Last October Amy and I went to Mammoth Lakes, CA and hiked a great trail. We Started at Sherwin Creek and hiked about 5 miles up past Sherwin Lakes to Valentine Lake. The elevation gain was almost 2000 feet! We felt pretty worked by the end but still no problem. Two days later my back was so sore I could barely bend over to pick a pen up from the ground. I am sure the 5 hour drive home didn’t help, but as many of you with low back pain know, it takes way less than all that to hurt. Since I was 15 years old I have had a weak lower back but it wasn’t until years of being a personal trainer that I figured out how to prevent and cure this problem. And yes, there is hope for you too.

The following things are what I must to do on a daily basis to ensure a pain free back. It has to be part of your lifestyle, just like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast every day. Any time my back hurts, I can think back a few days and realize I did none of the things I am supposed to, and I pay for it!

The two most important things to do are stretching and core strengthening. Many of the exercises I have my clients do are what I call “pre-habilitation”. These are movements that have a corrective effect on poor posture to help re-align the spine, shoulders and hips. Of course, I suggest that you seek help from a personal trainer to obtain the correct form on these exercises if possible. Below are a few foundational exercises to start with:

Strecthes:

1. Hamstrings: having somebody manually stretch you is best, but the second best way is a wall stretch.

2. Hip Flexors (psoas and illiopsoas): simple stretch on a complicated set of muscles that connect to your lumbar spine.

Core:

1. Simple floor crunch: Make sure you pull your bellybutton in and keep your lumbar spine flat to the ground throughout the whole set. Rock your ribcage up off the ground and back down.

One last note: These exercises only work if you actually do them…daily.

There has been alot of talk about stretching and if it is scientifically proven to be beneficial. Sports such as swimming, martial arts, and gymnastics rely heavily on flexibility, but what about general fitness? In an article from the American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Journal Dr. David Nieman states that “there is no consistent link between regular flexibility exercises and prevention of injury, low back pain, or delayed onset of muscle soreness”. Science or not, I disagree. Maybe because most of our clients are 55+ they get more from stretching, but even we as trainers notice a major difference in our bodies during a only week of not stretching.
Here is my scientific evidence:
On two separate occasions while training clients, one sustained a minor muscle pull in the calf and the other in the ribs. Both of them are long time clients who have a normal routine (which we make mandatory) of warming up aerobically for 10 mins+ AND stretching problem areas for a few minutes following. Both of these incidents were on a day that the client was short of time and skipped their warm up. Note: Our normal injury rate is less than half of 1% !
The ASCM Journal does write however “Of all age groups, the elderly have the most to gain through regular flexibility exercise, with several studies showing improved range of motion and capacity for daily activities of living”.
If you want to play it safe, here are some general guidelines for stretching from the ACSM:

1. Hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds at the point of discomfort.

2. Repeat the exercise 2 to 4 times

3. Engage in flexibility exercises at least 2 to 3 days per week.

4. The major areas to stretch are shoulders, chest, neck, lower back, hips, front and back of the legs, trunk, and ankles.

5. Flexibility is most effective when the muscles are warmed up through light to moderate aerobic activity, or passively through heat packs or hot tub.

6. Stretch dynamically according to the specific activity about ot be performed. For example, if you are going to play golf, broomstick rotations as well as seated toe reaches can be beneficial.