stretches for your low back

 

Back stretches can go a long way towards relieving the muscle tension that is the most common cause of back pain. Stretches for your lower back should be done carefully to avoid injury. Here are some simple lower back stretches that you can do at home; some of the stretches require a chair.

1) Cat Stretch

You'll perform this stretch on the floor, on your hands and knees. Make sure your hands are positioned immediately below your shoulders and your knees are positioned immediately below your hips.

• Start by arching your back towards the ceiling. Drop your head and pelvis. Keep your legs and arms straight and strong.
• Return to your original position.
• Drop your belly toward the floor; lift your face and hips toward the ceiling. Keep your legs and arms firm.
• Repeat this stretching sequence five to ten times, breathing slowly and deeply throughout. Inhale as you lift your face toward the ceiling; exhale as you drop your head and arch your back.

2) Seated Torso Twist

You'll perform this stretching exercise in a chair. Be careful with torso twists; if you don't do them properly, you can injure your spine. Keep your spine straight and don't force your body into the twist; allow your spine to move into the twist on its own, and only as far as is comfortable.

• Sit upright in a chair with your palms on your thighs or knees. Your head should be directly above your shoulders and you should be balanced firmly on your pelvis.
• Twist to the left. Place your right hand on the outside of your left knee, but don't use the hand to exert any pressure; simply place it there. Your spine should be doing the twisting all by itself.
• Allow your head to move into the twist as well. Once again, don't force it.
• As you twist, look as far to that side just by moving your eyes. This makes the twist more energizing.
• Hold the twist for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing deeply and fully into the lower abdomen and lower back. When you're finished, repeat the twist in the other direction.

3) Seated Forward Bend

Some people like to perform this lower back stretch while seated on the floor with their legs extended in front of them. However, if you lack flexibility in your calves, hamstrings and lower back, you're better off performing this stretch while seated in a chair.

• Sit upright in a chair; keep your spine straight and your head held erect above your shoulders.
• Place your palms in your lap. Relax your shoulders and arms.
• Place your feet at least hip width apart; you may want to separate the feet even more. If your feet are further apart than the width of your hips, turn your toes in toward one another slightly.
• Inhale; when you exhale, lean forward over your thighs. Allow your hands to dangle on either side of your feet. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your neck elongated.
• Breathe deeply into your lower back. Hold this stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. Come up slowly, so that you don't pass out.

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Proprioception - Making Your Body Smarter

Chiropractic Care Helps Your Body Be Smarter

Your body's awareness of where it is in three dimensions is critical to your ability to function effectively in the world. This awareness depends on proprioceptors. These specialized nerve endings are part of your nervous system - your body's master system.

Nerve signals are transmitted from proprioceptors in joints and muscles, along nerve pathways, to spinal nerves. Spinal nerves connect to the spinal cord, and from there signals are transmitted to the brain. But spinal nerves are a potential bottleneck to the free flow of information. These nerves may become irritated or inflamed, blocking accurate information from reaching the brain and accurate instructions from reaching the rest of the body.

Chiropractic care helps keep your body free of nerve interference. By correcting spinal misalignments, chiropractic care helps remove nerve interference and ensures a free flow of information from the brain, to the spinal cord, to all the body's cells, and back again. Optimal health and well-being are the result.

We usually don't think of our bodies in terms of their being "smart." For example, we walk to the corner store without giving a single thought to the complex mechanics involved in getting there and back. But behind the scenes there's plenty going on and your body's "IQ" has a lot to do with your success in accomplishing everyday tasks.

Proprioception is one of those background physical processes that make up your body's total IQ. Proprioceptors are specialized nerve endings located in your muscles and joints that inform your brain about your body's position in three-dimensional space. You're able to write legibly because proprioceptors are sending instantaneous data about the angles of the small joints of your fingers and wrists as your pen moves across the page. You're able to run on the beach because proprioceptors are continuously sending signals to your brain about the changing shape of the uneven surface of the sand.

Without these specialized nerve endings, we'd never be able to hit a baseball, throw a Frisbee, or drive a car. But proprioceptors can be smart or less than that. It all depends on how well-trained they are. One person out for a stroll might trip over a crack in the pavement and suffer a badly sprained ankle. Another person might trip over the same crack, even badly turning over their ankle in the process, and keep on walking without even a trace of a limp.

The difference between injury and non-injury is the level of proprioceptor training, and this level usually is related to whether you're doing regular exercise.  Exercise trains your muscles and joints to adapt to varying kinds of stresses (weight-bearing loads) throughout a variety of positions (the full range of motion of those joints). As a result, trained proprioceptors can withstand a high degree of stress (such as a sudden twisting of an ankle). The untrained ankle, possibly the ankle of a person who hasn't done much walking, running, or bike riding in the last 5 years, will be damaged by an unusual and unexpected stress. The result is an ankle sprain of varying severity and possibly a broken ankle.

Similarly, it is well known that older adults experience more frequent falls than do younger adults. Part of the explanation involves proprioception.  Many older adults don't engage in regular exercise. Proprioceptive function decreases, changes in level or surface aren't recognized quickly by the person's feet and ankles, and the person falls.

It's easy to see that the effort to maintain your body's IQ is time very well spent. The fastest way to boost this skill set is by doing regular exercise. All kinds of exercise provide benefit, so the best exercises are the ones that have some interest for you personally. Optimally, a person is doing both strength training and cardiovascular exercise. As always, the key to long-term health and wellness is consistency.

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