Healthy Tips For Better Live

Archive for the ‘Back & Neck’ Category

If you were to ask me which muscle group in your entire body you could work to get the greatest benefits in the shortest amount of time, I would tell you without hesitation, “the core.” Strengthening the core can realize tremendous benefits to anyone regardless of his or her training experience and can do so very quickly.

But what is the core?

The core, as it’s known in strength training circles, consists of all the muscles in your abdominal and lower back areas. This includes all the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, transverse abdominus and intercostals) as well as the muscles associated with the spine (the erector spinae group) and the hip flexors (iliacus and psoas, collectively known as the iliopsoas).

These muscles all work in harmony to provide stabilization for your body and to transfer power from the legs to the upper body and vice versa. The core muscles also function to keep your insides in, where they belong!

And why is strengthening the core so important?

Weak core muscles contribute to all kinds of problems in the body, the most prevalent of which is lower back pain. By strengthening the muscles that help support the spine and improve posture, you can dramatically decrease the symptoms of lower back pain.

Picture your spine as a column of soda cans stacked one on top of the other. If you wanted to keep that column standing up under stress, what do you think would work better: a “tenser” bandage (as is used for wrapping injured ankles) or Scotch tape? Sure the tape would keep the cans together but the cans wouldn’t receive a whole lot support, would they?

When you strengthen the muscles of the core, you are in effect turning that Scotch tape into a nice, tight “tenser” bandage, increasing the amount of support that your spine gets.

Core training also has the potential to greatly improve sports performance. Watch a baseball pitcher throw a pitch in slow motion. The power of the throw starts at the legs, gets transferred through the abdominal area (a.k.a. the core) then ends up in the arm where the ball is released. Imagine how much speed and power would be lost from that throw if the core muscles couldn’t efficiently transfer the force from the legs to the throwing arm.

The core is the one area of the body that will always give you a great return on your investment.

So how do I train my core muscles?

Exercises that work the abdominals and the lower back are the staples of core training. Also, exercises that target the stabilization and power-transfer duties of the core muscles are very effective.

The most basic abdominal training exercise is the standard crunch. You can go to the following URL to see the proper technique for this exercise:

http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Crunches.htm

But I’ve got an exercise for you that blows the standard crunch right out of the water. The equipment required for this exercise: one rolled-up towel.

The exercise is known as the Abdominal Sit-Up. It uses a sit-up-like movement but focuses directly on the abdominal muscles rather than the hip flexors (which a regular sit-up does). It is also very safe for your lower back. Another advantage it has over the standard crunch is that it targets the stretched (arched back) range of motion of the abs, which is totally missed in standard floor crunch.

How To Do It:

Lie on your back on the floor. Roll up a towel or mat and slip it underneath your lower back, just above the waistband (the size of the towel affects your body position during this movement – use a fairly large towel).

Your knees should be bent about 90 degrees. Keep your feet close together and knees fairly wide apart. This prevents the hip flexors from having a direct line of pull, helping to minimize their involvement.

Do not anchor your feet or have someone hold them down. This automatically activates the hip flexors. You will get the most out of this exercise by minimizing their involvement.

The difficulty of this exercise depends on where you hold your hands. The hardest position is above your head at arms-length, then beside your head, then across your chest, then straight down between your legs or at your sides. Start with the easiest first then progress to the other positions as you get stronger.

You are now ready to begin.

Keeping your torso straight and stiff, start the sit-up by tightening your lower abs then lifting your upper body off the floor. As you continue up, imagine trying to push your face up against the ceiling (think up, not around). When you reach about 25 to 30 degrees above horizontal, hold there for a second or two and squeeze your abs hard. Keep your lower back in contact with the towel at all times and always maintain tension in the abs. Lower yourself down slowly and under control. Do not just drop back to the ground. The negative portion of this exercise is extremely effective. Remember to adjust your arm position depending on the strength of your abs (see above).

You can see pictures of how this exercise is done by going to:

http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue9-ab-tip.htm

Incline Ab Sit-Ups

If you are a beginning trainer, this is a good starting variation of the Abdominal Sit-up.

Set an incline sit-up board to a slight incline. If you don’t have an incline sit-up board, you can use an adjustable incline bench, a decline bench, a Step platform with a riser under one of the ends or a flat bench with something under one end. You can even use a propped-up 2 x 6 board!

Your head should be on the higher end with your feet placed on the floor.

The execution is exactly the same. The only difference is that the tension on the abs is much less due to the greatly improved leverage in this position, allowing even people feel that their abs aren’t strong enough to do the exercise.

Lying Superman Raises – An Exercise For The Lower Back

Though this exercise has a rather unique name, it is an excellent strengthening exercise for the lower back that you can do almost anywhere.

