Mobilise Your Spine!
In our last blog we talked about back strength exercises which can help to protect your spine and make it perform better.
In this week’s blog we look at making the spine more mobile and flexible and potentially help to reduce pain.
These exercises are suitable for everyone – if you are active or inactive. Get these done 3-4 x per week for a better spine!
Your spine is flexible, strong and very versatile – and you want to keep it this way – or maybe you want to get it strong and flexible!
The first step is creating a foundation and good environment for your spine to flourish.
If you do not have a good amount of movement, mobility and comfort level in your back – you can’t expect it to do great things.
Modern day lifestyles lead to a lot of sitting and poor habits – back mobility has never been so important.
How do we mobilise our back?
We mobilise our back by moving it repeatedly in certain directions – we are NOT stretching it. Stretching can take activity out of the muscle and leave our back underactive – prior to exercise such as gym work this could be a bad choice. We need tension and control, through our mid-section.
Small movements to the end of range in different directions helps to:
- Increase range of movement
- Keep joints pain free and loose
- Allows for greater performance of soft tissues
I’ve never really performed mobility exercises before – do I need to?
We would always say yes.
Even if you have the most mobile back in the world or the stiffest – everyone should consider doing mobility work.
The simple reason being that it is great way to keep you in good condition and reduce your chances of injury.
You shouldn’t wait for a problem to occur, prevention is better than a cure.
Mobility is a powerful maintenance and prevention tool.
I want to mobilise my back where do I begin?
We have outlined 5 of the best back mobility exercises below. There are plenty more out there on youtube, Instagram and other resources.
These can be completed by any person of any ability or fitness level.
No equipment is needed. You can add in tools such as foam rollers, hockey balls and even massage guns which can allow you to achieve greater ranges of mobility by relaxing soft tissue first.
To start out – using simple exercises is fine, as you go deeper in to the mobility game you may want to think about using equipment to compliment your exercises.
Get started today – your back will thank you for it.
Top 4 best back mobility exercises!
- Supine Pelvic Tilts – lie on the floor, feet on the floor and hands on hips. Lift just the lower part of your back up and keep everything else on the floor. The movement should lift your stomach then flatten it down repeatedly.
- Supine Lumbar Twists – lying on your back – feet on floor and knees bent – twist your lower back by taking your knees from side to side.
- Quadruped – on all 4’s – place your hand behind your head on one side and rotate your upper body backwards.
- Prone Extension – Lie on the floor and press your chest away from the floor – leaving your hips on the floor.
We would recommend doing these exercises daily but if you are just starting – try 3 x per week with small amounts to get started. As you start to progress, add more in and look for other mobility exercises to keep your spine healthy.
That concludes our blog for this week. We hope that this has given you some new ideas to keep you healthy.
This is the last blog in our back series. We hope that this has provided you with information that you can use to stay in top shape. As always – if this has helped you then please share it with someone you know.
If you are struggling with back pain and need some advice or treatment – we are here to help assess, treat and rehab you. Get in touch or book online
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