In my 23 years of practice as a Chiropractor in Salt Lake City and Texas working with individuals from all professions, including competitive athletes, one of the most common questions I am asked is "what is the best way to strengthen my back?" Everybody wants to have a healthy, strong, stable, back. Especially those individuals that have suffered a back injury or condition that creates pain and instability. They know how quickly a "bad" back can have a detrimental effect on every aspect of their life. If you have never had a painful back condition, trust me, you do NOT want one!
There are several contributing factors to a weak, unstable, back, but in my opinion, by far the most common is a weak abdominal "core". Athletes know, or at least should know, that all power, strength, speed, agility, and coordination, is directly linked to the strength of the core muscles. This is where all these functions originate. Thus, not only does a weak abdominal core create instability and lack of agility, power, etc, it also creates over compensation patterns in other areas of the body, i.e the lumbar and pelvic musculature. These imbalances then create bad movement and posture patterns, which eventually lead to instability and painful condition like degenerative joint disease and disc prolapse. So how does all this relate to someone that is not an athlete but sits at a desk all day? Remember the phrase "use it or lose it"? When we sit all day the abdominal muscles along with the pelvic stabilizers, including the iliopsoas (hip flexors) and gluteus and periformis muscles ( hip extensors) begin to weaken and shorten. This creates the imbalances between the core muscles in the abdominal and the lumbar (low back areas). Over time this creates the instability and painful conditions that we see in our office everyday. So if you want a strong, stable, back, you MUST strengthen your abs!
Stop in our Salt Lake City Chiropractic Offices of The Joint Sugar House or The Joint Cottonwood Heights and see how regular chiropractic care can help your lifestyle. For more visit our website at www.saltlakecitychiropractor-thejoint.com
