Have Simple Back Aches? Read this! (Or Read it for Knowledge)

Hello! I am Manali, and here I’ll be helping you with simple, common back aches. This is a very common pain I’ve heard people deal with. Not just that it hurts because of bad posture, or an “I did so much snow shoveling today”, but because It’s become a wide issue that many people aren’t addressing. Today, we’ll dive into poses/exercises you can do and when to reach out to a healthcare professional if need be.

To begin: what is in our back? In our back, we have bones, tissues ligaments (which both support bones), the spine ( keeps the body upright, supported). In fact, the spine carries your head which is 10 pounds. The spine has 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic, 3 lumbar, and sacral + coccyx which have 9. Overall, there are 33 vertebrae that make up the spine. There are also different curves in the spine that help with different parts of support. There is first a round cure, followed by an inner curve, finalized by a tiny outward curve. From top-bottom, vertabrae start very small, but as you go lower the vertebrae need to be larger in order to withstand the structure of the bones above it.

NOTE: Back pain and back aches are different definitions. If you feel pain in your spine, feel sharp pain, or have elongated pain, then that is when you should talk to a physician or doctor. If the back pain/ache lasts for more than 1 week, you should go to a physician/doctor! If the pain is going on and off or recurring, that is also when you should be talking to your doctor/physician.

Back aches usually are described from muscle/ligament strain. Simple aches can be soothed and prevented by stretching so dealing with simple back aches will be a walk in the park. Be sure to watch my video on media about posture! Here are some stretches you can do. Remember to perform each exercise/stretch slowly and listen to your body.

1. Exercise! Exercising regularly helps to prevent future aches! You will only get sore muscles, and that is completely normal and a part of muscle build! Stretching will actually help to bring your body in a better posture, which directly impacts the amount of muscle you build positively! A book I read called The Anatomy Stretching said, “In many instances a major muscle group can be made up of a number of different muscles. If our posture is sloppy or incorrect, certain stretching exercises may put more emphasis on one particular muscle in that muscle group, thus causing an imbalance that could lead to injury.”

2. Cobra Pose: This pose is a great pose to include in your cool downs to relax the muscles after being in a lot of tension while working out. Go into a child pose after you do this to lengthen the spine. “Technique - Lie face down and bring your hands close to your shoulders. Keep your hips on the ground, look forward, and rise up by straightening your arms” (Brad Walker). Do this the same by rotating your torso to the side.

3. If you have an exercise ball, you can do this great exercise! “Sit on a swiss ball and slowly roll the ball forward while leaning back. Allow your back and shoulders to rest on the ball and your arms to hang on each side” (Walker).

4. Exclusive - Go on a tabletop pose with your face facing the floor. From here, move your back clockwise 3 times then go counterclock 3 times. This is my mom’s favorite pose for her back! I hope it will be your favorite too!

Fun fact, if you don't stretch before physical activity, you are more than likely to strain/sprain essential tissue, which can lead to further problems. (Ligaments have a 6 percent stress curve and tendons have an 8 percent stress curve). This then becomes an irreversible deformation. If you need any help with these poses, feel free to DM me or reach out to me by email! If you enjoyed this article, please leave a heart!

Used Google Scholar, personal research done from courses/books, and Google AI for true liability. I propose no liability of the use/misuse of the presented information.