Stretching Exercises for Strengthening the Spine, Muscles, Back Posture

 Back and Spine Maintenance, Stretching Exercises for Greater Flexibility, Better Muscle Tone, and Proper Posture.  Exercises Strengthen Your Back and Prevent Injury.

As a chiropractor working with athletes, weekend warriors, and individuals who are just wanting to stay active, I recommend and promote stretching programs to all my patients before they play sports, work in the yard, biking, etc…. Stretching exercises for the back provide many essential advantages. Flexibility, muscle tone, joint movement, and all help maintain a healthy back. 

 If you've ever felt a twinge or tightness in your back, you know that the spine is a rather complex structure comprised of muscles, ligaments, bones, etc.  If your back is acting up, your ability to function comes to a quick standstill.    As we grow older, we slow down, our bodies lose muscle tone, joint flexibility and this causes a greater decrease in body movement. Here are some quick tips you can use to improve your backbone and posture.

There are many advantages your body will gain from using these techniques.  You will see improved coordination, accelerated supply of blood and nutrients through out your system. Stretching different body parts helps eliminate soreness and stiffness along with decreasing the risk for further injury and nagging back pain.

Here are some quick tips on strengthening your back and better posture.

Hip and Leg Flex
Get down on the floor and lie flat on your back.  Cross one leg over the other, and pull the other knee slowly up in the direction of your upper body.  Try this with each leg until you feel your hips loosening and flexed.  Another great back saver commonly used is +the calf raise.  There are a couple of ways you can do this. Position yourself by facing a wall, palms against the wall, raise one leg off the ground, bent at the knee, now slowly lower yourself on the other leg like your squatting, keep the back straight, and then when you've went as low as you can go, raise yourself back up. Another technique is to stand straight hand against the wall, place one foot in front of the other one, and while holding your balance bend the front leg at the knee as if you're starting to sit, you will feel your calf tighten as your weight is focused on this leg.  Try and stay in this position for a count of 10-15 seconds and then straighten up.  Do both legs 2-3 times starting out and as you progress with these you will find that you can do them without the wall or supports.

 Arm and Hand Strength Stretching
If you've ever been in sports, you've probably had to do toe touches. So these next two tips will help your back while helping your arms and hands.  Stand at attention, legs together and raise your arms over your head, and slowly bend at the waist keeping your knees straight and try to touch your toes with your arms.  If you can't get to your toes try to get to your ankles and as your torso becomes more limber you will eventually get to the toes.  Now try this next tip, sit in a chair with a straight back and lift your legs together until they're 90 degrees, then reach out with your hands and try and touch both feet without bending the knees.  Both of these are great warm up tips before getting active for the day.

 Upper Torso Twists
You've probably heard it by another name, "Trunk Twisting".  You can either stand up or sit in a chair to do this.  If you're in a chair, sit straight and rotate your arms across your body like your trying to reach back on the opposite side of the position your in.  You will feel your upper chest tighten and stretch as you reach with your arms on each side.  You can also stand straight, legs about 2 feet apart and without moving your lower body, put your arms straight out on each side and slowly turn your chest as far past center as you can doing this back and forth twisting your torso as you attempt to turn.  With each of these stretches you want to do it slowly and hold the position for a few seconds as you loosen your muscles and upper joints.

Neck Flexing
To start with, try the neck roll.  Tuck your chin on your chest and start moving your neck in a clockwise motion beginning from the right to the back and then to the left returning to the front.  You should think of this as if you're rotating 360 degrees. Continue to do the roll 4-5 times before you change the direction.

 These are all simple pain free techniques you should use each and every day to help decrease future back injuries and help maintain optimum body posture.  If you have any concerns before trying these, contact your chiropractor or doctor.  Otherwise start slowly and gradually build yourself up, you won't be sorry.   For more great information on building a better back, go to www.premierhealthclinic.net  or if you live in Dallas or Plano area contact me personally for any questions or to set up an appointment. Thank you  Dr. Khayal.

Dr. H. Khayal is a board certified chiropractor and a graduate of Parker College of Chiropractic. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Texas at Dallas. After gaining clinical experience as an associate doctor, he started his own practice in the Dallas/Plano area. Premier Health Clinic attracted patients from all over the city and surrounding areas. With referrals being the number one source of new patients seeking Dr. Khayal's care, he treats hundreds of patients every month.