Pilates For Back Pain Part 3 Of 8

Osteo Pilates Blog

Back Pain: No Sit-ups Required

Thursday, 13 August 2009 16:07 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Are you doing sit-ups and crunches to help support your aching back? Stop. In the name of all that you have already put your spine through, please, stop. I teach therapeutic exercise in a physical therapy clinic and I hear myself repeating the same thing over and over again. Stop doing sit-ups, stop doing crunches, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop..... (In my own head, what I am hearing is the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher: WAHN, WAHN, WHAN, WHAN, WAHN, WAHN... )

It's a mistake to think that what we need is increased strength in our abdomen. Did you know that people with a history of disabling back pain, whether they are currently in pain or not, have a better ability to hold a sit-up type position than their pain-free counterparts? (It's true. I'm not making this up.) The tests were done by Stuart McGill. He's a doctor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He has done too many tests to count on how our muscles are firing, or not firing as the case may be, and has produced a wonderful body of work in 'Low Back Disorders' that explains why some exercises work and others don't. The book is a little dense: it's not meant for the lay person but if you are determined you can get through it.

In any case, one of the more remarkable studies he did was to test muscular endurance on those Therapeutic Exericse with and without a history of back pain. When holding a sit-up type position, those with a history of back pain were stronger. The exact position is this: Seated with the knees up and the soles of the feet down, the person being tested is asked to lean back against a wedge.

The angle is about 35 degrees off of perpendicular. Next the wedge is removed and the timer starts. On average, the person with a history of disabling back pain was able to hold this flexed position for almost 20 seconds longer than someone with no history of back pain.

Now the position does rely on the stabilization of not only the abdominal musles but also relies heavily on the hip flexors. But so does a crunch and a sit-up. The best exercise for the abdomen (whether you have back pain or not) is to not engage the hip flexors. An example of that type of exercise is below in Part 6 of 8 on back pain.

After several more tests were completed this position is the only one where those with a history of disabling back pain tested stronger. They were weaker in spine extension and right and left side-bending (the obliques). So THAT is where the time should be spent if you are trying to prevent back pain: your spine extension muscles and your obliques. You can strengthen the obliques with the exercise that will be in the next installment of the back pain series and the spine muscles with the final installment.

In the meantime, you can get yourself going with the exercises below. All of these exercises and more are compiled in my DVD: Pilates for Healthy Bodies. You can purchase the DVD on this website. Good luck! –Karena

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Last Updated (Thursday, 13 August 2009 17:06)

Pilates for Back Pain Part 6 of 8

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 13:02 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Pilates for Back Pain: Part 6 of 8

Moving onward and upward to something a little more challenging. This Pilates exercise challenges the flexors of the spine. It challenges them to NOT flex. Instead, the challenge is to stabilize. To hold the spine in a cushion of safety by not allowing errant twisting, tweaking and torsion. A weak spine tends to be a wiggly spine. This exercise will create strength to prevent too much wiggling (some wiggling is good after all).

Before we get started, here's an interesting fact. When tested, those with a history of back pain have more endurance in their ability to hold a flexed position of the spine than those who have never had back pain. (A flexed position of the spine in this case is holding a sit-up position when you are halfway up in the process of performing a sit-up.)

Isn't that amazing that someone with back pain had a better ability to hold this position than someone without back pain? And all these years we've been told if we have back pain we need to strengthen the stomach muscles. Appears to be false. It appears that those with back pain have too much strength/endurance there. And do you know where the back pain patients were weak? In their spines.

::Okay, is it just me or does these seem like common sense?::

A weak spine does need stabilization help from the oblique muscles and the spine flexors. But those muscles need to learn to stabilize. So that the upper and lower bodies can move without increasing the wiggle-factorof the spine.

The exercise above is an alternate to sit-ups. You will strengthen your abs by bracing them, not be flexing the spine. Flexing the spine is not only an area that doesn't need strengthening if you have back pain but it also an enormous amount of pressure on a sore spine. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions about this series of exercises for pain relief.

