This week’s post will continue on the subject of pain prevention; this time we’ll care about the lower back, and use walking as a tool. We will use an image for our walking that will make sure we put the right kind of loads on our lower back, making the tissue there more resilient and more healthy in general.
This will be done using two variation of a quite easy image during walking. First, picture a line between the back of your upper arm, just above where it seems to merge into the torso, and the opposite knee, going across the back in a diagonal and through the outside of the thigh.
This line becomes longer when your leg and opposite arm go forward, and gives power to the step by shortening; it brings your leg and the opposite arm back, or propels your body forward, depending how you think of it.
Now let’s look at it slightly differently: let’s say that it’s a sheet rather than a line, and that the part that’s outside of the lower back area is actually fixed in length, and that the part in the lower back is elastic. Now as you walk, the lower back region of this elastic sheet will be stretched in alternating diagonal directions, powering the walk.
Go for a walk, and try these images out. They will help you engage your lower back in a more healthy and diverse ways than it is in people who mostly sit, and this will help prevent lower back pain.
Continue reading: Two Major Tips To Prevent Back Pain, Standing Posture and Alignment, 5 Daily Opportunities To Perfect Your Posture.
Want more like this?
Check out the following blogs from massage therapists I know from around London:- On The Run Health and Fitness on running, nutrition and sports massage.
- The Soma Room on sports massage and exercise.
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