Re: With gritted teeth…
onewheeldave wrote:
> Is it a small enough set that you could post what the exercises are?
>
> I’m sure a few people here would appreciate some effective back
> protection exercises.
It’s 73 pages, including photos and diagrams. It also includes a lot of
advice on preventing back problems and on when to do which exercises.
I’m a little reluctant to go into detail in case I get torn to shreds by
Chirokid, who should know a great deal more about back pain and its
treatment than I do. But anyway…
Except on the (now very rare) occasions when I suffer from back pain or
sciatica, I do 6 repetitions every morning of the Flexion in Sitting
exercise, followed by 10 of the Extension in Lying. Every evening I do
6 repetitions of the Flexion in Standing, followed by 10 of the
Extension in Sitting. I’ll copy the descriptions of these exercises
from the book further down (the book also includes other exercises,
which exercises it recommends depends upon the state of your back). It
is important always to follow flexion exercises with extension
exercises.
When I suffer from a little back pain, I replace the evening standing
exercise with the morning sitting exercise. But if you suffer from any
pain at all (which I have for no more than a few days in the last 7
years) then it’s obviously better to read the book or seek professional
advice than to persist with a set of exercises that you read about on
usenet.
Of course, exercises are no good if you don’t bother with good posture,
proper lifting technique etc. Unicycling is great for posture. It’s
also good for abdominal muscles, which oppose the lumbar muscles and so
should also be kept strong to maintain a strong lower back. Maintaining
all round flexibility is a good thing. I was very flexible before I
injured my back, because I spent a lot of time at judo and aikido and
also stretched most days when I wasn’t training. (Slightly ironically,
my back injury occurred while playing judo). A year or so after
slipping a disk I took up gymnastics, which did me a world of good until
I moved a couple of years later and couldn’t find an adult gymnastics
club that I could get to.
Anyway, the exercises:
Flexion in Sitting - Sit on the edge of a steady chair with your knees
and feet well apart and let your hands rest between your leg. Bend your
trunk forwards and touch the floor with your hands. Return immediately
to the starting position. Each time you repeat this movement cycle, you
must try to bend down a little further so that in the end you have
reached the maximum possible degree of flexion and your head is as close
as possible to the floor. The exercise can be made more effective by
holding on to your ankles with your hands and pulling yourself down
further.
Flexion in Standing - How embarrassing, this one doesn’t seem to be in
the book. I stand up straight, then bend down and touch my toes, or
further if I can manage it. I can usually put my palms flat on the
floor, but I don’t think I’ll ever regain the flexibility I had 10 years
ago.
Extension in Lying - Lie face down on the floor. Place your hands under
your shoulders in the press-up position. Straighten your elbows and
push the top half of your body up as far as pain permits. It is
important that you completely relax the pelvis, hips and legs as you do
this. Keep your pelvis, hips and legs hanging limp and allow your low
back to sag. Once you have maintained this position for a second or
two, you should lower yourself to the starting position. Each time you
repeat this movement cycle you should try to raise your upper body a
little higher, so that in the end your back is extended as much as
possible with your arms as straight as possible. Once your arms are
straight, remember to hold the sag for a second or two as this is the
most important part of the exercise. The sag may be maintained for
longer than one or two seconds if you feel the pain is reducing or
centralising.
–
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( http://www.juggler.net/danny )
Recumbent cycle page: http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/recumbents/
“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” - Thomas Paine
That got us back on topic. --chirokid–
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