The spine in the human body is truly amazing. In conjunction with your brain, it controls the human body. The spinal cord has vertebral arteries that supply blood to the spine. Your spine is made up of vertebrae held together by ligaments. In between the vertebrae and ligaments are spinal discs. These discs are innervated. Which means each disc has nerves attached to them. Each disc in your spine controls different functions in your body. For instance, there is your cervical spine which is basically your neck. There are 7 discs in the cervical spine. C-1, which is the top disc in your neck controls blood supply to your head among other functions. People that have forward head posture tend to have problems with their C-1. Which leads to headaches, migraines and other issues. Since their head is leaning forward it is not erect and straight. Which means it is not being properly supported. Putting strain on the neck and the disc.

There are 5 different sections of the spine. Starting from the top is the cervical part of the spine. It is basically the neck area made up of 7 discs. Next is the thoracic spine which is made of 12 discs. This is the middle of the back area. Then you have the lumbar spine which is made of 5 discs. Back pain is most common in the lumbar area. Around 28% of Americans suffer from lower back pain making up around 72 million cases a year. Then you have the sacrum which is made up of 5 fused vertebrae. The bone links the spine with the hip. Finally, there is the coccyx otherwise known as the tailbone. The coccyx is made up of separate coccygeal vertebrae, which over time then fuse together to make a single bone.

 Your back is fed by a process called imbibition. When your discs in your back compress and then expand. Imagine squeezing a sponge and compressing it. Then you release it, and it expands, that is when the discs are fed. That is called imbibition. That is a huge reason why people who ride around in motorized carts and don’t walk. Their back pain doesn’t go away. You must nourish your back. There is also Wolff’s Law which states that the more pressure you put on a bone the stronger it will grow back. You need to put pressure on your back to make it strong.

 Foam rolling techniques and static stretching for your back is part of keeping your back healthy. Back pain can be caused by tightness in your glutes or butt. In your hip flexors which basically are muscles above your thighs and below your abdomen. And of course, in your back. Pain can also be caused by underactive muscles as well. Meaning they need to be strengthened. You can also learn how to decompress your lower back yourself. You can use an assisted pull up machine or even a TRX suspension trainer. I highly recommend you learn from a professional before doing it on your own. But you can be taught how to do it.

 Posture plays a big part in how your back feels. With correct posture the spine is properly supported. Making it less likely to have issues with your back. Also, it is much more attractive as well. Corrective exercise which I wrote about in a previous issue works on correcting your posture as well as rehabilitating injuries.

 Some chiropractors will adjust you and keep having you come back. But not enough in my opinion will show you how to strengthen your back. How to have a thorough program on staying supple and strong. Teaching you how to do this and eventually moving on and taking care of yourself. That is one of the things that I have been proud of when I trained people. Doing a full mobility program, showing them foundational exercises and teaching them how to take care of themselves. So, when they move on, they can take care of themselves.

 One of my favorite exercises are planks. This is done incorrectly a lot of the time. You need to do a hip tuck when you do them. That ensures that you are activating your transverse abdominus which is a muscle that wraps around your back. When Olympic athletes for instance squat, they hip tuck before they start the squat. Helping to protect their back. Another great back strengthening exercise are dumbbell farmer’s carries. You walk with a dumbbell in each hand on your sides, body erect and controlled. That weight and pressure helps strengthen the back.

 There are different problems you can get with the discs in your back. You can have a degenerating, herniated, thinning and bulging disc. The pain they cause can all be improved. If you are willing to put out the effort. Thanks for reading and have a great day.