The health of our spine depends on many aspects such as body size, diet, and physical exercise. However, there is one thing that has a lasting impact on the health of our spine, posture. Having good posture will improve movement and reduce stress on our muscles and joints. Even as most people have been living with bad posture for many years, it’s still possible to improve your posture through exercise.
Let’s talk about the damage that is done from bad posture. Additional stress and pressure are put on some of your muscles, yet other muscles are used less and left to become stiffer and less flexible over time. This will result in more back pain and increased chances of accidents such as a herniated disk or sciatica from happening.
The best method to improve your posture is through exercise, building up the core muscles that allow us to be very flexible and be able to rotate the spine. Having strong core muscles can reduce lower back pain as well as the chance of damage to current back injuries. The exercises to improve your posture include:
Leg Extension Exercise
The leg extension is very good for building up the core muscles.
- Start by finding a flat surface to lie down on. Once flat on your back, bend both knees while keeping your feet flat on the ground.
- Put your hands behind your head and try to keep your lower back firmly pressed to the floor.
- Raise your head slightly up off the ground. Exhale and pull your stomach muscles in and up towards your spine.
- Gently, bring one knee to your chest while extending your other leg straight out. The extended leg should be roughly 6 inches off the ground.
- Bring both legs back to the starting position and reverse the exercise.
Crunches
Crunches are a brilliant exercise for the group of muscles that support your spine.
- Start by finding a flat surface to lie down on. Once flat on your back, bend both knees while keeping your feet flat on the ground.
- Press the lower back onto the floor and place both hands behind your head.
- Breathe out and pull your abdominal muscles inwards and towards the spine.
- Raise your head and shoulders slowly from the floor and hold for 3 seconds. You should feel your abdominal muscles tensed.
- Bring your shoulders and head back to the starting position and repeat 10 times.
Correct posture is necessary for the long-term health of your spine. These exercises will help to improve the flexibility of your back as well as reducing the pain from any existent back problems.
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