One of the big problems of the back is that we do not see it. Understanding how it relates to the rest of the body helps us take better care of it and gain well-being.
Almost 51% of boys and 69% of girls have suffered back pain before the age of fifteen. As time passes, the back continues to complain without us looking for the exact causes or having devoted enough attention to it.
This complaint, which manifests itself with pain, offers a possibility to improve the relationship with the body.
Let’s talk about the back, how it works in a balanced body and how to prevent its dysfunctions with exercises.
WHY BACK PAIN APPEARS
The Earth’s gravitational field is the most powerful physical influence that weighs on any human life. When the human energy field and gravity stop tuning in, the body invariably adapts to gravity. We do not perceive it, but we adapt to it, we have no other alternative.
The body’s ability to adapt to the Earth’s gravitational field depends on the horizontal rotation of the pelvis, around an imaginary line that joins the heads of the two femurs that articulate in it.
In an ideal body (at rest and in an erect position), this line would be horizontal and would not have a tendency to an asymmetrical rotation.
The weight of our body is transmitted downwards and projected upwards through three lines: frontal, lateral and parietal.
- The front goes from the center of the head, down the navel, to divide the legs into two symmetrical parts;
- the lateral descends from the fontanelle through the ears, shoulder, hip joint, knee until it flows into the center of the heel;
- and the parietal divides the trunk into two halves from its center of gravity from the pelvis.
The balance of the three lines begins in the feet, because they offer the solid base for gravity to access the body and structure it to the head.
Any imbalance existing at higher levels can have its cause in the placement of the foot and ankles, which influence the successive position of knees, thighs, pelvis, spine, back, torso, arms, neck and head. Sometimes, when we have back pain, it is advisable to visit a good podiatrist.
WHICH MUSCLES WORK TO AVOID BACK PAIN
The central part of the back is the spine. Its name is deceiving, because a column is a support and that is not the primary function of this center. It could be called the spine or axis: it has the functions of distributing, moving, stabilizing, extending the forces of the body and, finally, protecting the spinal cord that descends from the brain and has the nerve endings necessary for the coordination of movements and perception of the environment.
The body is not only supported by the spine, it is part of a complicated system of forces in balance that includes five muscle groups. Let’s see how they work in relation to the back, because their health depends on that relationship.
- Abdominals. Of these, the recti are the best known, perhaps because they are the most visible, extending from the bottom of the ribs to the top of the pelvis, protecting and stimulating the internal organs. When contracting, they bring the ribs closer to the pelvis and mobilize the spine concavely.
The abdominals of the lateral part are of two kinds:- The former bring the ribs closer to the pelvis and open and close the spine laterally.
- The seconds, when contracting, rotate the hips without moving the shoulders, as in the delicious belly dance.
- Paravertebral. They extend throughout the back of the trunk, from the nape of the neck to the pelvis, joining the pelvis behind it with the lower part of the ribs, the vertebrae with the shoulder blades and, the vertebrae with each other, to the nape of the neck.
- Psoas. It deploys from the last dorsal vertebra and the five lumbar vertebrae to the thigh through the pelvis. When contracting, it brings the thigh and vertebrae in front until they touch the chest and knees.
- Buttocks. They extend from the pelvis to the femur behind the body, forming the buttocks. When contracting, they bring the leg back and out. They contribute, together with other pelvic muscles such as the pyramidal, to maintain a dynamic tension in the pelvic girdle, which provides a stable point of support to the spine.
- Hamstrings. They extend down the back of the thigh from the pelvis to the knee. If they are shortened, they tend to cause a rectification of the lumbar and to curve the dorsal ones exaggeratedly, since they are the posterior braces and cause a backward deviation of the pelvis.
The paravertebral muscles coordinate with the abdominals and psoas to keep the spine straight, as do the opposing ropes that hold the mast of a ship.
The buttocks fix the spine to the pelvis giving it stability. And the hamstrings give stability to the pelvis and with it to the spine connecting both with the legs and feet.
It is a miracle of joint and solidary forces in balance that allows us to have the spine erect and stand.
If any of these forces is poorly placed or does not have enough power, it causes a deviation from all the others and produces, among others, back injuries.
It is therefore very important to structure these forces to maintain the balance of the body and optimize its functions.
WHY BREATHING INFLUENCES BACK PAIN
There is a muscle that also affects the back and that is fundamental for it and for our life: the diaphragm.
It is the muscle that forms the lower support of the lungs and the roof of the abdomen. It is shaped like a parasol attached by its outer edges to the ribs and spine, which it moves with each breath.
Our first emotional reaction to any perception that comes to us from the outside occurs in the breath and in the diaphragm. From there it communicates to the spine and back.
For example: we are happy, we breathe at the top of our lungs and the body moves freely; Sadness, on the other hand, produces anguish, shrinks us and does not allow us to breathe deeply, slowing down the movement of the diaphragm, passing to the back, from it to the psoas, the pelvis and extending throughout the body.
