An important part of an exercise plan to relieve back pain is strengthening the abdominals. The abs or abdominal muscles, which are sometimes called the core muscles,support the your upper torso and spine.
6 abs: The abdominal muscles comprise the internal and external obliques (that run down the side of your waist), the rectus abdominus, that run down the middle of your abdomen (giving you a six-pack if youre lean) and the transversus abdominus that wraps around your torso.
1-the rectus abdominus which lies close to the skin (also known as superficial, as opposed to a muscle that lies deeper). This is the six-pack muscle. 2-3-the external obliques, one on each side of your abdomen, also superficial. These rotate the spine and also help you to bend to one side (known as lateral flexion). 4-5-the internal obliques, one on each side of your abdomen, lying deeper than the external obliques. These enable lateral flexion and help the spine to rotate. 6-the transversus abdominus that wraps around the abdomend and lies deeper than the rectus abdominus, supporting your back. We cannot see the deeper muscles in the illustration,as they lie below the superficial muscles. [I:http://www.fallasleepinstantly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/AndrewdeBruyn5.jpg]
The back and front work together. When you bend forward, like in a crunch,the abdominal muscles are engaged-this is called spinal flexion. The rectus abdominus is known as the spinal flexor. At the same time as the abdominal muscles are contracting,the back muscles are stretching. This opposite action of stretching is performed by the erector spinae, which is the muscle running down the middle of your back. This is why you should develop flexibility and strength in the opposite sets of muscles.
Guidelines for abdominal exercises. What exercise do you think of when I say ‘abdominal exercise’? ‘Sit ups’ is the most common response. The may not be a good idea if you suffer from back pain. To prevent injury to your back, follow these guidelines: 1.Bend your legs. Legs bent place less stress on your back. Choose crunches with your legs bent rather than straight leg sit ups.Rather than straight leg raises, do bent leg raises. 2.Back flat on floor. The crunch is safer than a sit up, because your lower back is supported by the floor. 3. Use a small range of motion. Remember this, especially if you are beginning an exercise programme. You have less your chance of injuring your back when using a smaller range of motion. Do a crunch where you only lift your body 10 inches/25cm inches off the ground rather than a sit up. A sit up uses a large range of motion because you go from lying down to sitting up at 90 degrees. 4.Use only one plane of movement, either twist of flex, but not both at the same time. For example, broomstick twists involve twisting your body while crunches involve flexing.They only use one plant of movement. Other exercises, like a twisting crunch, use twisting and flexing at the same time.
Crunches-knees bent. Lie on your back, bend your knees and bring your feet towards your hips. Put your hands behind your head, or fold them across your chest, as illustrated.Tighten your abdominal muscles and raise your shoulder blades off the floor. Hold the position for 3 seconds, then lower yourself to the ground. Do five repetitions, rest for a minute, then do another five. Aim to increase the number of repetitions every week. Eventually you should aim to be able to do ten repetitions in three sets. [I:http://www.fallasleepinstantly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/AndrewdeBruyn7.jpg]
