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Posture for a Healthy Back

my.clevelandclinic.org

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Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#91

Post by antognini »

wishinghand wrote: post #87
antognini wrote: post #67

I recently hurt my back and got interested in the anatomy of the lumbar spine and ended up reading the textbook Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill. McGill is a professor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and has spent his ~30 yr research career studying the lower back. It was an informative and surprisingly interesting read! He made the point throughout the book that a lot of "common sense" clinical wisdo…

Is there an appropriate exercise for extending the muscle endurance of the back?

There were a few that were recommended:

1. Side bridge. Laying on your side, raise the hips up with your weight on your feet and elbow. Hold until failure. This improves the endurance of the lateral musculature.

2. This requires a box with an incline of ~55 degrees. Get in a sit-up position with the back against the incline and with the feet secured to the ground. Have someone pull the box back a few inches. Support yourself as long as possible until any part of your back touches the box. This improves endurance of the flexors.

3. The upper body is cantilevered over the end of a bench or table with the feet secured. The arms are held across the chest with the hands on the opposite shoulders. Failure occurs when the body drops below horizontal.

4. Bird-dog exercise. Starting on your hands and knees, raise one leg and the opposite arm out to horizontal and hold for ~10 seconds at a time.

5. Curl-up. NOT a sit-up. Lie on your back with one leg at 90 degrees and the other flat on the floor. With NO cervical or lumbar flexion, lift your head an inch or two off the floor and hold.

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#92

Post by wishinghand »

antognini wrote: post #91
wishinghand wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there an appropriate exercise for extending the muscle endurance of the back?

There were a few that were recommended: 1. Side bridge. Laying on your side, raise the hips up with your weight on your feet and elbow. Hold until failure. This improves the endurance of the lateral musculature. 2. This requires a box with an incline of ~55 degrees. Get in a sit-up position with the back against the incline and with the feet secured to the ground. Have someone pull the box back a few inches. Support…

>3. The upper body is cantilevered over the end of a bench or table with the feet secured. The arms are held across the chest with the hands on the opposite shoulders. Failure occurs when the body drops below horizontal.

Face up or down?

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#93

Post by chestnut-tree »

wishinghand wrote: post #87
antognini wrote: post #67

I recently hurt my back and got interested in the anatomy of the lumbar spine and ended up reading the textbook Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill. McGill is a professor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and has spent his ~30 yr research career studying the lower back. It was an informative and surprisingly interesting read! He made the point throughout the book that a lot of "common sense" clinical wisdo…

Is there an appropriate exercise for extending the muscle endurance of the back?

This short 3 min video from the New York Times features four core exercises that protect the spine. It's narrated by the same Stuart McGill mentioned in antognini's post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kukmaW9CmSU

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#94

Post by antognini »

wishinghand wrote: post #92
antognini wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were a few that were recommended: 1. Side bridge. Laying on your side, raise the hips up with your weight on your feet and elbow. Hold until failure. This improves the endurance of the lateral musculature. 2. This requires a box with an incline of ~55 degrees. Get in a sit-up position with the back against the incline and with the feet secured to the ground. Have someone pull the box back a few inches. Support…

>3. The upper body is cantilevered over the end of a bench or table with the feet secured. The arms are held across the chest with the hands on the opposite shoulders. Failure occurs when the body drops below horizontal. Face up or down?

Face down.

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#95

Post by luck87 »

swah wrote: post #6
luck87 wrote: post #2

this should be our computer desk: https://kokyun.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/5531_130311939574... this is reality (if you are working with laptop or notebook or macbook): http://www.parkavenuespine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/iS...

I work on a desk without trays - the keyboard too high is a big problem for me. And trays (IIRC) aren't very sturdy/mouse friendly. So I'm thinking about having a low table when I move again. Also, it seems to me that the old rule "top of monitor in the same height as your eyes" is actually a more personal "whatever works for you" thing. See discussion at http://superuser.com/questions/231377/whats-the-correct-moni..…

Yes, you have right! :-) I always put the monitor over the height of my eyes. To do that, I put an object under the monitore and I set the chair at the minimum height. So the chair is lower and in proportion the desk seems to be higher, and also the keyboard. This generates shoulder problems, too...

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#96

Post by randomsearch »

knodi123 wrote: post #44
randomsearch wrote: post #35

Went to the physio with RSI and she recommended I take up swimming. Totally worked.

Effectiveness aside, how skeptical were you when you heard that? It's easy to hear these explanations in hindsight, but I bet at the time you'd be, like, "What kind of advice is that? Are you just using a medical-grade magic 8 ball? 'Swim more'? "

Sorry, my original answer was cut short by an interruption!

She was a great physio -- afterwards I asked her to come back about another complaint (running injury) and she was the only physio (of 3) to improve that too. So it wasn't just "go swim more" but "do a bunch of things".

First she explained why I was getting RSI, which was due to overreaching caused by bad posture, laptop usage, etc. Gave me advice on how to stop it getting worse, which worked. I bought an ergonomic mouse, avoid some keyboard shortcuts, changed my chair.

Then she advised me to swim and walk (!) more. I had no expectations, just followed her instructions. I was particularly surprised to find that walking helped so much, but without doubt swimming was key. Swimming is so good because it works out so many muscle groups and stretches and expands your body. A colleague later told me that he'd had RSI and took up swimming to cure it.

My RSI is pretty much gone now, even working very long hours, but I've continued to swim every day. I'd recommend it, as it's much better than running for your joints and also avoids lifting weights, which I've never been keen on due to the competitive (slightly obsessive!) attitudes of those who attend crossfit, etc. Being able to swim well is a really useful skill.

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#98

Post by toasterlovin »

vdnkh wrote: post #58
draven wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same can be said about the squat, since you have to contract your core to maintain your spine in a correct position. Anecdotal data point: my lower back pain disappears when I squat regularly.

I've been lifting for a few years now and I really dislike the cargo cult mentality when it comes to heavy lifts, mainly barbell deadlift and squats. If you're not trying to become an olympic lifter, barbell squats and deadlifts will do more harm than good. There is a significant chance of injury if you perform these lifts improperly, and it's hard to know when you're doing them right. There are good alternatives to…

"If you're not trying to become an olympic lifter, barbell squats and deadlifts will do more harm than good."

Sorry, but this is utter insanity. The squat and the deadlift, properly performed, are the most important lifts _any_ human being – young or old, male or female – can do. And a person _does not_ need to go heavy on either of these to realize tremendous benefits in their day-to-day life. Spending 6 weeks to get up to a 135x5x1 deadlift (bar + big plates for 1 set of 5 reps) – and then just doing that once a week in perpetuity – would be single most efficient way the average human could improve their daily wellbeing.

Re: Posture for a Healthy Back

#99

Post by toasterlovin »

wishinghand wrote: post #87
antognini wrote: post #67

I recently hurt my back and got interested in the anatomy of the lumbar spine and ended up reading the textbook Low Back Disorders by Stuart McGill. McGill is a professor of kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and has spent his ~30 yr research career studying the lower back. It was an informative and surprisingly interesting read! He made the point throughout the book that a lot of "common sense" clinical wisdo…

Is there an appropriate exercise for extending the muscle endurance of the back?

All other thing being equal, a stronger muscle will have more endurance than a weaker muscle. The reason is quite intuitive: the same load is a smaller percentage of total strength for the stronger muscle, and thus less fatiguing, than it is for the weaker muscle.
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