How To Do It:

Lie face down on the floor with your arms stretched out directly overhead (like Superman flying, hence the name).

Raise your left arm and right leg into the air at the same time, also raising your chest slightly off the floor. Hold there for a second and squeeze the muscles of your lower back. Lower your limbs back to the ground then raise your right arm and left leg and hold for a second.

You can push down with the hand that is on the ground to help raise your other arm and chest higher off the ground.

This exercise, even though it only uses your limbs as resistance, provides an excellent way to strengthen the lower back muscles.

Conclusion:

These two exercises will give you a good place to start with core training. You can begin improving your core strength by doing these exercises 3 times a week for 2 to 3 sets each.

Make core training a priority in your exercise routine and you will rapidly reap the benefits of having a stronger, more injury-proof midsection and back.

If you have any questions about core training or the exercises described here, go to: http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Contactus.htm

Did you know there were 3 simple exercises that could dramatically change your sciatica? Yes, sciatica could actually ease and disappear and never to return. Wouldn’t that be great!

Just imagine being able to walk freely, enjoy life, play with your children. All without that nagging sciatica that has become a real “pain in the butt”. Life would be so much easier and happier, wouldn’t it?

In actual fact there are 3 simple exercises that can help you to remove your sciatica and help to prevent any recurrences as well. They are as follows…

Strengthen Your Abdominals

Your abdominal muscles are the most important muscle for pelvis and lower back stability. Your sciatica is caused by irritation to the sciatic nerve. This is formed from 5 nerve roots that exit the last parts of your spine. If your abdominal muscles are stringer then these areas are more stable and able to move easier.

Abdominal muscle strength does not mean spending countless hours doing sit-ups or crunches. In fact these types of exercises do little to strengthen the abdominals; they can actually target the hip flexors which if over tight help create your sciatica.

Abdominal strength requires a good nerve and blood supply to the abdominal muscles and then targeted exercise that increases the strength of these muscles in days. To improve your abdominals you need ideal strengthening techniques.

Relax Your Hip Flexors

The hip flexor muscle group if tight increases the curve of our lower back. This increases pressure on the sciatic nerve and allows your sciatica to occur. The hip flexors and abdominal muscles work together. A strong abdominal group and a balanced hip flexor group give you stability, flexibility and strength in your lower spine.

If this is achieved your sciatica will disappear quickly and is easy to prevent. To stretch the hip flexors, you need to target them correctly and the most important aspect of stretching is not what to stretch, but when and how to stretch. Knowing when and how means you spend minimal time stretching with maximum gains. Easing tension can be achieved within days not weeks or months.

Piriformis Stretching

The sciatic nerve either runs through or next to the Piriformis muscles. If tight the Piriformis allows sciatica to occur. So with all sciatica, Piriformis stretching is essential. Stretching the Piriformis is simple and the same rules apply…

What to stretch is important, how and when to stretch is essential. Especially if you want to change your sciatica quickly and permanently. Perfect stretching is the key!

The 3 most important muscles to target if you suffer sciatica are the abdominal, hip flexor and Piriformis muscles. Target these and sciatica is easily controlled.

Sciatica can be helped and you can change your sciatica quickly. Learning to stretch and strengthen the main muscles that cause your sciatica can ease your pain quickly and remove that nagging sciatica once and for all.

Ask most people who are training to get fit what part of their body they would like to develop and, I’ll wager, most will say it’s their abdomen. Men will likely say they want a well defined six pack and women will say they want a trim waist. How do you achieve that goal, though? Again, most people will say that you must do crunches or sit ups. Yes, you can do those but why would you want to do such ineffective exercises? Perhaps you don’t know about other ways to develop not only the six pack but the whole core. You might think about doing the plank exercise, both front and side versions, and ab-wheel rollouts. Both excellent ways of working the core. But there are other, more effective exercises that will give you the desired six pack look, develop your core strength and improve your posture.

And did I mention that they will help you lose fat? Well, they will. With too much fat around the midsection your abs just won’t show. They might be there, hard as steel, but no one will ever know. They’ll be hidden. These other exercises will work all your core muscles, and your arms and legs, together. They will work your body as a unit with each set of muscles supporting and co-ordinating with the others. That’s how they work when you are using them during sporting events or when you are just walking and moving in your daily life.

A six pack is very desirable to have but it is really just cosmetic if you haven’t developed the other important muscles of the core. It might look good and make people feel more attractive but it will just be all show if your other muscles aren’t strongly developed too. The muscle that makes up the six pack, the rectus abdominis (RA), is just part of a larger group of muscles in the abdomen, pelvis and back that are responsible for stabilising the spine and pelvis and helping to form a link between the arms and legs to allow power to be transmitted between them.

