TRAINER TUESDAYS

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Hey All, thanks for checking in! Welcome to the first entry of our brand new weekly post on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check back to our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. We have been very fortunate to keep the same training staff that you have come to know and love together for a while now, and it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

Should I Strength Train if I Have Chronic Back Pain? 

Adam Teplitz:

It may come as a surprise, but strength training is actually a more effective solution for chronic back pain than going for surgery or taking pills. Most of the time, back pain is due to postural alignment problems.This can be corrected with exercise and strengthening. Weak muscles lead to back pain and  it is important to focus on strengthening the muscles involved in the body's core stabilization. Strength is extremely effective for chronic back pain in its early stages.  It can help to relieve the pain, overcome physical inactivity, and build overall strength.  

Back pain can occur in an area of the back, but its most common to affect the lower back, which supports most of the body's weight. 

Exercise plays a very beneficial role in chronic back pain. It is important to strengthen the specific muscles that support and stabilize the spine.  Lumbar extension strength training exercises will be the most beneficial.   These exercises will strengthen those muscles, improve lower back mobility and enhance the flexibility in the hip. 

Some exercises that will be beneficial are prone planks, supine twists, side planks, superman's, quadrupeds, hip lifts, crunches on stability balls and russian twists.

Bojana "Boki" Soljaga:
The most common cause of chronic back pain is muscle imbalance.  Particularly, anterior pelvic tilt is associated with sedentary life style where individuals spend most of the time in a seated position. Tight hip flexors, weak glutes and abdominal muscles increase tension in the lumbar spine. Stretching and strength training are essential to alleviate chronic back pain. There are other ways to strengthen your core muscles rather than traditional sit ups and crunches. I recommend functional strength training, which works multiple muscle groups at the same time.

Justin Traft:
The answer to your question is Yes, strength training with chronic back pain is a must!! Not only to help prevent more pain, but also to build endurance and muscle to protect your back. Here are some benefits to strength training with chronic back pain: In the long run it will help build stabilizers as well as hip flexors to help improve your posture. Also, you'll strengthen your Transversospinalis muscle in your back--the deepest, most important muscle group when it comes to stability; Which, in return helps alongside with flexibility in everyday life movements.
 Most importantly, you can't forget abdominal exercises which aid in helping to reduce pain by building as well as strengthening  muscles around the spine to properly function as a whole. This helps to take strain off of the back during movements, allowing proper posture at all times. This is Key the common phrase strong core, strong back!