Spot the Error(s) Competition

'This doesn't look very strenuous at all!' I hear you say. Done properly you'll certainly feel it after a few of minutes, depending of course on how intensely you hold the position.

This is a good stance for an exercise I learnt to manage low back pain - effectively an isometric hold to fire the muscles that support the spine whilst also engaging our legs and glutes - though it could be better.

So what's the problem with the position in the image?

Hands as they are here, should be behind the head, whilst pushing your head back into your hands, though you can create more resistance to pushing the head back by having the elbows pointing forwards rather than out to the sides. You will also feel that with the elbows forward the muscles to the sides of the thoracic spine are more precisely activated when our shoulders are often typically rolled forward through our overuse of keyboards and mobile phones. This stance then works as a counter-balance to our persistent hunching or forward flexing of the spine.

So that's one modification I would make - elbows pointing forwards, not out to the sides.

What's the other?

To create more tension in the leg muscles and to engage the calves it's better to be on the balls of your feet, not having your feet flat on the floor as they are in the image.

Then once on the balls of your feet, squeeze in with your knees whilst holding them apart as they are in the image, again engaging more of the leg muscles and providing more of an all round isometric exercise than just pushing your head into your hands.

You might also pull up slightly with your hands under the base of the back of the skull as if trying to stretch the spine upwards slightly, so a combination of resistance against the head pushing back with a slight lift to stretch the muscles supporting the spine upwards.

There are one or two other modifications I'd also include to vary the stance a little and make it more interesting - holding a pose can be a tad boring! :)

OK, so you didn't have to spot the errors yourself, but hopefully describing them here helps you to adopt the correct stance for the best benefits.

I'd be pleased to provide guidance and tuition on this and other low back pain management exercise, should you wish to explore the benefits for you.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Please do not try exercises in the images provided or those described anywhere on this website without first completing your PAR-Q and Client Screening Questionnaire to ensure you don't have any 'red flags', we have confirmed that you are able to engage in an exercise programme and that we can ensure that any exercises are appropriate for you and your technique is correct.

We look forward to hearing from you, discussing the specific low back pain you are experiencing and designing an exercise programme that aims to alleviate your discomfort and enables you to manage your low back condition with confidence.

A better back = a better you.

Please email me at ben@lowbackpainmanagement.co.uk or call me on 07566 215510.

With thanks and kind regards,

Ben

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