Care for Your Back with Stretches and Exercise
As a woman ages, she may begin to experience back pain, after all, over the years, she has given her back a pretty good workout. Pregnancy, lifting children, lifting objects heavier than her body was designed for, all take their toll over the years.
In many modernized countries, workplace health and safety regulations limit the mass a female worker can lift, but these limits do not apply in the home! Back pain in mature women is one of the most common symptoms presented to general practitioners, even when it is not the reason for the visit.
Back pain can be caused by muscles, nerves, joints, bones, and even the structure of your spine and body posture. The pain can vary from aching discomfort to a piercing, stabbing pain that may radiate to other parts of the body.
Back pain can also be associated with other symptoms like numbness, tingling sensations, and weakness of the limbs.
Natural treatments, such as physical therapy, massage and acupuncture have a twofold benefit. Firstly, they can alleviate the pain and discomfort, both acute and long-term. They can also assist in strengthening the surrounding muscles, plus the reduced pain allows engaging in more strength exercises and improving mobility.
Exercises You Can Do
Exercises for the back involve both strengthening and stretching. Always do some gentle warm-ups before every exercise, so you don’t cause any additional muscle aches and pains.
While building back strength, you may be surprised to know how much a role the strength and tone of your stomach muscles, or ‘abs’, plays in your posture, and therefore, your back pain.
If you can’t do a few sit-ups without discomfort, that is a sign your abs need strengthening. When your core is weak, your other muscles and spine have to do extra work to make up for it.
Many mature women are noticeably weak in the stomach area, as child-bearing may have stretched and damaged these muscles. If you have not undertaken remedial exercise, they may remain weak for much of your life, but it is never too late to take steps to improve this area.
If you do have weak abs, exercise will cause discomfort, sometimes for days. Keep going, and the discomfort will reduce as your strength grows. This will reduce back pain and greatly improve posture and appearance.
You don’t have to stop and have an exercise ‘session’ every time; squeeze and release muscles while sitting or standing, such as buttocks, hamstrings (back of thighs) and stomach.
Stretching
Stretching can be done whenever you think about it. Make this a part of your daily routine, especially for those who are suffering from lower-back pain. Many back pain problems are caused or worsened by a lack of movement over time.
As the muscles and connective tissue shorten due to not being used, the body’s range of movement is reduced. This leads to further mobility restrictions, such as taking shorter steps and smaller movements to avoid discomfort.
It is possible to reverse this by regularly extending limbs past their normal range of movement. Stretch into discomfort, hold, and release. Don’t stretch to a point of pain. With a couple of stretching sessions a day, you will be surprised how quickly you can extend your range of movement and perform activities with little or no pain.
Low Impact Aerobics
Low impact aerobics includes exercise like walking or swimming. Do not overdo exercising as it may cause more harm than good if you have an injury. If followed correctly, muscle balancing therapy and low impact aerobics will help treat the postural dysfunction that is causing your pain.
There are different forms of exercise so choose those that suit you that you enjoy. Back pain keeps many mature women from fully enjoying life. Often, personal remedial efforts can overcome much of this pain. Sometimes, professional help may be needed