Lower back pain can be agonizing. Without an efficient and healthy lower back, every moment spent sitting or standing can be challenging, leaving us hopelessly wondering if the pain might ever lessen or vanish. Pain from an unknown origin is also quite worrisome, since we can’t rid ourselves of it if we aren’t sure what causes it, often wondering if expensive drugs or surgeries might do the trick.
There is hope, however. Unless caused by serious trauma such as a break, most lower back pain can be lessened or eliminated completely and naturally by a good postural program that teaches a specialized exercise routine. If done regularly, these exercises can make your pain vanish.
The lower back supports more weight than we may realize, especially when relaxed. During every moment spent upright, the head, shoulders and even the arms apply vertical pressure on the lower back and spine.
Much of this support is provided by the lower back’s arched inward curve toward the body. Incredibly stable structures, arches efficiently support heavy loads and, in a classic case of function following form, feature heavily in modern and ancient architecture.
Unfortunately, we often unknowingly compromise this natural support in many ways that feel completely relaxed. We do things that pull our vertebrae out of alignment, thus reducing or eliminating the natural arch. If the vertebrae are improperly aligned, back pain develops.
The spine’s hundreds of muscles are often not toned enough to maintain a natural posture, resulting in slouching as weakened muscles struggle to bear our weight. Sometimes we work to correct the problems ourselves without fully understanding what we’re doing, failing to strengthen the weakened muscles and in turn straining. This creates tension, which only tires us further and perpetuates the negative cycle.
A program to improve posture must teach several skills to help the body find a comfortable stance, one that can be maintained for long periods, and strengthen your body so the posture feels natural and relaxed. By maintaining good and efficient posture, your chronic pain will slowly diminish, or may even disappear entirely. What was once agonizing will then become relaxed and natural.
A thorough postural improvement regimen will include lower back pain exercises and must strengthen weakened and unused muscles so they aren’t easily fatigued. It should also increase muscle flexibility via stretching. Learning to relax is as important as is building strength, as unnecessary tension inhibits good posture and causes its own share of bad habits. Body awareness is the final piece of the puzzle, helping you spot inefficiencies before they develop into new habits which must be fixed again later.
All four of these elements are crucial for a good postural program. Neglecting one may seem like a fast path to improvement, but over time the aches and pains will return as your body settles into its old, familiar habits. These four principles support and re-enforce each other, working together to not only lessen existing problems, but to prevent new ones from developing later.
We also associate good posture with great self confidence. Think of the last person you watched stride into a room, back straight, head held high. By appearing more confident, others will treat us as if we have this confidence with good reason, and the healthy cycle perpetuates. Better posture and its associated increased confidence are just a few steps and a bit of effort away.
