November 2005

When Fitness is a Lifestyle

Nearly 85% of all Americans will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. I am going to look at it from a different angle. Not from a medical or chiropractic view, but rather from working with over 1,000 clients. We will be looking specifically at how muscles in your back, stomach and legs can cause back pain and how to improve the situation.

Causes of low back pain:

Being over weight. Especially, carrying too much weight around the stomach area. Each pound of fat around the mid section adds ten pounds of pressure to the low back. So, if you have ten pounds of extra body fat, that is equivalent to a 100 pounds of pressure!!!!

Muscle weakness or muscle imbalances. Go to any gym or watch an infomercial and you would think that the only muscles that need work are the abs. Except, what about your back muscles? I know they are not as sexy as abs. They are, however, just as important. Your body’s natural girdle is the trunk which is abdominal muscles and back muscles. So, if the abs are strong and the back is weak that is a problem. I am a big fan of working out using the fitness ball to develop all the “core” muscles.

	Tight hamstrings. Three hamstring muscles attach to the pelvis. If the hamstring muscles are tight, they pull down on the pelvis. Low back muscles try to keep the pelvis up, but the low back muscles are not strong enough to endure the constant pressure from the hamstring muscles.
	Poor Posture. Look at yourself right now. Are you sitting with your shoulders rounded forward? Are your legs crossed? Is your chair too high, or too low? When you stand do you lean on one leg? Are your eyes looking forward, or do you look down at your feet?

Now let’s look at what can be done to help those poor back muscles. First of all, if you are overweight and carry more fat in your stomach, it is time to get serious about losing the weight. Research shows that people who carry more fat in the abdominal area are more likely to suffer from heart disease and diabetes. The fat on your stomach will not disappear like magic by doing abdominal crunches. The way to lose it is to watch what you are putting in your mouth. My advice is to keep track of your calories after knowing your resting metabolic rate with the BodyGem.

Make sure your exercise routine is addressing the body as a whole. Exercise that utilizes the core muscles will bring more benefit than doing single plane of motion exercises on range of motion limiting machines. If you need a new routine please let us know.

If you have the flexibility of the Tin Man, start by doing some gentle static stretches for your low back on hamstrings. If you need something to get started let me know. Another good way to improve flexibility is to try doing Yoga. Make sure if it’s your first time, let the instructor know. I like some of the Yoga videos, but make sure they are not too aggressive for beginners.

If your posture is poor, I can help you with exercises that strengthen the shoulders and back. Try to sit on a fitness ball as much as possible. If you sit at work and your chair is a piece of junk, ask about getting a fitness ball chair. Pay attention to what your eyes are doing. The neck, back and shoulders follow the eyes. Keep your eyes looking forward and your shoulders back.

Client of the Month

Jennifer just had her sixth child. She was on maternity leave, wanted to lose some of the baby fat, and be able to get back to work to carry a 75lb ladder. The Sun has been working with Jennifer since August. In that time, Jennifer has changed her weight from 148 to 133 pounds, and her body fat has dropped from 29% to 21%. That is awesome! Jennifer is also strong enough to carry her ladder at work. She is very dedicated to her family and her workouts. We are very proud of her and look forward to more of her successes in the future.