I signed up for a group exercise class the other day excited to try something new. Conveniently ignoring the niggling tightness in my lower back, hips and legs off I trotted to go command my body to perform a succession of exercises unbeknownst to me.
The class begins and off I go, all guns blazing. Bopping and jumping about, weights flying here and there, feeling like I own the place. I’m fit right? I can handle anything…
My inner dialogue tells me to ignore that discomfort. Any exercise is good exercise right!? Plus I really want to work off that Paleo brownie I gobbled up this morning.
I am getting my sweat on and enjoying the music until I feel that all too familiar tweak, right around my sacrum and then YANK! There goes the global stabilizers of my lumbar spine seizing up. It feels like a ratchet has tightened a screw so tight in my lower back that now my spine has turned into a metal rod.
I should know better. And I do. But we all need a reminder sometimes that any exercise is not necessarily good exercise. Listening to your own body is essential to have a happy and healthy relationship with fitness.
There are some key things that I have personally neglected this last few weeks that are generally helpful in keeping your lumbo pelvic region happy and balanced so that when you do go push yourself you are prepared and ready for the challenge. These exercises are excellent in assisting in the prevention of back pain. If you are currently experiencing pain you should always consult a doctor and seek treatment from a physiotherapist or physical therapist who can prescribe the specific exercises for your condition.
Mobility
The thoracic spine is comprised of 12 vertebrae that lie mid-way through the spine between the shoulders. The thoracic vertebrae are intended for rotation mobility to allow proper movement through the shoulder girdle and for proper diaphragmatic breathing. Lack of mobilization in this area can result in excessive loading in another area of the spine. If you are very tight in your thoracic spine (hello most people who sit at a computer all day), the lumbar vertebrae can become strained, resulting in lower back pain.
Here is an effective thoracic mobilization exercise that requires the purchase of 2 tennis balls then can be done anywhere
Stretching
The lumbar spine needs to be able to flex and extend to allow you to bend forward and backward properly in daily activities, fitness and sport. Sitting on a chair all day, carrying heavy handbags, walking in high heels, spots and fitness can create tightness in the muscles that act on the pelvis. This tightness will begin to pull on the pelvis, drawing it anteriorly, posteriorly or laterally depending on which muscles are tight.
If you can see a pronounced curve in your lower back (like the Donald Duck walk) then you might be in excessive anterior pelvic tilt and need to stretch the iliacus, TFL, rectus femurs, IT Band and erector spinae. Work on releasing these tight muscles utilizing these stretches.
Common for people who sit hunched over a desk all day is a flattened lumbar spine (like the Pink Panther walk) where the pelvis tilts posteriorly. The muscles needed to be stretched are the hamstrings, rectus abdominus, external obliques, adductor magnus, glutes and psoas. See this video on stretches for posterior pelvic tilt from Functional Patterns.
Stability
Lower back pain often stems from a lack of control of the inner unit stabilizers of the spine and pelvis. These stabilizers are the deep core muscles, specifically the transverse abdominus, pelvic floor, multifidus, and the internal obliques. If the inner unit stabilizer are not working properly then the synchrony of the sacrum, pelvis and spine is thrown off. This results in the global stabilizer muscles becoming overactive to protect the lumbar spine from the unstable pelvis. Movement becomes rigid and painful. Here are a few core strengthening exercises from the Mayo Clinic to build pelvic stability.