As I said above, crunches and sit ups are rather ineffective but they can also be harmful. Doing crunches and sit ups to develop the six pack can lead to shortening of the rectus abdominis. They can also cause shortening and tightening of the hip flexors. Most of us spend too much time sitting down for long periods, and many probably already have over-tight hip flexors. When the body habitually adopts a certain position it can adapt to that position, and muscles and ligaments can settle into shortened ranges of motion. Sitting for long periods can lead to adaptations in the hip flexors so that you will find it difficult to maintain correct posture when standing and walking. Doing only crunches and sit ups could make the situation worse.

They can lead to shortening of the RA which can pull you into a stooped position, with a change to the curve in your lumbar spine. When the rectus abdominis is too strong, and there is a compensatory flattening of the lumbar curve, this can lead to lower back pain and pain and numbness that radiates down into the legs and feet due to compressive forces on nerves in the pelvis area. If the lumbar curve flattens out too much there will be the very real risk of damage to the spinal discs when heavy loads are lifted. Conversely, a rectus abdominis that is too weak can lead to an excessive curve in the lower back, which can bring its own problems.

Does this mean that we shouldn’t do abdominal exercises? No, of course it doesn’t. Strengthening the abs is vital for good health, good posture and optimum performance in sports. It does mean that we shouldn’t try to develop the abs in isolation. They are part of the core musculature and should be exercised together with the other core muscles. This way, we can have a balanced, healthy body that is not subject to the strains and pains that can result from overtraining one part of the body at the expense of another part.

One of the most important functions of the abdominal and core muscles is to maintain stability of the spine. It is advisable to do some exercises that work those muscles statically without flexing, extending or twisting your trunk. They will then become strong enough to resist movements that would flex, extend or twist the spine when you want to, or need to, keep it stable..

For an effective training regime that allows for balanced development of the core muscles and a well defined six pack, you need to pick the correct exercises. You could just select any at random from all the places where they are described but you could be picking ineffective or even dangerous ones.

There are dozens of really effective exercises for your abdominals and other core muscles, but if you have any injuries you need to be careful which exercises you pick. If they cause pain in the injured area, don’t do them. If in doubt, consult someone who is qualified and capable of assessing your particular condition regarding suitable exercises.

Even if you have no injuries, you should be careful not to do any exercise that causes pain. I don’t mean the expected pain that comes from actually exerting yourself and making your muscles work harder than they are accustomed to doing. What I mean is a pain that stops you functioning properly, one that causes great difficulty walking, bending or moving your arms. If any exercise causes that, stop doing it. It might seem obvious but some people think they can push through the pain and that the body will adapt. If it’s the kind of pain we are talking about here, continuing to do whatever causes it could lead to serious injury. Because of our differences due to existing injuries, body proportions or posture, some exercises that are suitable for one person could be unsuitable or dangerous for another.

Try each new exercise carefully. Only do a few reps or sets to see how you feel. If you aren’t happy with it, do something else. There are more than enough to choose from. After a time doing other exercises you could return to the one that hurt or felt uncomfortable. It may feel better if your injury has healed, your posture improved or muscles have become stronger.

Lower back pain due to irritation of the lower lumbosacral nerve roots causes pain and spasm in muscles of the lower back and the lower limbs. There will be loss of balance with tendency to fall when muscles do not contract quickly in a coordinated fashion due to pain, spasm or weakness.
The muscle important for walking is the gluteus maximus at heel strike which has to undergo a lengthening contraction to stabilize the hip joint. The quadriceps muscles and muscles that pick up the foot and ankle (dorsiflexors) also undergo lengthening contractions as the body weight is gradually transferred over the supporting limb.

When the body weight is totally transferred over to the supporting limb, the gluteus medius of the supporting limb is important to prevent the non-supported hip and pelvis from dropping. The soleus muscle is active during mid stance to prevent the knee from buckling.
During the push-off phase, the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles are important for lifting the heel off the ground.

To lift the lower limb and swing it forward, the hip adductors and hip flexors are very important. In the mid and late stance as well as the swing phase of walking, the muscles undergo shortening contractions and are not as vulnerable to injury.
A person is most prone to injury during the early phase of stance since most of the muscles have to undergo lengthening contractions. When this is compounded by presence of pain spasm or weakness the person will have a tendency to fall.

Therefore shortening contractions are important for strengthening the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, quadriceps and foot and ankle dorsiflexors.

Almost everyone in the world has done a sit up sometime during their life. The exception are only those that have not started school or began to walk yet. Lordosis is actually a very common condition, and the severity is depended upon the person and their imbalance. Many people have lordosis without even realizing it; others are aware of the pain, but unaware of the condition.

Lordosis is an exaggerated lumbar curve in the spine. It is caused by overactive or tight hip flexors, weak hip extensors, and weak abdominals. Many people that sit down a lot during the day have lordosis and others that do a lot of sit ups have it. Notice a lot of people come out of the military with lower back pains? Most of the time it is caused by loads of sit ups that are required to maintain physical fitness.

