QuestionI have had some minor (but still painful!) back pains from carrying a heavy backpack and sleeping uncomfortably. I am thinking of getting a massage as treatment, is there a particular kind I should get? Any other information would be great- this is not a serious back issue, but I am only 21 so I'd rather not have any back pain at all! Thanks!
AnswerHi Lisa,
Great question. Minor back pain is an epidemic in humans! A few quick assumptions - correct me if I'm wrong:
-You're a student, or sit quite a bit?
-Your posture is not perfect?
-You're in or close to decent physical shape?
In that person I just described, back pain is the most common health complaint (besides sleep deprivation!) and is easily correctable. Looking at your back muscles:
-In the hips, the muscles are HUGE. The biggest, most powerful muscles in the body connect the legs to the hips and back.
-In the back, the muscles are comparitively tiny and are used to make the back follow the legs. So when these muscles are tight it often means that it is the hip muscles, not the back muscles, that are the primary tight areas. (The back muscles' tension may be because the legs and hips are really tight.) Get a good deep massage in the hip muscles to see if they are indeed tight; you may be surprised that what you thougth was a bone is actually a muscle! They get REALLY tight, and can throw off the function of your back when you're walking, sitting, etc.
-Socially many of us tend to slouch; there are a tonne of reasons. We may be tall and want to talk to people on their level. We work at computers made for smaller people. We carry heavy backpacks and sit in uncomfortable lecture theatre seats. (Sound familiar?)
OK, so this means...
-Align your spine like a flagpole. The rest of your body hangs from this central column, so keep it strong and straight. Even a 3" forward carriage of your head on your shoulders produces several hundred pounds of excess pressure at your shoulders, down your spine and into your hips. You don't feel it because the muscles are so strong, but they'll complain later! When sitting and standing keep your weight central and RIGHT OVER your spine. Get someone you trust to give you frank feedback about your posture: your earlobes should be above your shoulders when your shoulders are held back; they should also align with the greater trochanter (the bony part of the top of your upper leg bone at your hip).
And as an added bonus, great posture LOOKS great - you look tall and strong, your curves are accentuated - Mmmmm! Hold your sternum high, and stand with your abdominal muscles active instead of passive!
-If you have a slouch in the upper back, you're not alone - but you DO have to do some work to correct it. Odds are, your body has started to grow into this posture 'because it's more comfortable' in your everyday activities. Think of bending the vertebrae backwards as much as they're bending forwards, and getting strong in that position. On a big yoga ball (65-75cm in diameter, mid-thigh height), from a seated position, roll back slowly so the ball rolls up your spine and you're eventually lying face-up with the top of the ball at your mid-shoulder blade level. (This is probably the pinnacle of that accentuated curve in your thoracic spine). Drop your arms off to the side to open your chest; if you can, drop your head backwards to rest on the ball too. (If you can't, use a rolled towel bolster till you can.) Your feet are on the ground to steady you, and you're using the curvature of the ball to get a great thoracic stretch arching backward; you won't injure yourself because you're supported by the arch of the ball. The arch should be a bit awkward to start for a week till you gain the balance skill on the ball, may be a bit uncomfortable but not painful. Start at 1-2 minutes in this position, work your way up to 5-10 minutes over the weeks and months. Build yourself a bit of a light-weight routine (hand-held dumbbells anywhere from 2-10 lbs is good) to increase the speed that your back is improving once you feel you have the balance and flexibility. It'll take a week to get comfy, a month to show improvements in your flexibility, and 4 months to really get this one permanently drummed into your back, but once it does, you're looking at some amazing improvements!!
Someone presenting like this in my clinic is not too happy or motivated by these exercises because they are a lot of WORK. But I assure you, as someone who did a LOT of this work to counteract my own adolescent back problems, that it really DOES work. (As a teen I led bike expeditions for 15 days at a time, and had posture to show for it - as well as what I THOUGHT were family postural problems that I was stuck with!) A good treatment plan to follow:
-Give yourself 6 months of keeping levels at really high fitness and attention to posture. You'll find this to be difficult - and at times it will feel like you're doing more harm than good - but keep with it and let your body grow into this improved posture. You'll be glad you did!
Write back if you'd like more.
Cheers,
Glenn
