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Tue 21 Sep, 2010 04:40 am
I recently experienced lower back pain. On the advice of a physician, I took ibuprofen, which removed the pain, though I still feel some tightness & stiffness.
Is there an exercise I can do to make me less susceptible to back problems?
@gollum,
http://able2know.org/topic/161016-1
and/or ask your physician...
@gollum,
don't ask why I've got this at my fingertips...
http://able2know.org/topic/42108-2#post-1099027
Laying on the floor is a good way to do stretching for the back. Some gentle ones that I do routinely are:
Lay on the floor. Allow your back to relax. With knees bent and feet on the floor, lift up as if to do a sit-up with your arms straight parallel to the floor. Hold for about 2 seconds and return to laying down and relax again.
With legs out straight, bring one knee up and pull in gently toward you and meet it with your chin. Hold for about 2 seconds. Do the other knee. I also do the ones mentioned in the above post by JP.
Most of your lower back is a sheet of connective tissue. Little micro-injury to this tissue can result in inflammation which causes pain. If it's lower, the inflammation can be coming from the joints and ligaments of the pelvis. Either way, the long-term solution to lower back pain that isn't disk or SI joint related is to loosen up muscles to allow free movement of the pelvis when you walk. The big-Kahuna here is the hamstrings. Tight hamstrings (which most of us have) will limit the mobility of the pelvis and set the stage for micro-injury. So gentle stretching of the hamstrings is helpful.
To stretch hamstrings, make sure your muscles are warm. The muscle bands are encased in fascia which becomes stretchier when warm. The real cause of shortened muscles is the nervous system, though. Through habitual shortening (like sitting at a desk a lot) the nervous system adapts to shortened muscles. You can reset the "norm" by stretching them once a day. Either morning or night is a good time, whenever they're warmest.
One good way is to stand. Put your foot up on something like a stool. Start with knee bent. Then gently straighten the leg. You'll feel the hamstring pulling in the back. Go into the stretch for two seconds and come back out. Repeat 10 times. Limiting the time to 2 seconds allows you to stretch the muscle prior to the onset of a "stretch response" which means the nervous system reacts against stretching (to protect the muscle.) You can also help with something called reciprocal inhibition.... tighten your quads for a second and then straighten your leg. This is another trick for encouraging your nervous sytem to allow the stretch.
If you have lower back pain, do not lean over and touch your toes. Your upper body can create too much of a load and can result in injury. Always bend your legs for lifting. Make sure you support your lower back while sitting. A lot of car seats contribute to back pain simpy by allowing your to slump. A little pillow behind your lower back will make it easier to maintain good posture which protects your lower back.
Avoid yoga unless you have a good teacher who knows about protecting the lower back. The simplest yoga is too advanced for anybody but ballerinas and martial artists.
@gollum,
Yes,
There are so many exercise which is helpful for your back pain problem.
These exercise are not too hard to do.
I know following-
1. Back Strengthening
2. Low-Impact Aerobic
3. Strengthening exercises
These are few which I know.