How to strengthen your back every day
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To avoid back pain, especially if you spend many hours sitting, nothing like strengthening your muscles.
Back pain is often related to bad posture you take at work, driving, on the couch. Therefore, to prevent and relieve pain, it is essential to improve your posture and make your back more flexible.
Maintain good alignment
"Good posture comes down to good alignment," explains Denis Fortier, a physical therapist who specializes in correct postural rehabilitation, posture, testing, and exercises. Whether sitting or standing, the ideal is to have your ears, shoulders and pelvis aligned as if they were suspended from a cable. In this position, the muscles are much less tense. "
Softens the upper back
While sitting or standing, raise your arms above your head, hands together, elbows pointing outward and shoulders down, then exhale. The ribs descend, stretching the muscles in the arms and upper back, most of which are attached to the rib cage. Stay in this position for 15-20 seconds and inhale again while inflating your stomach but not moving your ribs to stretch further.
Strengthen your abs
The transverse abdominal muscle attaches to the back, below the ribs and surrounds the trunk. It is essential for the stability and protection of the lower back. One way to make it stronger is to contract it as often as possible by tucking your stomach in as if you wanted to fasten the button on your tight pants.
Move even sitting!
"The best posture is also the one that is kept shorter," recalls Denis Fortier. When sitting still, the back tends to round, the pelvis can tilt back, and stress on the lower back increases. Regular movement helps limit these stresses.
Here are two tips for getting around without getting out of your chair:
cross and uncross the legs;
breathe in and especially exhale! This relaxes the diaphragm, a muscle attached to the vertebrae. Breathing out is therefore an easy way to tighten the joints, especially in a meeting where standing is difficult. The ribs go down and the back relaxes.
Get up often
Getting up regularly, at least every two hours, to make a phone call or print a document, for example, also relieves your back.
Support your lower back
Whether you are sitting in a chair or in a car, your lower back can sometimes suffer from a lack of adequate support. Placing a rolled sausage-shaped towel in the hollow of your back helps support them and prevent stiffness.
Swing your pelvis
Lying on the floor or leaning against a wall, erase the curvature of your back by tilting your pelvis, without moving your head or chest. Hold for 5 seconds and then return to normal position.
"This exercise improves pelvic mobility. It is particularly beneficial for people who sit for long hours," says Denis Fortier.
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