Back care and exercise

I love Pilates and I love working and living in a pain free body.

Many of us choose to just live with the pain and muddle on, unaware of the damage that such pain could be doing to the underlying structures of our bodies.

Back care is so important for every aspect of life, and a healthy back can help reduce and even eliminate pain.

Last week I had the opportunity to ask my good friend and Chiropracter, Nathan Bridge of Chiropractic Works in Cairns, about back care in the gym.

I was interested to learn that after only 20 minutes of sitting with incorrect posture, such as slouching over a computer desk or sinking back into a too soft lounge, we switch off the major stabiliser muscle of the spine, the multifidus. Not only do we switch it off, but it will stay off for 10 hours if we don't flick it back on. Bad postural habits lead to muscle weakness which in turn can lead to pain and other ailments in the body.

He explained it to me like this. The spine is the superhighway for the central nervous system of our body. As such it requires regular maintenance to ensure that the pathways for the nerves are clear and the traffic, being the messages from the brain, can travel unimpeded down the highway.

The car analogy extends. Think of your body as a car, if you want to take it on long fast drives (which is kind of what we are all hoping to do with our bodies in life) then it needs regular maintenance. If you had a flat tyre you would certainly fix it before you took the car out of the garage and went hooting down the highway. Our spine is the same. It needs to be aligned and functioning properly, facilitating the transmission of messages from the brain effectively, before we take it into the gym and smash it with a workout.

To quote the good doctor, "The mind set that exercise will fix problems and people working through pain in the hope that strengthening things will decrease their pain and fix their problems. This is a very risky behaviour".

Good technique, choosing whole body compound and integration exercises that work the body the way it is meant to be worked, and ensuring that the stabiliser muscles are switched on before you begin your gym work is the way to do the best for your body and your back.

Good form and function in exercise are my passions, so if you're not sure where to start with this let me know and I will help you. Give some thought to trying Pilates, if you haven't done it already. This is without doubt one of the most effective forms of exercise to help tone and strengthen the deep stabilisers muscles, aid total body alignment, and just help you feel great.

The golden rule for today - sit up straight to feel great!! OK, it's a bit corny, but seriously, give it a try.