Align your spine is a four-week series of posts published for the next four weeks on Wednesdays breaking down the pain you are experiencing in your spine. Realigning the four major parts of your spine can lead to a life without pain. Each week new stretches will be offered. Join us as we work our way down your spine.
Advertisements endlessly tout the benefits of having ‘strong abs’. Ab toning! Get lean! Build a ‘strong core’. Beyond the messaging, what does having a strong core really mean, anatomically speaking in your body?
The core is comprised not only of the complex layers of your abdominal tissue, it is also contrasted by the muscles in your lower back. Having a strong core and avoiding the life-sucking pains in your lower back involve working your body front and back.
The lower back (lumbar spine) is naturally curved. Check out any skeleton in a science class and you will see a distinct curve. Being aware of how this part of your spine looks in neutral is the first of many steps towards aligning this part of the spine correctly.
This part of the spine is connected to your pelvis. How you tilt your pelvis changes the way your spine sits.
Try this exercise in your chair. Sit on the edge of your chair with your knees facing forward, feet flat. Completely let go of your belly, let it hang forward. Now slowly pull your belly back towards the spine. Imagine there’s a string between your bellybutton and spine. Repeat. While initiating this movement, pay careful attention to what is happening in your spine.
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
- Treatment from female doctors leads to lower death rates, study finds
A neutral lumbar spine position is the one in between those two extreme movements. Your spine is neither flat nor extremely curved. Your bellybutton should be gently tucked in with your pelvis sitting comfortably.
Here’s your homework stretch for tonight before you go to sleep:
1. Put your body in a tabletop position on the floor or bed. Hips stack over knees, shoulders stack over wrists. Knees are hip width apart. Keep your hips in place at all times.
2. Movement is always initiated from the top of the spine. Slowly tuck your chin in, curl the head under, send the thoracic spine (mid-back) up towards the ceiling. At this point your body looks like a cat stretching it’s back (cat’s know some things!)
3. Slowly leading with the crown of your head, curl your spine in the other direction one vertebrae at a time until finally the pelvis tilts your lumbar spine downwards.
4. Repeat this movement 5 – 10 times before bed. If you have a stiff lower back in the morning, this is a great way to warm it up.
P.S. Please always bend with your knees when lifting objects, whether light or heavy. This public service announcement has been brought to you by your lumbar spine, thanking you for your attention to its needs.
Comments