Generalized “wear and tear” from enduring the stress of life for over fifty years elicits repercussions to our joints. The articular surface of joints can get scuffed after being used for manual labor, the stresses of an athletic career, or recovering from a traumatic injury. As the surface of joints wears down, they become rough and gritty, akin to the feel of sandpaper. The result of the rough surface of joints can lead to arthritis and sensations of crepitus, such as the sound and feeling of two marbles grinding against each other. This is commonly felt in the knee joints when traveling up a set of steps. Along with the contributing factors toward the wearing down of the surface of joints caused by a person’s history of physical stress, a factor that comes attached to our lives no matter what our physical activity background is aging. General age-related degeneration of bone and joint structure is something every human has as part of their life. One of the most common joint injuries affected by the advancement of age occurs in the spine.
Consisting of over twenty bones, the spine is a complex of bones called vertebrae. These spinal bones have a multitude of critically important functions to the success of our lives. The spine’s most obvious observable attribute is the structural feature of holding the torso upright. Acting as a vertical rod that connects the hips to the skull, the spine keeps a human upright to walk around and interact with the environment. In addition to the important structural features of the spine, each section of the spine has unique functions. The cervical section of the spine consists of seven vertebrae that attach the skull to the shoulder region, which have a distinctive shape meant for rotation of the neck, allowing for turning, rotation, and hinging of the skull. Just below the cervical section are twelve thoracic vertebrae, which allow for attachment of the ribs. Between the ribs and the hips resides a set of five lumbar vertebrae before the spine meets the sacrum and hips. The lumbar vertebrae are the largest and most dense section of spinal bones, acting as a weight-bearing centerpiece to keep the body upright.
It should go without saying that the health and well-being of our spine are critically important for the functionality of our everyday lives. Degenerative joint conditions in the spine can include arthritis, stenosis, and compressed nerves caused by bulging or herniated discs. These examples of spinal conditions can lead to debilitating symptoms of pain, numbness, and weakness throughout the body. I wish I could give everyone magic spine-strengthening pills that would alleviate pain, and we can live in a world with an indestructible back, but we don’t live in a fantasy world. The truth is the body is prone to injury and gradual deterioration. However, we don’t need to settle and give in to pain. The detrimental effects of pain and debilitating spine injuries can be mitigated via strategically designed exercise tactics.
Two factors that affect people and can be rectified relatively soon via consistent exercise practice are staving off pain and increasing mobility. If the body is in less pain, fewer restrictions hold a person back from moving freely in their everyday life activities.
Aching, dull, or searing muscular pain in the lower back can create a psychological and emotional distraction, impeding people from wanting to pursue recreational physical activities. Throwing a ball with grandchildren, gardening, or participating in sports such as tennis, golf, or pickleball can be limited due to the onset of lower back pain. Fear and anxiety that someone might hurt their back further could veer a person away from participating in the physical activities they cherish. As a solution to control pain when lower back injuries are perpetually presenting themselves, ensuring to stick to a schedule of pain reduction tactics is critical. Pain-reducing tactics such as applying a heating pad to the lower back for twenty minutes, applying a topical anti-inflammatory ointment, or acquiring therapeutic bodywork can be helpful. However, it’s challenging to tell if these tactics alleviate and stave off pain if they aren’t practiced consistently. To ensure the maximum effectiveness of such simple pain relief tactics, paving out time somewhere once per day to apply these tactics has the potential to make a change.
Another relatively safe tactic we recommend to our personal training clients to manage back pain is increasing mobility. Sufficient management of mobility means optimizing the body’s ability to bend, twist, and extend in a greater range of motion. One of the most simple pain relieving techniques we conduct with our personal training clients is a knee tilt stretch:
Knee tilt stretch: To perform the knee tilt stretch, start by positioning yourself flat on your back on the ground with your arms extended and your knees bent. Tilt your knees to one side of the body as far as you can while keeping your knees and ankles touching. After a brief stretching sensation is experienced in the lower back and outer hip, alternate this motion to the other side. Repeat this movement for five to 10 repetitions on both sides of the body.
As humans advance in age, generalized wear and tear of the organs and tissues within the body can appear when we least expect it. However, the older we get, the more we gain experience in the trials of life, usually resulting in becoming smarter humans. Therefore, while our bodies might not be as new as they were when we were running around in our high school and college years, life experience grants us the gift of knowing that we should work smarter and not harder. To reduce the maladies of lower back pain, ensure that pain-relieving and mobility tactics suit your needs. Once that’s established, practicing these techniques daily can serve as the magic pill to reducing back pain and the likelihood of future injury so we can live happy, healthy, and strong lives.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
