Living with no regrets: 05/21/07

Monday, May 21, 2007

Back Pain is real!

The statistics are pretty shocking... 80% of people will have some kind of back pain during their lifetime. Seems pretty accurate! I know 4 people who have recently injured their backs.

Injured While Sneezing
Injured helping an old lady carry her goods
Injured slipping on a badminton court
Injured helping a friend move furniture

All legitimate. All preventable.
The key is core stability.

Contrary to what is commonly thought, the core is NOT about endless crunches and other weird movements on a swiss ball. Just about every muscle in the core is set up to stabilize the lower back to PREVENT movement not create movement.

2 VERY basic core exercises that are safe for your spine, and train the core the way it was meant to be are the front plank and the side plank. Hold them for time 30-180 seconds depending on your ability.