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 05 August 2009 14:40)

Pilates Exercise for Back Pain - Part 5 of 8

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 11:02 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Gentle stretching. The key word is gentle. Most of us tend to over-stretch and push into the 'grimace-range'. If you are grimacing you may be over-doing it. Don't inflict pain on yourself. Seems obvious, doesn't it?

The point of this stretch is to improve posture and to get the spine moving in a direction that we don't often move: side-to-side. We spend our days bent over computers, kitchen counters and steering wheels. This exercise gets the spine moving in a way that will help remind your body that there are other options than slumping forward. By the way, little note here...don't stretch your spine by slumping forward and hugging your knees. More forward slumping is the last thing your spine needs if you are achy.

Also, this exercise addresses the less flexible side of the spine. Most of us are not ambidextrous. What that means to our spines is that we spend most of the day leaning into the strong side: think about carrying heavy groceries and how the weight-bearing shoulder will be higher while you are holding the extra weight. Or even consider your mouse hand. Ever notice how that shoulder tries to hug your ear? This extra work consistently being done on the same side creates a slight scoliosis or curve of the spine. Muscular imbalances result.

I do want to emphasize that these imbalances are normal. Much the same way as when you look in the mirror you see a slight difference between the right and left side of your face. No one is perfectly symmetrical: not from one side of our faces to the other or from one side of our spines to the other. Now, having said that, it is still very worthwhile to work both sides of your body equally when you exercise. Become aware of the imbalances and see if you can't create more strength on the weak side and more flexibility on the stiff side. Working on these imbalances will help prevent undue imbalance and the possible resultant muscular discomfort.

With the hips stabilized and pushing into the mat the upper back has the opportunity to move. If the hips are not anchored then the upper back stays stuck. Anchor the hips and allow the spine to move as far as it comfortably can.

Try this exercise. If you have back pain, be sure not to stretch first thing in the morning. The discs take on water at night (just like our hands can be swollen and our rings can be tight when we wake up in the morning). This extra water stresses the muscles around the spine and stretching is an additional stress they do not need first thing in the morning. Let me know if you have any questions about these exercises for pain relief.

Karena

p.s. Oh My, my hair is stunning this week...

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 05 August 2009 14:42)

Pilates Exercise for Back Pain - Part 4 of 8

Saturday, 06 June 2009 14:26 | Author: Karena Lineback |

When we have back pain, it isn't just our back muscles that stop cooperating. Our gluteals (read: butt muscles) almost always stop playing well with others and in fact they tend to not play at all.

Check your gluteal strength with this week's exercise:

When we have a back or hip injury or period of pain, the gluteal muscles just stop firing.

The kinesiologists who study this kind of stuff don't really know why. In fact, they don't know what happens first: Do the gluteals stop working first or Does the back start hurting first. Interesting question.

I'd be really interested in hearing if you can 'feel' this exercise. If you have back pain you have to really, really focus on making those gluteals squeeze. Don't let those butt muscles get away with just being a saggy mass on the back of your tuckus.

If you have back pain, this exercise is a keeper. Keep it in your archive of exercises you must do to increase the health of your spine.

So now join me. Scroll up and Push play! Karena

P.S. Let me know if you have any questions about this series of Pilates exercises for pain relief.

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 05 August 2009 14:43)

Pilates Exercise for Back Pain - Part 3 of 8

Tuesday, 19 May 2009 06:47 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Do you do the famous 'I Have Back Pain' Walk? The one where you sway side-to-side when you walk? The one where you would make anyone seasick if they were to watch you walk across the room? Or do you make people queasy when you stand in line as you constantly shift your weight back and forth from one leg to the other?

We back pain people think we are hiding our pain so well. HA!

When you start the 'Sway', it is a signal that your gluteal medius muscle has decided to check out. It's the muscle on the side of your hip. If you put your hands on your hips and go down and inch or three, that's where your glut med lives.

Good luck and let me know how you do with this series of Pilates exercise for pain relief! Karena

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Last Updated (Wednesday, 05 August 2009 14:44)

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