The low down on Back Pain.

It’s the time of year for enthusiastic gardening, impromptu football matches and running around in the sunshine. Which is all well and good until something goes twang!

Unfortunately the majority of us have pretty sedentary desk jobs which involve lots of sitting and most of us are guilty of having spent most of the winter slumped on the couch with our favourite box sets.

what does this mean?

This all adds up to weakened core muscles which puts stress on our lumbar spine, add in the summer splash of exercise and it can for many of us lead to low back pain.  Whether it’s a slight twinge or full on can’t move back spasm learning which exercises and stretches can alleviate the pain can be of great benefit to your long term health.

what can i do to help?

Developing strong midline support is critical to decrease the stress on your lumbar spine and pelvis.  It’s best to have someone show you how to do these exercise to make sure you are doing them correctly.  They can also check that the muscles are weak and need to be strengthened and are not being inhibited by an antagonist muscle (opposite side) or faulty lumbar facet joint mechanics.

If you overdid the weeding at the weekend and are feeling the pinch we have some nice gentle stretches to ease out those muscles and relieve your pain.

If you know you have low back problems and want to strengthen them our resident physical therapist Ciarán Aherne is teaching his Back Care workshop on Saturday.