Dec 29 2008
Back pain and core fitness
Like many people I’ve suffered with back pain on and off for many years. I’ve sought treatments of all kinds, from traditional doctors who mostly gave me painkillers and said it was something I had to learn to live with, to physiotherapists who gave me exercises which did not lessen the pain, to acupuncturists who sent my back into spasms, and massage therapists who made me wonderfully relaxed but who did not stop the pain returning some time later. Back pain is the scourge of modern society, affecting 80% of adults at some point in their lives. But it doesn’t have to. Back is often the result of weakened core muscles: the ‘core’ being the abdominals, back muscles, hip flexors and all the muscles that stabilize, align and move the trunk of the body. Strengthening these muscles and increasing hip and pelvic flexibility can go a long way to prevent and treat back pain.Here are two basic exercises which strengthen and stabilize the core as a whole. The first is the plank pose, found in both pilates and yoga. Lying on the stomach, come up onto the forearms and toes, making sure that the elbows are directly under the shoulders. The back should be perfectly flat (keep the hips down!) and the gaze towards the ground.
A variation of the pose is to come up on the hands, keeping the shoulders aligned over the hands and the spin straight. Hold the pose for 30 seconds initially, longer if you can. Do 3-4 sets a day.The second exercise is the pilates swimming move. Lying again on the stomach, raise the right arm and left leg simultaneously, and then switch to the left arm and right leg in a fluid motion. Think of reaching with the hand and the foot towards the walls, rather than gaining height. 
Keep the neck long and lift with the core muscles rather than the hand and foot. Do 3-4 sets of 30 seconds of swimming daily. Next up are exercises that will strengthen the abdominals.
