My Aching Back

Common Causes of Back Pain
1. Sitting: Sitting causes the entire lower half of the body to be inactive. As a result, the lower body is unable to properly support the torso causing structural compensation and eventually, pain. Over time, this can leave the body weak at the hips and legs.

2. Lack of Proper Exercise: The body is built to move. Staying stationary for extended periods of time is against its fundamental nature, and when we suddenly want that body to respond to our whims, it can rebel with aches, pains, or even injury.

3. Lack of Appropriate Stretching: Stretching is one of the most overlooked elements of physical health. It is essential that we understand how and where we are tight so that we can safely and intelligently bring back the natural elasticity inherent in our muscular system.

4. Bad Posture

5. High Heels / Unsupportive Shoes

6. Fatigue

• Flexibility
• Upper Body Twist
• Forward Bend
• Cats & Dogs
• Child’s Pose
• Hip Rotator Stretch
• Functional Fitness Program: Functional fitness is a form of corrective exercise therapy used to address imbalances in the body. A functional fitness program typically addresses balance work, core conditioning, and strengthening the small muscles of the body that play an important role in posture. These exercises involve bending, twisting, rotating, lunging, and moving in diagonal patterns.
  

Examples of these exercises include:

One Leg Balance Touch & Reach
Stand on one leg, bend over from the hips and reach toward the ground.  Repeat for 30-60 seconds on each leg.  Next, bend over from the hips and reach your hands as far forward as possible.









Calf Stretch
Place your hands on the wall, put one foot forward and one back, and gently bend the back knee until you feel a comfortable stretch in the back of the calf.










Wall Work
Stand facing the wall one foot away. Keeping your arms straight, raise them even with your shoulders. Pinch your shoulder blades, and press your hands into the wall to your maximum level of comfort. Now turn around facing away from the wall with your feet one foot away and perform the same action.







Groin Stretch
Kneel on the ground with one leg in front of the other, legs at 90 degrees. Place the hands on top of the forward knee and gently lunge forward to feel the stretch. 30 seconds per side.










Hip Aduction
Sitting in a chair with legs at 90 degrees, press and release the knees against a strap 40 to 50 times.











Wall Sit
Back against the wall, slide down until your legs come to 90 degrees. Hold position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.











Chair Twist
Sitting in a chair with knees at 90 degrees, arch the low back, grab the sides of the back of the chair and gently turn the whole spine toward the rear of the chair. 30 seconds per side.










Straight Arm Rotations
Sitting in a chair with legs at 90 degrees, extend the arms straight out to the side with hands in a fist. Then rotate the straight arms in 6 inch circles forward. Next, turn the hands over and rotate the arms backward in 6 inch circles.40 times per direction. 

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