If you’re like I was when I sat a desk for 8+ years after college, your body might resemble that of a croissant when you sit down. Slouching with rolled forward shoulders and a lower back that lights on fire if you sit for more than 10 minutes, regardless of the position you try to move around in. Modern society and the work that we perform is designed to destroy our posture, leaving our bodies broken in the process. Everything we need is directly in front of us, keeping us in a position that focuses on reaching, lurching, leaning forward at almost all times.
A “normal” posture used to mean a straight spine (with natural curve), wide shoulders drawn back, arms at our sides with palms of hands facing each other.
These days, it more resembles a rounded forward spine, exaggerating the curvature, rolled slouching shoulders with a craning neck, and arms that are brought forward toward the front of the body with palms now facing the body rather than each other (thanks typing!)
It’s no surprise with these things in mind that people complain of lower back pains so much and how often we see our co-workers and friends stand up and stretch their lower back trying to alleviate any pain with little to no (long term) avail.
Aside from getting a job that forces you to get one of those posture correcting chairs – let’s take a look at 3 hacks to fix your aching lower back for good!
- Stand up at least once every hour.
As we said and you’re probably aware, we sit down… a lot. At work, in the car, at home, etc. Comfort is great and sitting is really nice because standing is awful. Only thing better than sitting is lying down. But in a world of sitting, it has left lumbar support and lower backs everywhere screaming in agony! One of the simplest things you can do is set an alarm for 55 minutes and every time it goes off, stand up. Just stand up and work or walk or do nothing, for at least 5-10 minutes. Once that standing time is up, you may repeat sitting back down, but you have to re-set the 55 minute timer. Standing every hour can help offset a number of the lower back problems we feel by allowing the area a time to actually work. Contrary to popular belief, stretching the lower back is not only not helpful, but could exacerbate any issues you might be having. Your hip flexors (on the front of the body) have been engaged the entire time, as you sit with your legs at 90 degrees in front of you. The muscles on the back side then have had to stretch to accommodate their flexion and which muscles do you think have been stretched? That’s right – the lower back/lumbar/glute muscles. By standing up, you are able to relax the hip flexors and engage the lower back/glute muscles to contract, thus alleviating some of that anxiety.
- Stretch
Now, I know what you’re thinking… you LITERALLY just said not to stretch the lower back, and I stand by that. But you still need to stretch other parts of your body. As we discussed in the opening of this article, the way we work and live has us in a near perpetual state of our body pulled FORWARD. As we noted in the last section, those hip flexors, which pull our legs forward (when we sit) have been active the entire time we’re seated, and our lumbar has been stretched just as long. If your lower back is aching, chances are it’s not the only area that’s not sitting properly. Chances are your shoulders are rounded forward too with a little bit of a neck craning to compensate. If you don’t feel pain in these areas now, continued postural problems may cause pain down the line, so while we’re addressing the lumbar region, let’s hit the upper back area as well! Incorporating stretches that focus on our chest muscles (pecs), our neck, and our hip flexors can help relieve the tension those muscles are constantly under – and like we addressed, when one muscle is stretching, that means the other is contracting, ie our lower, upper, and middle back muscles that may be fatigued and overly stretched, can now get to work strengthening up and bringing us into a taller, more natural (and comfortable) position. A quick Google search for a Hip Flexor, Pectoral, or Neck stretch can find you an infinite number of easy to implement stretches that you can use throughout the day to relieve that pain.
- Strength Train
Surprise, surprise that a personal trainer would tell you that the best way to alleviate pain would be to strengthen something! 😊 Well, if you’ve been paying attention, this part won’t surprise you, but if you’re still a little lost, pay attention. As we noted with STANDING UP and STRETCHING, one of the biggest reasons that our lower back can flair up on a moments notice because of poor posture has A LOT to do with the lack of strength in the muscles that make up that area. The pain from sitting/poor posture is because those muscles have been stretched too far, for too long. It may sound counter-intuitive but if you begin strengthening the area of your lower back, hips, and glutes (and why not hit the upper back/rear delts/neck while you’re at it) can dramatically decrease your risk of pain in that region. Strengthening those muscles in the gym can also help stretch the overactive hip flexors, pecs, and shoulders as mentioned earlier as well. Again – when one muscle group is working, the opposite muscles are stretching – it’s a win, win!
Try incorporating exercises such as Deadlifts, Rows, Pulldowns, Dead Bugs, Bird Dogs, and Superman Extensions to build up the strength and endurance of the posterior chain primarily in the lower back and glute region. I promise that even 3 sets of 8-12 reps of 2-3 of those exercises a MINIMUM of 1 time per week will help you see exponential relief to chronic lower back pain.
These 3 tips can save a lot of money at doctors, chiropractors, or on devices to alleviate pain and they can help rid you of it for the long haul!*
I am not a doctor and any prolonged issues or deeper stresses than just “lower back ache” should be addressed by a physician or specialist, but for everyday soreness and discomfort, you will be amazed at how simply standing a little more during the workday; stretching the front of your body; and doing some simple Bird Dogs can rid you of chronic back pains you never thought you’d get rid of.
What have you tried to alleviate back pain (minus pills) that you thought might work, but kept you on the side line?
*One of my clients came to me noting chronic back pain that had her seeing a chiropractor multiple times per WEEK but after only 3-4 weeks of strength training with me, in which we focused on implementing Bird Dogs, Rows, and Deadlift variations to strengthen the area, she has YET to go back to the chiropractor. This was over 14 months ago (Blog posted 5.24.21)