Sit ups can cause lordosis by working the hip flexors more than the rectus abdominis. The ab muscles, which anatomically are known as the rectus abdominis, act to elevate the torso with help from three muscles that flex the hip – iliopsas, which is actually three muscles – the psoas major, psoas minor, and iliacus. And the rectus femoris, which is the only quad muscle that runs anterior of the femoroacetabular joint.

When the hip flexes, a person with weak abs will only get minimum work from their ab muscles directly. This causes the hip flexors to do a lot of the work. The hip flexors will continue working long before the ab muscles have fatigued, and the the result is a forward pelvis – an anterior pelvic tilt we call “lordosis”. Other exercises that target the ab muscles are sometimes acknowledged to target the hip flexors. One of which, is the hanging weighted leg raise. The leg raise flexes the hip, but is better than sit ups because it involves more of the spinal erectors that have to stabilize the lower back.

The anterior pelvic tilt, called “lordosis” can be fixed in many ways. The solution is first to stretch the overactive muscles – in this case the hip flexors and strengthen the abs and hip extensors. How can you strengthen the abs without the hip flexors too? Isometric ab work like planks. How can you strengthen the hip extensors? Stiff-leg deadlifts and low bar squats can do the job, so can glute hamstring raises. If you insist on concentrically working your abs with sit ups or leg raises, then squeeze the glutes at the bottom to deactivate the hip flexors.

Did you know that some of the worst exercises for lower back pain are the exact ones that are typically recommended by health care professionals?

Most low back pain sufferers have very weak abdominal muscles and are usually told to perform exercises to strengthen the abdominals.

It has been my experience to avoid certain exercises at all costs. If you want to relieve low back pain then you need to know the 5 worst exercises for your low back.

#1: Sit-ups- I have never had a client of mine perform a traditional sit-up. Sit-ups are the absolute worst exercise. Now, most health professionals have gotten away from recommending this exercise, but there still are some who do. Sit-ups pose a couple of major problems.

First, performing the exercise with hands behind your head can aggravate or develop strain on your cervical spine (your neck). Because of the typical abdominal weakness most low back pain sufferers have, they cannot effectively initiate movement of the trunk by engaging the abdominals. So, instead they begin to pull at the head which causes strain to the cervical spine.

Second, sit-ups involve the hip flexors more than the abdominals. Your hip flexors are active in such movements where you bring your knee up. For example, when walking up a flight of stairs your hip flexors lift your leg to you can put your foot up on the next step.

But, your hip flexors also attach to each vertebrae on your lumbar spine. When you overuse these muscles they generate force that pulls from the lumbar area of the spine which causes stress to your lower back.

#2: Crunches- Traditional crunches were used as a safe alternative to the sit-up. Technically, crunches utilize the abdominals and stretch the spinal erectors which can help alleviate low back pain.

But, here a few interesting facts that make crunches one of the top 5 worst exercises for your low back:

fact #1- crunches primarily engage the rectus abdominis, commonly called the “six pack” muscles. The rectus abdominis functions to flex your spine as when bending forward at the waist. Crunches fail to engage the entire abdominal complex (internal obliques, external obliques and transverse abdominis). Your entire abdominal complex is what provides a strong and stable foundation for your lower back. fact #2- the more crunches you perform over time your body eventually begins to develop a stooped forward posture or “hunch back”. This is really bad because it puts a lot of stress on your lower back. It also weakens the muscles of your upper and mid-back which are extremely important to maintain good posture and protect your lower back. fact #3- the majority of low back pain sufferers are considered overweight to some extent. So, exercise focused on burning more calories and body fat is an important key to managing back pain. The less fat you carry around your midsection the less stress to your lower back. Crunches are one of the least effective exercises for burning calories.

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#3- Leg raises- This exercise is probably the 2nd worst exercise you can do for lower back pain for the same reason as sit-ups. Leg raises have the potential to involve the hip flexors even more than sit-ups because your legs a longer and weigh more.

#4- Torso twists on machines- This exercise involves sitting on a machine where you hold a couple handles with a pad at your chest and twist from side to side pulling weight from the machine. Too many people load up this machine with too much weight and/or perform the twist improperly which can create shearing forces at the spine and injure the disks that protect your spine.

#5- Low back extensions- This is the machine where you sit with a weighted pad at your back. You lean forward then push yourself back up to sitting upright against the resisted pad. Low back pain does not necessarily mean you have a “weak low back” and need to strengthen it. At least not in this manner. This type of movement overuses the muscles of the lower back which is one of the most common reasons why people develop low back problems in the first place.

So, performing this exercise only compounds the initial problem by training you to overuse your lower back muscles.