The niggling lower back twinge or pain is often difficult for many health professionals to not only diagnose, but to also recommend an exercise regime that will help alleviate the pain and get to the root cause of the issue.
These types of back pain issues are sometimes referred to as non specific low back pain, but what does that term actually mean? In order to try and find an answer, the question was posed to Dr Stuart McGill, who has some very interesting views and rejects the ânon specificâ part of this description.
He says, âIf you have ever been told that you have non specific low back pain, then it is my opinion that there is no such thing, that is, unless you have already undergone a thorough assessment, that has involved provocative testing. By provocative testing, I really mean testing that involves the finding of motions, postures and loads that have actually caused the pain and contribute to make it feel worse. Once a good part of the cause has been identified, that immed...
Spondylolythesis, a condition that people tend to ask me about fairly regularly, occurs when one of the vertebrae in the spine slips out of alignment causing pain that worsens with movement. Â
I talked about the condition and what you can expect to achieve through exercise in the blog What is spondylolisthesis and what should your goal for exercise be? In this tutorial I take it a step further looking at more specific stretches and exercises that could help the condition.
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
How to âfixâ spondylolythesis?
Iâm a personal trainer, so Iâm not going to talk about surgical options here, instead I want to focus on exercise. Can exercise fix spondylolythesis? The answer is itâs not likely to fix it, but it can have massive benefits for the sufferer. Exercise wonât realign the vertebrae, but the right exercises can help to build muscles to reduce stress on the spine and protect and support it...
What is spondylolisthesis?
Spondylolisthesis is a condition of the spine. It occurs when one of the vertebrae
slips out of alignment and rests on the bone, or disc, below it. It usually impacts the
base of the spine, but the issue can occur further up. The condition may be caused
by damage through trauma or fracture, or simply by genetics.
Spondylolisthesis can cause moderate to severe pain and may affect movement or
quality of life. The good news is that the condition is often treatable, and exercise
can help.
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
Should you exercise with spondylolisthesis?
Suffering with spondylolisthesis shouldnât have to stop you doing anything you
want to do, as long as youâre taking care. It is not just about the types of exercises
you should or shouldnât do, itâs about how you go about those exercises and being
mindful of what youâre trying to get out of them.
What should your goal for exercise be?
Be...
Scoliosis is a curve of the spine, presenting as either a single, âcâ, curve or double, âsâ, curve. Scoliosis can impact people in different ways depending on which part of the backbone, or spine, is affected.
This spinal curve can occur at any age and in some sufferers can cause severe pain, particularly if the rib cage becomes twisted causing breathing difficulties, or where muscles are tight.
Should I exercise with Scoliosis?
If you have Scoliosis you may feel that you canât or shouldnât exercise. Perhaps because youâre worried it will hurt or youâll cause further damage.
And while this could be true for traditional fitness exercises, there are therapeutic exercises â those that focus on rehabilitation - that could help to improve your symptoms as long as theyâre carried out in the right way.
I often find that those who come to me with Scoliosis are nervous of exercise and, where the condition has occurred late on, feel theyâll no longer be able to get as much out of a workout...
Do you suffer from lower back pain? Or have you in the past? Chances are if itâs the latter you wonât be in a hurry to repeat the experience.
Debilitating and frustrating in equal measure, low back pain can impact your everyday and affect your sleep too, leaving you feeling miserable and exhausted.
The good news is itâs never too late to put in place a few good habits to protect your spine, strengthen the muscles around it and ultimately reduce the chances youâll pick up a lower back injury.
In the video above youâll find seven ideas that you can put into place straight away â so what are you waiting for?
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
Build resilience to prevent injury from everyday movements
You may be conscious about hurting your back when youâre playing a sport or working out, but often youâll find itâs the ânormalâ movements like bending to pick up a Lego brick or twisting awkwardly to get into the car, th...
Your glutes are the big muscles of your hip, bottom and lower back - theyâre the ones
you feel when you do a deep squat. And they are really important when it comes to
keeping your spine healthy. When working to their full potential, your glutes can
carry a lot of the load that would otherwise fall to your lower back meaning less risk
of injury to your spine or damage to the smaller back muscles.
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
The relationship between glutes and back pain
By making sure your glutes are working hard you can reduce stress and tension on
your lower back.
Sounds easy, doesnât it? Itâs not necessarily!
Many people have something called gluteal amnesia meaning the glutes shut off
allowing other muscles to do all the work instead. This means that your spine may
not getting the protection it needs from the surrounding muscles day to day as you
move around. But worse than this, for many people, even when they are ...
People often donât appreciate how important exercise is for the spine both in terms of building strength and increasing resilience. Incorporating simple stretches and movements into your day is a great habit to get into whether you currently suffer with lower back pain, you have in the past or you just want to protect yourself against future problems.
But the methods I show you in the video above donât concentrate on the traditional fitness exercises you might normally expect. Instead weâll look at three ways in which exercise can help to support your spine both now and in the future:
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
Back and spine strengthening exercises
If you suffer from a weakness in your spine, traditional exercise can cause stress to build up, creating pain or discomfort when undertaking certain movements. By instead concentrating on ...
Hip flexibility is important for low back pain, Lordosis and building core strength & stability. It helps your body function properly and can reduce the risk of muscle imbalances and pain. Knowing how to improve your hip flexibility is therefore a key part of keeping your joints healthy.
The importance of flexible hips
For this blog Iâm going to focus on its benefits for posture particularly, Lordosis.
Do y...
Exercise for low back pain should be therapeutic rather than for fitness, this stage comes next. As your back becomes painful your body will tighten muscles to protect the spine but this creates a muscle imbalance.
Why does your body create a muscle imbalance?
The quick answer, to protect the spine short term but this creates a long-term problem. The psoas muscle becomes tight because itâs closest to the spine and offers short-term stability to spine. If this tightness stays long term it can put unnecessary stress on the spine and trigger back pain.
Are you struggling with low back pain? Click Here to join our How to Overcome Low Back Pain Workshop
If one muscle tightens its opposite muscle relaxes
If your psoas becomes tight your gluteal muscles (buttocks) become relaxed. The goal of exercise is to readdress this balance, it means relaxing the tight muscles (psoas) with stretches and activating the relaxed muscle (gluteals) with exercise.
What stretches loosen the psoas muscle?
...Scoliosis is a posture that creates a s-curve in your spine. There are many reasons for Scoliosis, from genetics to osteoporosis of the vertebrae. This blog isnât discuss why you might have it, but what you can do about it.
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Stretches for Scoliosis
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My last blog was about the best exercises for scoliosis and todayâs is about stretching for Scoliosis. On their own exercises or stretching can help, but both together is much better. The goal of stretching is to reduce Scoliosis, slow it and reduce muscles tension. There are many stretches that will help and you can learn 7 of them in the tutorial above. With these 7 stretches there are simple principles to follow;
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Stretch in the opposite direction
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If you have Scoliosis youâll know which way your spine curves. Stretch it in the opposite direction to lengthen the tighter muscles. It will also help your body learn a new position for yo...
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