So last week we talked about 4 pretty cool ways you can make some life style adjustments to free up some of that nagging back pain. Its not so much about working around your back pain but its finding out what activities you may be doing now that could be causing your back pain then just making small adjustments so those activities don’t continue to be a problem.
This week I want to wrap up a few final life hacks that I have grown to use on a daily bases. If you missed PART I of this series click here!
1) Scrub dem dishes: Well, its not so much the cleaning part that is causing the pain its the constant bending over while reaching into the sink. Yes, you are standing which is good, but not only are you standing in place for a long period of time but your bending at your lower back to reach into the sink. Lets be honest nobody is going to squat just to grab a fork out of the sink. What you can do is kick open your cabinet door under the sink and put one foot inside on the cabinet floor. This brings your a bit closer to the sink which also always your leg to take most of the weight when bending down into the sink. Keep your spine in a neutral position and use that leg to protect your back. If one leg gets tired you can always switch it up. This also keeps you from allowing your hips to relax and go into any severe posterior or anterior tilt. If your already in pain alloying your pelvis to sit in this position while you stand in a “relaxed” position can cause further irritation.
2) The Golfers Reach: I probably should have done a little research as to why golfers use this technique when pulling there ball out of the cup but I didn’t so….What I do know is this is a great way to save your back when picking things up around your house. We probably bend at the waist over a 100 times in one day. If your already dealing with a sketchy back this is not helping while you recover. This is where the golfers retrieve comes in. Whether it’s grabbing a fork you dropped to picking up your book bag or purse. Kick that other leg back and try to maintain a neutral spine along with that leg that is kicking back. This take some of the force away from the lower back and puts the weigh on that front leg.
3) Cut that grass: Yup, like clock work, every friday evening my back is usually HOT (in a painful inflamed kinda way) after cutting the grass and doing random chores around the yard. A lot of the back pain I experience is from the way I cut grass. I have a self propelled mower (which should actually benefit me more than hurt me) but I still tend to put more strain on my back then I really need to. This normally comes from pulling or pushing the mower with one hand. We are all guilty from making that first cut down the yard then instead of turning the mower around we just turn and walk back dragging the mower behind us. This adds extra unnecessary torque stress on the lower back. If your back is already going through some issues, you want to keep the twisting to a minimum while your dragging around objects. Its not just the one arm thing either, simply walking backwards while dragging something heavy puts a negative load on the lower back. So next time your in the yard, try to stick to pushing and if you have to pull, keep that core engaged as if you were doing one of your stability exercises and always pull with two hands.
4) Train one leg at a time: Like I always say, back pain is never a one size fits all treatment. What works for you may not work for me and vise versa. best thing to do is chew up the meat and spit out the bones when it comes to what I am telling you. When it comes to working out I know doing a single leg leg press puts less stress on my lower back then a two legged leg press. Thats basic exercise and body mechanics. So if you are able to exercise and your looking to train the lower body a bit stick do doing one leg at a time. Whether that is lunges, squats, leg presses, curls or raises. Do single limb movements only. This require less weight then doing it with two legs and allows you to real focus in on how your engaging your core while you train. My favorite exercises for my lower body are standing reverse lunges. It feels so much more controlled and is super easy on the knees. If you have been cleared to exercises, start ith a light weight and progress from there.
I hope these 4 life hacks helped in some way! Part I of this series can be found here
Question: Why would reverse lunges be better for your knees than forward lunges? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Talk to you soon!
William
