By Lisa Snow, personal trainer

Building a Better Back

Maybe it started with a car accident, a sports injury, or simply too much time hunched over your keyboard. But now the back pain is too serious to ignore. The orthopedist has ruled out surgery, so what’s next?

Chiropractic can be a good starting point. A common misconception is that the only purpose of chiropractic is to get your bones back into alignment.  While adjustments do help with that, the real benefit is that once your spine is properly aligned, energy can flow freely through your nerves to your muscles.  This allows the muscles to move with more grace and strength, while reducing pain.

Although many first-time patients fear getting “cracked,” adjustments shouldn’t hurt.  Most people feel a sense of release, similar to what you feel when popping your knuckles.  Many patients are also amazed to find they can suddenly breathe more deeply, sometimes as early as a first or second appointment.  Once your joints are lined up in their proper positions, there is much less tension in the chest and upper back, allowing the diaphragm to pull in full, healing breaths.

Once you’ve found a good chiropractor (or other medical professional) to get your pain under control, 1-1 fitness training can be useful.  While trainers can’t treat anything – certainly not back pain – they can help build strength while reducing risk of future injury.  Here are key areas where an experienced trainer can help:

Core stability – while your doctor may recommend avoiding spinal flexion movements like old school crunches and sit-ups, there are plenty of other core exercises available.  Depending on your specific injury, you may be able to do things like planks, side planks, bird dogs, or the cat & cow pose from yoga.

Breathing – learning to breathe deeply can release tension that builds up in the muscles and eventually causes pain.  Once you’ve mastered proper breathing on its own, you can begin to learn to breathe correctly during exercise.

Posture – anyone can pretend to have good posture in front of a mirror, but can you maintain that tall spine while standing and waiting for the subway, sitting at your desk, or doing squats?  A personal trainer can help you make good posture a habit rather than something you only do when someone is looking.

Lisa Snow
ACE & NSCA Certified Personal Trainer
President
On the Mend Customized Fitness and Massage