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And if your back health is below par, these three easy exercises will strengthen it
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“Back pain is an epidemic,” says Philippa Oakley, a chiropractor and member of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). Between 60 and 80 per cent of us will suffer from it in our lifetimes and the number of those in pain is on the rise – fuelled by our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, prawn-like postures and long waits for care.
We sit when we work, we sit watching television, we sit when we socialise. Some of us rarely move around to do domestic duties – hiring cleaners, dog walkers and painters and decorators. Instead of chopping and preparing food from scratch, meals are cooked instantly in the microwave and require us to move for mere seconds from the sofa.
Sadly so much about our modern lifestyles is bad for our back health. However, there are steps you can take to mitigate your risk. The BCA has created a test that could flag whether you’re vulnerable to back pain and shared three exercises to safeguard your back for years to come.
The back age test is a quick and easy way to check in on your back health and find out if it’s in worse shape than it should be for your age, according to Oakley.
To do it, start in a comfortable seated position on a chair, cross your arms over your chest and raise yourself to a standing position before sitting back down again. Repeat this sit-to-stand exercise for 30 seconds, while counting the number of repetitions you complete.
The table indicates how many repetitions you should be able to do for your age.
If you hit or exceed your target, your back is probably in good shape, Oakley says. However, if you fall short, you might have problems with your spinal motion, mobility, stability and muscle strength, which could leave you vulnerable to future back pain, she explains.
More specifically, it could also be a sign of problems with the sacroiliac joints, which are located in the lower back and connect the base of the spine with the pelvis. These joints are essential for transferring weight between the legs and spine and any weakness here can increase the risk of frailty and suffering a fall in the future.
“Following a fall, there can be a bit of a downward spiral into decreased mobility, decreased strength, fear of movement and aches and pains developing,” so we want to avoid them at all costs, Oakley warns.
However, adding just a few exercises to your day can help to build strength, stamina and balance back into the spine and counteract the risk of suffering from back pain or a fall for years to come. They’re also really helpful for people with pre-existing back pain and those whose spines are in good condition, she says.
Start by lying flat on the floor, with your hands in the arch of your back, one leg bent and raised. Lift your neck and shoulders slightly above the floor and try to hold the position for 10 seconds, though you can start at three or four seconds and build up from there if needed.
The curl-up helps to build deep core stability, Oakley says. This is because, unlike a sit-up (which engages bigger muscle groups like the abs), the curl-up works the intrinsic muscles – those really small muscles that are snuggled in against the joints in the spine.
The curl-up helps to strengthen these muscles and, in turn, enhances spinal stability. “It’s going to prevent too much movement in the joints in the back, which can lead to back pain.”
Start by laying on your side, with your hips and knees stacked on top of one another and use your bent arm to slowly raise yourself off the ground. Aim to hold the pose for 30 to 40 seconds. If this pose is too challenging, you can hold the position with your knees touching the ground.
The side plank helps to strengthen the lateral muscles, including the quadratus lumborum.
“It’s the one that a lot of people complain about being sore,” Oakley says. “If you’ve got your hand on your waist with your fingers at the front and your thumb at the back – it’s that muscle you can feel with your thumb.”
The side plank strengthens this muscle, which increases core stability and prevents too much side-to-side movement in the back – a common cause of back pain, Oakley explains. “It engages all of the muscles that help to maintain posture and protect the spine,” she adds.
Start on your hands and knees on the floor, while keeping your back flat. Slowly extend the opposite arm and leg to a full stretch, returning to your starting position and completing the same movement on the other side. You can add a cushion under your knees to make it more comfortable and provide more support.
“The bird dog exercise is looking at how well our spine can cope with transferring movement across two different diagonals, something that we’re doing constantly throughout the day,” Oakley says. For example, when climbing stairs or getting dressed.
“It’s working the erector spinae, a group of muscles that sit very close to our spine, and our rectus abdominis, which are the muscles at the front of our abdomen. Engaging these muscles helps stabilise the lower back while you’re moving.”
Videos by Matt Writtle for The Telegraph
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