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Exercises
Flexibility |
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Everybody would like a strong back, and most people
understand the link between exercise and strength. Unfortunately, most people with chronic
back pain can’t exercise, precisely because they have back pain.
Even if you’re not in pain, the underlying problems in your spine will, almost
certainly, prevent you from developing long-term strength – all back pain is
accompanied by stiffness and a lack of flexibility, and this stops you from exercising
properly.
So, you need to strengthen your back to prevent further injury (and back pain), but you
can’t because you have back pain... To break this cycle, you first need to decompress
your spine, increase your flexibility, and then strengthen your back (there is no
short-term solution).
The rest of this section explains, in more depth, the link between flexibility and
strength. Note: Please read it before attempting any of the individual exercises
– it will help you to understand why you need to decompress your spine before
you attempt to strengthen your back.
The Human Spine
If the spine becomes weak, it is left susceptible to injury and back pain. However, there
isn’t that much strength in the spine itself (it’s just a series of bones and
discs stacked on top of one another). The real strength comes from the surrounding soft
tissue – the muscles.
A strong, healthy back is therefore reliant on strong muscles. But, the muscles themselves
are controlled by the nervous system – so, it follows that a healthy back is actually
reliant on a healthy nervous system.
The Human Nervous System
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The human nervous system (shown opposite)
is like a tree. It starts with a root (the brain), and has a large trunk (the spinal
cord). Branches (or nerves) stem from the trunk at all levels, from the top of the neck to
the lower back.
In total, there are 31 nerve pairs that branch off the spinal cord – these keep
splitting into successively smaller branches until they reach the muscles.
Each nerve (or group of nerves) supplies a different muscle; for example, the nerves that
exit from the top of the spine supply the arm and shoulder muscles, whereas those that
exit the spine lower down, supply the trunk and leg muscles.
If you damage your back, the nerve roots (near the spinal cord) are usually (if not
always) compressed – this leads to back pain. |
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However, because the nerves also control the
surrounding muscles, back pain is often accompanied by many other symptoms – like
weak, tight and dysfunctional muscles.
And herein lies the annoying problem. If you damage your back, you need to strengthen your
muscles to prevent further injury. But the damage to your back often prevents you
from strengthening the muscles!
The Link: Flexibility Comes Before Strength
The way to break this cycle is to decompress your spine before you attempt to
strengthen your back. By decompressing your spine, you relieve the pressure on the nerve
roots; in turn, this will reduce your back pain, and allow the muscles to function
normally again.
As a result of this, the muscles will become healthier and more flexible, and you should
be able to strengthen them safely (without injuring yourself). So – flexibility
comes before strength.
Note: If you’ve had back pain for a long period of time, your muscles will almost
certainly be dysfunctional (usually both weak and tight). However, you must be patient
– you can only start to strengthen the deep, stabilising muscles that support your
back after you’ve decompressed your spine fully – otherwise you run the
risk of straining your muscles and/or compromising your back.
To find out how to decompress your spine, please visit our section on the backrack.
If you would like to understand the anatomical causes of back pain (in more depth), please
visit our section on the Anatomy of Back
Pain. |
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