There are several different types of stress we put through our low backs on a daily basis. The main forces to consider are compression and shear forces. These vary greatly depending on our postures and movements. We will look at these forces and two ways to help look after your low back.

Compression is anything that squishes you down top to bottom. For instance, gravity! Gravity adds compression every day and we can’t escape it. Some forms of stress are positive and beneficial for the body and make us stronger, whilst others may cause a negative response. When astronauts return from space, their muscles have atrophied  (got smaller/ weaker), due to the lack of gravity. So it’s not all bad news. The issue comes when, over time, we over compress our spines. Let’s consider the long term effects of compression. 

Shear force runs perpendicularly (at a right angle) to compression. Think about anything which has the potential to move the spine forwards or backwards. Picking a heavy object up will cause both compression and shear forces through the spine. Where as sitting would cause mainly compression (depending on your position – if you look like a croissant you are most likely introducing some shear force as well).

Now that we understand these two main forces… what can we do about them?

Three main body positions (lying down, sitting and standing) cause vastly different compressional forces in the spine. Laying down causes the least. As you’ll tend to be in this position when asleep, we won’t worry about it too much. That just leaves sitting and standing. When we are sat down, we load the discs in the spine 10x more than when we are standing! Most people sit for their meals, sit when travelling in the car, bus or train, and then sit down to work. That’s a lot of compressional force over the day!

Tip 1

Every 20 minutes try to stand up, walk 20 feet away from where you were and do something different for 20 seconds. This has the added benefit of giving you a quick mental break and helping to reduce eye stress.

Shear forces are greatly increased with poor bending mechanics. Enter the hip hinge! This movement requires some practice. The principle is that when you bend forward, your low back should maintain its natural curve: you push your bum backwards, soften the knees and lean forwards at the hips

Tip 2

To check if you have a good quality hip hinge, grab a broom handle and try the broom test to see where your body breaks form. Get in position with one hand over head holding the broom and one behind your back also holding the broom. The broom should maintain contact with the back of your head, upper back and sacrum (the bony plate in the middle of your bottom).

Start to push your bottom back by folding at the crease in your hips. As you bend forward, allow your knees to soften to get lower to the ground. When you do this, it is likely your low back will either round and touch the broom, or you will extend the mid back and start to lift it away from the broom. Either way, you will feel which point of contact breaks. Practise  this a few times a day until you can maintain all three points of contact in the hinge.

These two tips will help reduce the force that goes through your spine every day!

Heal > Adapt > Evolve