Last time we talked about endurance exercise being important for back health. Today I’ll show you an exercise.
This exercise is called the Bird-dog, because………………it makes you look like a bird-dog. (Google that if you don’t know what that is 
). This is one of the best exercises for those multifidus muscles that we showed last time.
The elements of endurance and coordination are both present in this exercise. She is making one mistake and should move her “down knee” forward until it is straight up and down. Also make sure that your pelvis is level with the floor.
You want to hold this position for 10 seconds per side. Work up to doing this 10 times per day, for a total of 100 seconds per side – easy! If you do this less than three days per week you are probably wasting your time. 3-5 days is great. More than 5 days won’t add much.
How easy, or hard this exercise is will tell you something about the shape of your back muscles. If you are bouncing, jerking and generally having a hard time holding this position, good news! You have room for improvement. : p
When this gets too easy, don’t add ankle weights or have your little brother sit on your leg. Instead, lift the arm opposite your “up leg”. So lift your right leg and left arm, for example. Still hold for 10 seconds and 10 sets per side.
This is the first step to health and happiness…or, at least, less back pain!
April 20, 2007 at 5:17 pm
[...] An example of a specific therapy exercise that is commonly needed is in my earlier column, “The Back Pain Vaccine”. [...]
June 2, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Hello. I am a 19 years old male who has tried to heal his own lower back pain. I have read so many information about how to cure the back pain, and in my case, surgery or using drug is unnecessary since I don’t feel severe pain. About three days ago, I started to correct my back posture. It was tough, and I could feel my lower back muscles working and sweating a bit, but I did not overwork to correct my posture and injure myself. I rested occasionally by lying on the bed comfortably and drank lots of water since spine needs a lot of fluid. I started stretching routines that were found on doctors or experts’ websites slowly so that my spine does not get injured.
I corrected the way I stand, the way I sit, and the way I pick up things on the ground. My question is that is it possible to readjust the lower part of the spine correctly to cure the minor lower back pain by doing the correct stretches and maintaining correct posture throughout the day? I know that our body is designed to readjust or mutate itself so that it is structured properly. I also know that our spine secretes lubricants to be able to restructure itself. I am wondering if it is possible to cure the minor lower back pain and restructure it correctly by proper stretching exercises in the morning and maintaining correct posture and taking good rests. I would appreciate it if you can reply to me through my e-mail. Thank you.