Don’t let Back Pain Break You!

Why haven't more athletes and coaches been told these facts about preventing back strain and pain? Dear Reader, It's a fact that anybody involved in running, lifting weights, cardio, swimming, soccer, rugby, and all other sports and exercises suffers from back pain. As you are well aware back problems are one of the most common sports injuries among competitive athletes and others who exercise regularly and vigorously.... Up to 80% of adults experience back problems. Back pain is the leading cause of doctor's office visits, hospitalization, surgery, and work disability. In the United States alone, the annual combined cost of back-pain-related medical care and disability compensation is over $50 billion (about 35 billion pounds). It's for this reason that Sports Injury Bulletin has published it's special research report, How to Prevent Back Pain and Injury. In the meantime, I want to share with you 3 quick tips from the report that can immediately help strengthen your back while reducing or eliminating back pain... Back-pain reduction tip #1: Make sure you are running on the balls of your feet, not your heels. Runners injure themselves all the time, suffering calf muscle strain, Achilles tendonitis, patellofemoral pain - and, of course, lower back pain. Now, a new running technique invented by Russian scientist Nicholas Romanov, "pose running," can reduce injury-causing strain. Among the pose-running principles Romanov advocates: Hit the track only with the balls of your feet ... NOT your heels. Raise your ankle straight up under your hip, using your hamstrings. Keep shoulders, hips, and ankles in vertical alignment ... and use a short stride. In our new special report, How to Prevent Back Pain and Injury, we outline the 15 steps required to reduce back strain with the pose running system... and give you 7 easy-to-follow drills you can apply to training. Back-pain reduction tip #2: Quick pain relief for ankylosing spondylitis sufferers. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that can cause pain ... and decrease mobility in the spine. While there's no cure, an active lifestyle and regular exercise program can help reduce the pain and inflammation. If you are diagnosed with AS, here's a quick and easy exercise that can help them control your back pain: Stand with your back against the wall and heels about 10 cm out from the wall. Gently push your shoulders and buttocks back until they are touching the wall. Hold for 5 seconds. Release and repeat. Back pain reduction tip #3: 58 seconds to eliminating lower back pain. Dr. Fin Biering-Sorenson, a Danish spine expert, found that the key to preventing lower back pain is to build up "isomeric endurance". The ability of the lower back muscles to maintain moderate levels of force ... for prolonged periods... without significant fatigue. To build up your isomeric endurance: Lie face down on a bench and strap your legs. Your legs should be supported by the bench with the upper body extended over the edge. Keep your upper body parallel to the floor, with your arms folded against your chest, for as long as you can. Repeat this process until you have built up enough endurance to maintain a horizontal position for 58 seconds. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of having spinal problems!