Home Exercises For Back Pain Recovery in Texarkana
Back Pain is a very common problem that effects so many people every day.
Many frustrated back pain sufferers turn to exercise to help… and it definitely can when it’s done at the right time and in the right way.
Once your pain is relieved and your health care professional oks it, you should consider beginning a stretching and strengthening program.
This will help prevent future occurrences. It’s also frequently something that you can do on your own, at home (just make sure it’s ok to do it first!).
I want to explain a few things first before talking about developing an exercise plan.
If you still have underlying abnormal joint mechanics, then exercising that joint might cause it to break down resulting in wear and tear that people commonly refer to as arthritis.
This is why I strongly recommend seeing a chiropractor first to ensure that the small joints of the back are moving properly.
The function of the back requires that it keep you upright and that you are able to stabilize the spine both over a long period of time and, at times, during periods of heavier lifting in different positions.
This brings me to my next point.
You need to consider 3 things in your back (after the back problem is corrected/helped) for this to happen.
Back Flexibility.
It’s important that your back be able to move through it’s normal ranges of motion. It’s not normal to be stiff and this will increase the chances that you injure it again.
Stretching can be performed statically, that is holding a stretch over a prescribed period of time whether that be a few seconds or much longer.
Stretching can also be done dynamically.
Dynamic stretches are not held, but performed through a particular range of motion. An example is when someone does straight leg raises moving through a range of motion.
A chiropractic adjustment is essentially a specific type of dynamic stretch that can immediately change a joint’s flexibility and have other very significant benefits. It allows a joint to move through it’s full normal range of motion.
Endurance (muscular endurance).
Your postural muscles need to be able to support you and keep you upright over long periods of time. You do not want them to fatigue quickly as this will make it much more likely to fail and result in pain and/or injury.
The way that muscular endurance is improved is through longer bouts of much higher repetition exercises or static holds.
These are not exercises to build limit type strength. They are exercises designed to improve blood supply and the longer term energy production parts of the musculature and it’s nerve supply that will enable them to function over longer periods without fatiguing.
The goal is to gradually, over time, improve both.
Strength (we’ll call this limit strength).
This refers to how much force a muscle can exert in an all out effort.
This type of strength in your back musculature is also important in order to be able to perform the demands that you place upon it on a daily basis when lift something for example – whether that be a heavy trash bag, a box, etc.
The reality is that it’s not black and white between muscular endurance and limit strength.
An entire spectrum really exists between the two. A good exercise program will take this into account.
Starting a Home Exercise Program for your Back.
It’s important to have a good plan before beginning a home exercise program for your back.
I hate to sound like a broken record here… BUT you should make sure that you are ready for each of the exercises prior to doing them.
I have seen far too many people cause additional injury because they either should not have started yet OR they put too great of demands upon their bodies before it was ready to handle the forces involved.
This is why it’s a good idea to be evaluated by a chiropractor that understands these things first, before jumping into a home exercise program and hurting your back.
The reality is that even though 2 people have had similar symptoms, their problems can be different.
The exercises that each person needs to do to stretch and strengthen can also be different. Your goals should be to improve the function of your back and reduce future occurrences of back pain.
If you would like to schedule a time for an evaluation, I would be happy to help design the right program for you so that you can reduce the risk of having back pain in the future and so that you can better handle the demands you place on your back every day…
Contact us as Hagebusch Chiropractic and we’ll schedule a time that’s good for you and we can answer any other questions you might have about our care.
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