Keeping the spine healthy

One of the most common problems in our world today, is a bad back.
This can have many causes but usually the cause is musculoskeletal.

Whether the cause be a muscle imbalances, strained ligaments or physical injury.
All of these can arise from lack of mobility and incorrect training methods.
The main problem is that people do not move their spine enough and have no awareness and knowledge of the spines mechanical and bio mechanical workings.

To move something you must first be able to feel it.
Therefore a program of spinal health should have a number of goals:

- Increase spinal mobility and flexibility and reduce overall spinal tension

- Increase awareness of the whole spine

- To strengthen the deep spinal and outer spinal muscles in a balanced way

- To eliminate any other muscular imbalances in the body.

Here are a few drills which cover all or most of the goals.

- Spinal rock - You start sitting down on the floor with legs held to your chest, now just rock backwards and forwards, Straight across your spine.
There is a certain point in the range that usually is bypassed and leads to a bump on the floor. This is the lower part of the lower back, Try and do this as slowly as possible and try to roll down every vertebrae for maximum benefit.

- Spinal stretch - Hang on to a pull up bar in pull up grip (wrists facing away) and now just hang there, now move your legs around underneath you. The object of this exercise is to extend the spine and separate the small facet joints to release synovial fluid and lubricate the joints.

- Google: Cobra stretch and downward dog

I highly recommend PAIN free by peter egoscue, for any musculoskeletal pain.

Have fun Training

Tom