement when it comes to the lower back usually boils down to picking things up or carrying things improperly.  Since most of us in the western hemisphere have brown up in first world countries, most of us have never had to manually work all day for our dinner. 

We grow up soft with sores on our thumbs from texting and playing too much iPad or video games.  Our ancestors rarely developed back issues since they were so active, but mostly because from a very young age they developed proper technique when it came to lifting, bending, and loading.  They learned how to brace their core properly and use their functional strength and leverage to help them complete physical tasks. 

When I see most people bend over to pick something up off the ground or lift something substantial, I cringe thinking about the damage they are doing to their spines.  In order to keep your body strong and your technique on point my recommendation is that everyone have a coach teaching them sound fundamental movement.  The best example I can give you is what we offer at our functional fitness center at Merrimack Valley Wellness Center. 

At our fitness center, we focus on movements and not specific muscles. We teach about how to maintain strength, flexibility, coordination, and most of all protect your spine.  Level Ninja: Get a knowledgeable movement coach to teach you how to build better muscle activation and movement technique.

Want a real crash course in strengthening your lower back to get out of pain?

Join us next Tuesday, October 18th at 7PM at Jaime’s restaurant – sign up for FREE here for non-patients and guests.  

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series for Bullet Proofing Your Lower Back!

– Dr. Ryan