To structure the back, we will need to observe our breathing, its state, depth and consistency. Our attitude towards work, everyday life or life in general has a lot to do with the back.
Dr. Ida Rolf, founder of the body integration technique called rolfing, said: “The attitude of the individual towards his environment reflects, in fact, the firmness and adequacy of his spinal structure.”
EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN THE MUSCLES OF THE BACK
There are two ways to improve our relationship with the back and optimize its functioning:
- Improve the strength and endurance of the muscles that act on the back. It involves the practice of power, speed and stretching exercises with relaxation. Relaxation alone will help us at any given time, but it will not be able to reorganize the muscular forces that produce the imbalance in the back.
- Refine the coordination of the chain of movements that influence the back. Act on the information transmitted by the movement, changing bad habits. We will achieve it with body techniques: Feldenkrais, Alexander, RPG. Or the treatments of rolfing, osteopathy, chiropractic. And oriental massages (shiatsu, Thai …).
With this in mind, here we propose a selection of exercises that will help you optimize the functioning of the back:
1. STRETCH THE DORSAL AREA
- Roll the head and neck towards the chest. Then turn the trunk and head from the waist, facing the ground in the direction of one foot. Wait for your back muscles to stretch.
- Next, you stretch your waist in the direction indicated by the fingers of your hand and, at the same time, bend your legs.
2. OPEN YOUR SHOULDER BLADES
- Roll the trunk forward. From here, turn the shoulder blades in the direction of the buttocks, and then open them without tension in the arms or head. Hold the position for 10 seconds. Drop the shoulder blades and relax them.
- The fourth time, pick up the entire trunk to the upright position with the shoulder blades back and open.
3. STRETCH YOUR NECK AND NECK
- Roll head and neck forward. Stretch your upper back for a few seconds.
- Continue to turn your head to the right with the tip of your nose facing the ground, stopping to stretch your back.
- Keep turning until you tilt your head toward your right shoulder. Stretch your opposite arm.
4. STRETCH THE PSOAS MUSCLE
- Take a long step forward with your right foot.
- Open your arms in a cross, turn the trunk to your left without moving your feet and tilt the trunk towards the right leg. If you bend this leg before tilting the trunk, it will be easier for you to tilt and you can stretch your leg in the inclined trunk position. It exhales when stretching.
- Repeat to the other side.
5. ENERGIZE THE BACK
- Lie on your back on the floor. Cross your left leg over your right, so that you can rest the arch of your left foot on the ground, to the right of your body. Perform ten breaths, without doing anything else, feeling the weight of the body, especially in expiration.
- Repeat to the other side.
- At the end, face up, collect your legs on the belly and hold them with your hands to reach the fetal resting position. Keeping this posture, you can lean sideways to the left or right, or down, in that case with your arms extended along the body.
6. STRENGTHEN YOUR HAMSTRINGS (AND BACK)
- Standing, feet slightly apart and knees slightly bent, lean forward until you form a right angle; Extend your arms back or cross to balance
- Stretch your legs without losing the straight line of the back, and lengthening it in a direction parallel to the ground. Try not to shrink your toes! With practice, the exercise can also be performed with your arms stretched over your head, and resting only on one leg and with the other stretched back.
- Then repeat by changing the support leg. In this posture you can turn the body so that it faces the horizon instead of the ground.
7. ALIGN THE SPINE
- First put all four limbs on the floor with your legs bent and the weight evenly distributed between the limbs. Rest your palms well on the floor throughout the exercise.
- Pushing the hip back and up, stretches the entire spine. It is very important that the movement is not born from the legs, but in the pelvis, which tilts backwards and upwards. You can simplify the exercise if in the starting position you crawl instead of leaning only on your feet.
8. STRETCH THE SACRAL AREA
- Face down, take one foot with one hand, with the elbow bent, without making force with the back and resting the groin on the floor.
- Hold the position for 10 seconds and change legs. Finally, grab both feet with both hands. When finished, leave your arms, legs and body stretched on the floor. You can do the exercise by resting your forehead on the ground, without turning your head. Feel your breath for a few moments.
The most beneficial of all these exercises is to let go at the end. Then the body reacts on its own.
BOOKS TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK
- The Great Book of Back Pain; Mike Hage. Ed. Paidós
- Be fit; Bob Anderson, Ed Burke and Bill Pearl. Ed. RBA-lntegral
THE BEST WAY TO SIT
We spend more than half of our lives sitting. The back suffers from it and we even have a bad conscience.
We should learn to sit correctly. But how to do it?
There is no ideal way to sit because, sitting, the vertebrae support twice as much weight as standing. That does not improve with ergonomic chairs, which ask the body for a constant adjustment to its qualities with the corresponding overload.
The best way to sit is as follows: continuously change the position. Cross your legs, pick up one leg under your buttocks and shift, lean to one side and the other, lean on the backrest and curve forward, and, from time to time, get up from the chair and perform the work standing.