Eighty percent of adults in the U.S. will have back pain. Of those, 80% will have it recur throughout the year. It can be debilitating, but it doesn’t have to be. In Episode 15 of Flipping 50 TV, I introduce you to steps that will help you to prevent or to deal with back pain (and also have a flatter belly).
Check with your doctor before attempting any of the exercises here. It’s best not to be in recent acute pain or have a back injury when starting.
The trick with back pain is that it may be the symptom and not the problem. Injury and pain often come from being too mobile where you should be stable, and too rigid where you should be mobile. Focus on getting mobility in joints that should be mobile, and stability and strength in those that should not be mobile. See below for more on your optimal skeletal status and watch the video for more details.
Little Flips That Matter:
- Have an Ergonomics check for your work station.
- Beware of your Standing posture: avoid hyperextending your knees (I see this way too much during exercise sessions)
Your Skeleton status for best back care:
- Shoulders – mobile
- Scapula – stable
- Upper Back – mobile
- Lower Back – stable
- Hips – mobile
- Knees – stable
- Ankles – mobile (watch this video for ways to improve your ankle mobility)
- Feet – stable
Muscles in Minutes
Mobility
- Cat-Cow back
- Roll Up and Down in a bridge
- Thread-the-needle
- Rotation- one foot forward arms up
Stretch: Your Daily 5
- Standing lunge
- # 4 Stretch
- Cross Legged Stretch
- Legs Falling
- Leg up the wall
In this episode, I share the most important steps in dealing or preventing back pain, mobility and stretching. Once you are ready for additional steps, you might also like my course Prevent Back Pain with Five Steps (complete exercise step-by-step that all makes all difference).
Beyond Mobility, and Stretching, you want to begin working on core with Bracing and Stabilization exercises. Last it will be time to work functional exercises into your routine. You’ll find the other steps inside the course when you’re ready to move on.
Take all the time you need on these steps before you go on.
Minute Made Meals:
Minute Made Meals:- Remove Sugar
- Add Anti-inflammatory foods (like this recipe below)
Simple Spinach-Avocado Soup
[Anti-Inflammation]
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Spinach
- ¼ Avocado
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1-2 Garlic minced cloves
- 1 cup Water
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients, except avocado. Spoon the avocado in last. In minutes you have a cool soup full of antioxidants and anti-inflammation goodness. Substitute it for your salad or use it to increase your intake of greens. To serve more, increase ingredients by 4.
The Key Flip of the Day:
80% of us experience back pain, and 80% of us who have it say it recurs throughout the year…but it doesn’t have to.
You can decrease the frequency of back pain, the intensity of back pain, or both by introducing a few back care habits into your daily routine.
They just happen to be the same things that can lead to a flatter belly, or a better golf swing and more comfort when you reach the 19th hole.
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