How to fix your back issues.

Since we’re all at home, it’s likely we’re doing a lot more sitting around on sofas or beds trying to work in uncomfortable positions, which will inevitably have a negative affect on our back.

So if you find that your back is starting to give you trouble, then have a read of the below…

One of the reasons why your lower back hurts…

The glutes, we all have them, some people have great ones, others not so much. But did you know that if yours are weak or inactive this could be the reason why you have lower back pain.
The glutes are responsible for stabilising the pelvis with pretty much every movement you do. Walking, going up stairs, picking things up and standing to name a few.
However, if the glutes are weak or inactive then they can’t hold your pelvis in the right position which can lead to increased stress and load on the lower back as it becomes over worked.

Why?

Sitting is the new smoking.

When we sit we put the hips into a forward tilted position, which causes the hip flexors to shorten and thus tighten over time, essentially switching off. At the same time this will cause the glutes to lengthen which cause the fibres to weaken and deactivate / switch off, this is known as reciprocal inhibition.

Think of it like this… When the bicep is flexed the tricep is unflexed and vice versa, over time being in one position over another for long periods of time will cause the opposite muscle to become weak.

With regards to the glutes this can have a significant effect on your posture. Without being able to stabilise the pelvis coupled with rounded shoulders, you will constantly be in an anterior pull when performing daily tasks. Because of this the lower back has to jack up in order to keep our centre of mass balanced and you on your feet.

As of yet our bodies haven’t evolved enough to adapt to our current sitting lifestyles, so in order to stay mobile, function efficiently and avoid pain and injury, we need to exercise to get these muscles working again.

How to fix your back issues.

The human body is highly adaptable and by using the right activation drills and workout exercises, overtime you can fix these issues. Trust me I did it.

The video below is just a basic 3 minute activation drill you can do to warm up your lower body. It involves using a resistance band as shown, with it placed around the lower thigh, I doubled a loop band up but if you have a micro band, these work perfectly for this.

Process:

* You are to separate your legs to create tension in the bands.

* From here perform 5-10 glute bridges driving your pelvis up to the ceiling contracting the glutes hard at the top without allowing the pelvis to go into extension.

* After this you should now perform a clam, again 5-10 reps per side separating the knees, keeping the ankles together, feeling the tension in the outer glute. (External rotation of the hip)

* Next, do a reverse clam, keeping the knees together and separating the ankles, for most of you this will feel weird.

* Once you have completed this circuit both sides jump up into an athletic position and set your pelvis in neutral. Again separating the legs to create tension, (don’t allow the knees to collapse in) perform 5 very small lateral steps, repeat the other way and then work forwards for 5 steps and finally backwards.

Let me know how you go if you use this circuit.
Enjoy!