SIMPLE STEPS TO CARE FOR YOUR BACK

Most of us know the pain of a back injury. Fitness consultant Craig Wise has some tips for keeping your back safe.

When it comes to looking after your back, I’m currently something of an expert. I say this as I’ve just sat down gingerly, wincing slightly and sucking in air between my teeth.

I’m a fairly active person, and I generally do the right things when it comes to looking after my body – but all of us sometimes slip up.

My slip came courtesy of picking up my 10-year-old daughter to give her a hug. All was well until I put her down and felt that little tweak. A day later, and that ‘tweak’ is giving me grief as I sit down, stand up, and change gear when I’m driving.

BACK-CARE BASICS

There are a few rules for helping to keep your back safe and healthy in day-to-day life:

1. Exercise your core to strengthen abdominal and back muscles, and learn how to engage your core muscles when you’re doing activities.

2. Practice good ergonomics while you’re seated and think about limiting the time you spend seated – take regular breaks.

3. Ensure that your spine is supported when you sleep. Soft floppy pillows don’t properly support your head and neck, neither does an old saggy mattress.

4. Check your footwear. Poorly supporting footwear not only puts strain on your legs and the lower joints but also the spinal column, which is supporting the top half of your body.

STRONG TO THE CORE

Let’s talk some more about your ‘core’. That means the muscles in and around your torso – those that make up your mid-section and lower back, your abdomen, and your pelvic floor. As well as helping move your back, they support and stabilise it.

So core strength and stability – and engaging your core to support movements – are some of the greatest factors in helping to prevent back injuries as we live our lives.

We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t ‘use your back as a crane’, and, yes, you should bend your knees when lifting. This is sound advice – but it isn’t the be all and end all.

With a weak core, even squatting and driving through your heels properly is not enough. Your body will still recruit your back muscles to try to stabilise it, potentially causing that ‘tweak’.

Learning how to brace your midsection when you bend or lift, to get core stability, will allow you to perform daily activities safely and efficiently.

The amount of bracing required depends upon the task. For example, to bend and pick up a dropped pair of socks requires less bracing than if you’re deadlifting a weight bar for a new world record!

EXERCISES FOR YOUR CORE

It's important to consciously practice bracing your midsection and engaging the core region so that it becomes second nature and you do it without thinking. There are three movements that I talk to all my clients about. Practising them is easy and can be done anywhere, even while queuing at the checkout.

While these exercises can’t be guaranteed to prevent back injury, they’ll help to strengthen your core muscles and teach your body to naturally engage. When the core is strong, the body will rely less on stretching the back muscles to do the work.

The punch brace

Standing with your feet flat on the ground, shoulder width apart, take a breath in and expand your rib cage. Then, tighten your midsection like you’re about to be punched in the stomach.

Think about engaging all the muscles in the core area. Hold briefly and then release.

Repeat the exercise 8 to 10 times.

Remember that, in day-to-day life, the amount of air you need to breathe in depends on the task you’re doing: lifting a heavy weight like a bag of compost in the garden needs a deeper breath than picking up a few light groceries in a bag as you leave the supermarket.

The tummy clinch

Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, squeeze your lower abdomen and hold for three to five seconds. Then release and let the muscles completely relax.

Repeat 5 to 10 times.

The pee pause (AKA Kegels)

Stand with your feet flat on the floor and imagine that you’re busting to go to the toilet. Squeeze your pelvic floor as if you’re trying to stop yourself going, and hold for a few seconds before releasing.

Repeat this exercise 10 to 20 times. If you can’t do that many at first, start gradually and build up over time.

For a long time, pelvic floor exercise was the domain of postpartum people or those starting to struggle with incontinence. But it is also an integral part of everyone’s core stability and functioning – whatever your age or gender.

ERGONOMICS AND SITTING

Sitting has been called the disease of our time, and it’s true that inactivity is a health issue, but it’s not this alone that is contributing to back injury; it’s the length of time we’re sitting with poor posture.

Poor posture is as much to blame for a sore back as lifting heavy boxes and overdoing it in the garden.

Over time, having your head down staring at the phone screen or slouching with hunched shoulders will become your natural posture. Being actively aware of your posture can help keep your body in the shape it should be, and this will help keep your back safe.

If you do have to sit at a desk all day, then you should have a heightadjustable chair with a well-fitting lumbar support.

When you’re seated, try to keep the weight of your head directly above your neck.

Your monitor should be directly in front of you, and the top of it should be no higher than your eye level.

Your keyboard should be right in front of the monitor so you’re not having to twist your head or neck often.

If you’re concerned that your work space may not be right for your posture, chat to your employer. Under Worksafe guidelines, they need to minimise posture-related risk for their employees as much as is reasonably possible.

OTHER TIPS FOR SEATED JOBS

Ensure that you regularly get up and move.

Not so long ago, if you worked in an office and needed to speak with another person there, you’d get up and walk to them, whereas these days it often feels easier to message. Maybe it’s time to turn back the clock.

If you’re working from home, find ways to take breaks from sitting. And definitely don’t try to work from the couch. As comfortable as it might be, it’s no good for your body.

Phone calls are often an excuse to walk. Try walking around when you’re thinking about a problem too. Sometimes those minutes away from your desk or in motion can help you come up with all sorts of solutions that otherwise you would have spent ages staring at the screen thinking about.

BUILD BACK CARE INTO YOUR LIFE

While writing this article, I walked the room five times to take a break from sitting and, during two of those walks, I did 20 Kegels.

Where could you build in some back care?

A WARNING ABOUT CRUNCHES

Crunches can sometimes do more harm than good. While they’ll help you feel the burn, they’ll do very little to actually strengthen the core ,and, done incorrectly, as many people do, they can cause neck and back injuries. Such exercises should only be done after consultation with a REPS registered exercise professional. (See www.reps. org.nz.)

Craig Wise is a fitness trainer, massage therapist, and lifestyle coach at Craig Wise Health and Fitness in Hamilton.