The Yoga Back Book: The Gentle Yet Effective Way to Spinal Health

Slowly pivot yourself until you are sitting evenly on your bottom, then slowly stand up. Breathe regularly all the while, to help you to concentrate on what you are doing.

Carrying

To carry anything heavy – groceries for example – divide them into two parts of roughly equal weight and carry one part on each side. Alternatively, look for someone to help you or use a trolley or cart if one is available.

Use luggage trolleys or wheels, or cases with wheels when you travel. Carry a small suitcase in each hand rather than struggle with a single large suitcase. Push trolleys rather than pull them to prevent back strain.

Maintain good posture at all times and check that you are not holding your breath. Remember to keep breathing regularly.

Bending and Lifting

Improper bending and reassuming a standing position is one of the most frequent causes of low back pain.

You can protect your spine when lifting by holding the object close to you with both hands to prevent the body from being pulled into the poor forward-leaning posture and also to prevent twisting. Good balance and flexibility are maintained by placing the feet in a broad-based stance and by bending the knees. This stance allows the body to move as a unit, and the weight to be shifted from one leg to the other.

To avoid subjecting your back to unnecessary stress and to prevent injury, observe the following basic steps when bending and lifting:

1 Keep your back straight but not necessarily vertical. Bend your legs and lower yourself as if to squat.

2 For best balance, position your feet about shoulder-width apart, with one in front of the other. The forward foot should be flat and the rear on tiptoe, as it were. Your knee should not touch the floor (Fig. 18 (#litres_trial_promo)).

3 Securely grasp the object to be lifted. Bring it close to you. Keep your arms close to your body.

4 Get up slowly and with awareness, letting the powerful leg muscles work for you. Observe good posture. Breathe regularly.

Avoiding pitfalls

Here are more tips to help to prevent back injury when you bend and lift:

Prepare the setting and the equipment. Render your work area safe by removing clutter, or by noting any unevenness or slipperiness of terrain, for example. Make sure there is adequate space in which to move.

Wear suitable clothing which permits ease of movement, and which won’t get caught or cause other impediment.

Fig. 18. Good posture in bending

Prepare your posture: place your feet apart in a walking stance. Bend your knees. Tighten your abdominal muscles. Maintain the neutral pelvic tilt (see Fig. 13 (#litres_trial_promo)). Use both hands. Hold the object close to you.

Before lifting an object, be sure that you have a secure grip on it; use aids if necessary, such as slings, ropes or a mechanical lift.

Concentrate on what you are doing (see chapter eight for concentration exercises, here (#litres_trial_promo)). Breathe regularly.

Reaching

Avoid back strain through overreaching. To get something from a high shelf, stand on a stable stepladder or sturdy piece of furniture so you can reach the object with ease. If you feel insecure, hold on to something safe with one hand.

Concentrate when stepping up and stepping down. Breathing regularly will help you to focus attention on what you are doing.

Vacuuming, Mopping, Shovelling, etc.

If your equipment is sufficiently lightweight, try using a lunging technique (Fig. 19 (#litres_trial_promo)) which will exercise the joints and muscles of your hips and legs. These, remember, are secondary back supports (see chapter one, here (#ulink_cd509cf5-1f28-54f5-bb97-c89f9696ded8)) which contribute to the health of the spine.

Fig. 19. Lunging

Remember to keep the back naturally straight and to breathe regularly.

If you’re shovelling earth or snow, face the area you’re going to dig and point the forward foot in that direction. Keep your arms close to your body. Point the rear foot towards the place where the shovelful is to be deposited and turn from the hip (rather than the waist) towards the rear foot. (Fig. 20 (#litres_trial_promo)).

Catching

Try to avoid catching falling objects. Your muscles need time to contract sufficiently to protect spinal joints, ligaments and discs. If they have to contract suddenly, without ample warning, they may not be able to co-ordinate adequately and the force involved in catching may be enough to cause damage. You may also slip and fall.

In Summary

Whether you sit, stand or walk, lie down or get up, bend, reach, lift or carry, the key to good posture is maintaining the normal curves of the spine. Any position, gesture, action or movement that alters these curves has the potential to place strain on spinal structures, weaken them, produce discomfort or pain and make the back more vulnerable to injury.

In order to maintain normal spinal curves you need to keep your back, abdominal and leg muscles in good tone and you need to guard against overweight. You also need to balance regular exercise with rest and relaxation.

It is not only sedentary workers who require exercise. Even those whose occupations involve physical labour may be using certain muscles habitually to the neglect of others. Suitable exercises, done regularly, will help to stretch out shortened muscles which contribute to poor posture. Exercise will help to keep joints freely moving and less liable to be injured. Examples of such exercises are given throughout this book.

Please remember to check with your doctor before practising these or any other exercises. Ask if they are suitable for you and compatible with treatment you may be receiving.

3 Diet for a Healthy Back (#ulink_a4675dda-ba51-5bf0-950c-b4ca2000e54f)

To stay alive and to function optimally, all living tissue needs oxygen and nutrients. The circulation through which these vital substances are delivered to the tissues must also be healthy. If the blood supply is reduced because of muscle spasm or poor posture, for example, then the nutrition to the affected parts of the body will be diminished and their function will be impaired.

It is essentially what we eat that provides the body with the raw materials for building and maintaining a healthy spine, spinal discs, muscles, connective tissues and other components of the system. Nutrients from an adequate, wholesome diet are processed by the digestive system and transported to all cells and tissues through the blood circulation.

This chapter does not offer yet another fad diet. It simply highlights nutrients that are crucial to the structure and function of the spine and its attachments. It suggests sources from which to obtain these nutrients, and alerts you to substances that work against them. Although I have focused on only a few, it is well to remember that all nutrients work together and that no single one can be considered a panacea.

If you are considering taking nutritional supplements, it would be prudent to consult a dietician, nutritionist or other qualified health professional first.

Vitamins

Vitamin A

This fat-soluble vitamin has a scavenging effect on free radicals, substances that are by-products of protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism. They are considered ‘mischievous molecules’ which play a part in ageing and in cancer development. As such, vitamin A is a highly protective nutrient.

Vitamin A promotes the growth of strong bones and protects the lining of joints against inflammation. It also enhances the repair of bones and connective tissue.

Vitamin A increases the permeability of blood capillaries (small blood vessels) which carry oxygen and other vital nutrients to the body’s cells. (Capillary permeability exists when the capillary wall allows blood to pass readily into cells and tissue spaces and vice versa. The more permeable the capillary walls are, the better is the supply of oxygen delivered to cells.)

In addition, vitamin A, combined with vitamin E, promotes cell oxygenation, whereby cells are supplied with oxygen.

The best sources of vitamin A include: fresh vegetables, especially intensely green and yellow ones such as broccoli, carrots, dandelion leaves, kale, parsley, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes and turnip tops, and fresh fruits such as apricots, cantaloupe melons, cherries, mangoes, papaya and peaches. Vitamin A is also obtainable from milk, milk products and fish liver oils.

The B vitamins

Called ‘the nerve vitamins’, this complex consists of more than twenty vitamins which are essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system and for counteracting the harmful effects of stress. The B vitamins affect the immune system, which protects us from infection and other forms of disease.