The Easter holidays are upon us. We are joining the masses and taking a trip to sunnier climates..actually wait a minute, it is warmer in West Byfleet than it is on the Algarve, what are we thinking?
The forecast for the first 5 days is rain, rain and a bit of rain. Any way it will be fun to get away with the family and take some time away.
This week we have had a new generator installed for the x-ray machine as the original was playing up. That meant that myself and Steve the x-ray technician had to carry a heavy generator down the stairs in to the basement.
For those of you that have been in the basement of the West Byfleet clinic, you will know that it is incredibly steep and narrow. Just getting up there without an x-ray generator can cause problems.
Steve has got a few years on me and a low back that has seen better days, so I did the noble thing and took the top part of the generator and he went down backwards first.
In hindsight I should have taken the bottom and let him take the top. Although I could feel my back twinging when I was lowering the generator down on to each step. There is something about being on the top taking more weight on your back and not being able to use your legs.
Either way we swapped over half way through meaning our backs got a good workout.
I felt good at the time as I have been doing some core exercises and been consistent with these for the past few weeks.
The next day “Oh my”, I could feel my low back twinging all day. I was not used to carrying that sort of weight in that position and my body knew it.
*Make sure if you are doing any heavy lifting in the garden this weekend that you do it in pairs and also move your legs, do NOT twist your back.
How to get rid of a twinge in your back?
If you have moved house, blitzed the garden, mowed your in-law’s grass or carried the kids up the hill then you may have a rude awakening 24 hours later as your back tells you it didn’t like what you were doing.
You may feel your back tightening up, feeling twingy and stiff when you are bending or even walking. That feeling before it locks up and spasms and then you are laid up for 5 days.
But how can you prevent it from developing in to a spasm and lock up?
- Foam roller-placing a foam roller on the floor, lie on your back over the top of the roller. You can roll from side to side to release the muscles either side of the low back and this will take the pressure off them. Be careful not to put too much of your weight on the roller.
- Massage gun-if you grip a massage gun at the top of the handle you will be able to rotate it and direct it on your low back, use it on the fleshy muscles either side of your back and your glutes. This helps to take pressure off the base of the spine. You can use it on the vertebrae (knobbly bits you feel in the centre of your back) but it feels a bit strange and might be a bit sore. Best to stick to the muscles for this one.?
- Rotation stretch-lie on your back on the carpet or mat and lift your legs up to 45 degrees whilst keeping your feet planted on the floor. Let your knees drop over to one side and then take your bottom leg and place it on top of your top leg and gently apply some pressure. Hold for 20 seconds and then repeat on the other side
- Childs pose-on all fours you can sit back on your heels and let your chest drop down to the floor. This helps to stretch your back out and prevent a spasm.?
How can you prevent it from getting to that point in the first place?
I was reading a paper by Prof Stuart McGill, he is a big favourite of a lot of Chiropractors and is a genius when it comes to biomechanics of the spine.
He has three main exercises which he uses for back pain and building up a solid core to prevent issues with your back.
He has written hundreds of papers and his book is over 1000 pages long. By all means go and read it, but he has whittled it down to these three main exercises.
I would start trying to do these in some form to help build your strength for gardening this spring.
- Curl up-start on your back on the floor. Put your hands underneath your back, bend one leg, slowly curl your torso up and engage the lower abdomen. Hold at the top and then slowly lower back down, repeat this 10 times through, 3 sets. It is important to not wrench the neck all the way up.
2. Side plank-lying on your side, push your weight through your forearm on the floor and let your torso and head come off the floor. You will feel some pressure on your side, that is exactly what you need. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on both side, 3 sets.
3. Bird dog-on all fours, you may want a mat if you have knee pain. Engage your core by sucking your belly button in, then lift your arm up and forwards, at the same time lift the opposite leg from the glute and extend it backwards, make sure you are not tilting the pelvis and don’t let it rotate as this can create instability. If the pelvis is rolling around then don’t extend the leg and arm as far.
There you have it, 1000 pages and years of clinical research condensed in to half a page. In all seriousness you should check out some of his work, it is fascinating and can really help if you wanting to get stronger in your core.pert but reading the book “The body keeps the score” was eye-opening and has helped a lot of people.
If you are wanting to chat more about the information above then why not book a call with me and we can go into more detail? Click here to book or if you want to get an assessment then Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
