Are Your Core Exercises Helping Or Hurting Your Back?

San Diego Back pain Help this is a very large topic. We will discuss it in more detail on another post. In summary when we perform abdominal crunches, bicycles, flexion-based exercises in the gym or at home although we can build abdominal muscles we are simultaneously compressing lower back discs and if we had back pain or ultimately were seen our condition and if we do not then we are predisposing ourselves to back pain. There are several alternatives we utilize in our office this is one of them. #Bird dog Is a highly effective exercise and even world record power lifters implement these exercises on a consistent basis and literally right before they lift their heaviest weights in a competition. Crucial for Low Back stability and can benefit everyone. Couple of key factors are 1. Be sure to engage and tighten abdominal muscles before any movement occurs. 2. Be sure to engage in proper breathing, do not hold your breath! 3. Be sure to have smooth controlled movements. 4.. Stick out 1 leg straight behind you, keeping the leg level while tightening your gluteal muscles to hold the leg parallel to the floor. Always think quality over quantity. Only need to do one set 5 -10 second holds and 5 to 10 repetitions. Also, best to do before a workout, rather than at the end.