An achy back, is no unusual experience. Regardless of the sport you practice, lower back pain is common among them all. All sports require you to move through flexion and extension (bending forward and leaning back), lateral flexion (side bend movement) and rotation (turning at the waist). These ranges of motion are mandatory for movement. We all want to be pain-free when tying our shoes, and carrying our groceries; not to mention throwing uppercuts to the pads and round kicks to the bags.
- tingling or numbness in the legs
- inability to move normally due to stiffness or achiness on a regular basis for more than 2 weeks
- spasms that come for no reason
- lower extremity weakness
- increased lower back pain from standing or sitting
Stability training is one fundamental method of exercise that can assist in preventing back problems from occurring. If the abdominal muscles are weak or fail to fire properly, the back over-works and becomes fatigued. Furthermore, lower back pain may occur if the abdominals do not fire properly in conjunction with other muscles located throughout the core. It is common for athletes to work their abs intensely, while ignoring the muscles in their back. There is little glamour in training lower back and including lower back stability work in your MMA routine or hypertrophy style conditioning. The lower back erectors (erector spinae), the quadratus lumborum and gluteals are groups of muscles that can not be ignored. They act not only as stabilizers, but are often the prime movers during many functional and MMA sport movement. The strength imbalance that often occurs in the trunk (abs, back, gluts, hips) can be resolved by adding back strength, stability and flexibility exercises into your daily routine.
Here are some easy daily add-ons that will not over-burden your schedule, but benefit the overall health of your back. It is even worth it to try these at work after sitting at your desk for a long period of time. They will not cause a sweat. They are passive and useful. The second set are great to add into your conditioning routines.
