Before reading on, I’d like you to participate in a brief experiment (as an incentive, participating will make you look slimmer). Slouch down on your sofa and relax. Now look down and see what your tummy is doing – perhaps it is falling forward away from your body.
Now, sit upright on a firm chair with your legs uncrossed and your knees bent and ankles slightly behind your knees. Look straight ahead and, you may find that you need to tuck you head back slightly, line up your ears, shoulders and hips in a vertical straight line. Now look down and you should find that, even without purposefully holding your tummy in, the bulge has flattened. This is because the internal corsetry of your tummy is able to work properly when you have good posture.
Far more important than making you look trimmer, this position aids rather than harms your spinal health. As I’m sure regular readers will know, the bones in your spine (vertebrae) have squishy, liquid filled discs in between them that act as shock absorbers. As you move, the vertebrae compress together or pull apart and liquid is forced in or out of the discs. Movement which allows this liquid to wash in and out of the discs is vital for a healthy back. Think of the liquid as the oil in a machine: it allows the parts to move freely and without damage.
During the day, your vertebrae compress down under the force of gravity and the discs gradually flatten a little. You actually lose a little height! When you go to bed and stretch out, the lubricating liquid can seep back in and your shock-absorbing discs swell ready for a new day. But where movement is restricted (eg from poor posture or injury) then the liquid cannot return into the discs. Eventually this will affect the movement of the spine and lead to painful problems.
When you sit slouched with weak tummy muscles, the contents of your abdomen spill forward dragging your spine downwards compounding the compression effect of gravity. This increases the pressure on the lower discs forcing even more liquid out of them. So adopting good posture when sitting (particularly for long periods such as at the office or whilst watching TV) is crucial in maintaining a freely moving spine.
In addition to sitting up properly, the strength of your tummy muscles affects how well your spine is protected. Unfortunately unlike some muscles, the tummy and back muscles (the ‘core muscles’) are not exercised in everyday movement and you need to consciously stretch and strengthen them. Without specific exercise to target these muscles they will naturally weaken over time increasing the chance of developing or worsening back pain.
Now normally here I would outline some simple exercises that you can perform at home but I believe that it is so important to perform core muscle exercises correctly that I would prefer that you went to a class or saw an experienced trainer. Alternatively look at the video section of our website regarding range of motion and posture exercises http://www.spinalcarecentre.co.uk/pages/members/ReliefPhase.html If you perform core exercises whilst you are twisted or out of alignment, it is very easy to strengthen and stretch one side more than the other. The now weak or overly tight supporting muscles can then have painful spasms and suffer injuries themselves, which then prevent them from supporting the spine as needed and increase the risk of back injury.
Our list of trusted rehabilitation providers will whilst working with us, easily be able to perform full posture assessments and teach you home exercises to develop your core muscles. Crucially, should they see a problem that needs further investigation, they will be able to refer you directly back to myself or one of my colleagues if they feel that you first need a chiropractic adjustment to tackle any structural misalignments.
The benefits of a strong back and tummy muscles are as follows, so really think about those exercises.
- Reduced likelihood of back pain episodes
- Reduced severity of back pain
- Protection against injury by responding efficiently to stresses
- Better healing from a back problem or after spine surgery
- Improved posture and a trimmer body
Should you want any further information, do please give the centre a call and we will do our best to get you back in shape.