Back Friendly Exercises.
Back pain is one of the most common chronic conditions – a staggering ten million working days were lost in the UK last year due to back pain.
Exercise can be a good way to cure or manage back pain, yet it’s also common for fitness enthusiasts to lose training days due to back pain.
Over time, the impact of running, or the force of lifting heavy weights, can put stress on the spine and surrounding muscles, leading to neck, rear shoulder, mid back or lower back pain.
Lots of trainees give up certain movements and exercises, in an attempt to limit further inflammation, which can lead to muscle imbalances ?- and new injuries and weak points – in the future.
It’s better to change your regular exercise for a more back friendly version, than to drop the exercise completely.
Try these back friendly exercises as alternatives to the movements which can often exasperate back problems:
Problem exercise: SQUATS
Back friendly alternative: FRONT SQUATS or SINGLE LEG (BODYWEIGHT) SQUATS
Problem exercise: DEADLIFTS
Back friendly alternative: CABLE PULL THROUGHS or KETTLEBELL SWINGS
Problem exercise: BENT OVER ROWS
Back friendly alternatives: SEATED ROWS or SINGLE ARM ROWS
Problem exercise: SIT UPS or CRUNCHES
Back friendly alternatives: HANGING KNEE RAISES or FOREARM PLANKS
Problem exercise: ROAD RUNNING
Back friendly alternatives: SWIMMING or RECLINED CYCLING.
Be wary though that even these back friendly exercises can cause damage if your existing back condition is severe.
There are other ways to help manage back pain including:?yoga practice,?stretching,?sports massage and eating an anti inflammatory diet.
Reducing the frequency, duration and general intensity of your workouts, and increasing your number of weekly rest days can also be good approaches to managing back pain.
It’s not ideal to have to drop exercises such as squats, deadlifts and bent over rows from your routine, but it’s possible to still achieve decent enough results by substituting these ‘big exercises’ for more back friendly exercises.
Good luck with your training!
121personaltraining.com – back friendly exercises – personal training and private yoga lessons in sw london.
