Look around you and notice people, young and old, and how they are sitting, standing, carrying a heavy object, or lifting weights. So many people have a visible curve in their spine, especially while sitting at a computer or relaxing at the dinner table. I'm not sure why but it seems most people are most comortable hunching foward, and most people don't even think about it, it's become a natural way to sit while at work or home, or natural to shovel snow or rake leaves bent over.
Here's the thing, your spine affects your entire body, it is your strength and stability, it is, shall we say, the backbone of all the rest of your building blocks and when your spine isn't taken care of it can affect almost everything else. The quality of your life can be improved or devastated with the state of your back so let's make sure we take care of them!
How? Always make sure that you think of your core as a whole, your abs, your back muscles and your obliques all make up your core, and a strong core can help protect your back and keep the pain away. Just be careful no to pay too much attention to the ab muscles which can pull the back forward and create lower back pain. To prevent this do lower back strengthening exercises every time your do your crunches. Also remember to keep your shoulder muscles strong to keep all your torso muscles balanced.
After strengthening, make sure to stretch your back on a regular basis. Start by standing up straight, all muscles aligned. Let your head drop forward, very slowly bringing your torso towards the floor until your fingers are reaching towards your toes. Feel the lower back stretch for a couple of seconds, then slowly roll back up to standing, one vertebrea at a time. Another back saving exercise is to stretch the sciatica. Lay on your back and bend your left leg in towards your chest. Place your right ankle over your left knee and let your right knee drop off to the side. Gently pull your bent left leg towards your chest. You should feel the stretch in the hip of the right leg. Stretching the hip will release tension in your lower back and this stretch does it very effectively.
Last but not least, the best way to protect your spine and feel back pain-free for a long time is simple: sit up straight! It may take a while to train yourself to sit up straight as opposed to hunching forward while sitting at your desk for 8 hours, but putting in the effort to keep your spine straight will help keep it healthy and is important to staying active for the rest of your life.
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This is really important information. Given what my mom has gone through recently (starting a strict exercise regimen after 50+ years of inactivity, only to realize that ailments previously described as "chronic" by medical professionals were actually due, in large part, to a lack of spinal strength), coupled with two pregnancies of my own (the first of which was spinal hell - the second I was more prepared for!), I've come to appreciate just how important a strong spine is.
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