How to avoid back pain and keep your spine in a neutral position

How to avoid back pain

Don't smoke: People who smoke are 2.7 times more likely to develop low back pain. That's because nicotine causes a thickening of the blood vessel walls, which, in turn, decreases blood flow and oxygen to muscles, bones, and ligaments.

Walk with a big stick: Imagine you have a long pole or stick glued to your back, from your tailbone to the top of your head. Every time you bend over, you can hinge only at your waist rather than flexing your spine. This little trick keeps your back in what we call a "neutral spine position" and decreases the everyday wear and tear to your vertebral column.

Keep the spine neutral

While you're doing any kind of ab work, your spine needs to be in what is called a neutral position - in other words, its natural state. It's important to strengthen the spine the way it is actually used or should be used. When we're doing traditional ab crunches, the spine should have a slight curve just like it does when we're standing up.

Contrary to popular belief, pressing the lower back into the floor compresses that area, which can cause injury and unnecessary pain. Still, most of us do this because the bigger muscles such as the glutes tend to take over and force the hips to tilt. Instead, if you keep your pelvis still and focus on using the abs to pull your head and neck off the floor, all the effort will be purely in your abs.

Pilates and yoga help with lower back pain

Pilates is great for alleviating lower back pain because the exercises are centered on conditioning the core. The deepest of these muscles is the transverse abdominal, which is like a corset around the waist; it stabilizes and protects the spine. The only true way to activate these muscles is through forcefully exhaling and drawing in the abdominal wall at the same time.

Pilates teaches us how to activate this muscle and continuously use it to stabilize the spine throughout all exercises. Yoga stretches out tight muscles such as the hamstrings, which attach to the pelvis. This helps the spine move more freely in its natural state, alleviating pressure in the lower back.

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