There is one thing that everyone who suffers from a spondy should do. And I would be willing to bet no one has done it. This tip is simple and takes little time.
KEEP A JOURNAL OR LOG!
That’s it. Go purchase a small notebook or journal and keep track daily of what you do. The best time to do this is when you are experiencing repeating pain. Take a note of what you do for each day. Now you don’t have to record EVERYTHING. But keep track ofactivities that involve movement or certain positions for long amounts of time.
Also, keep track of how you feel.
For example, your log might look like this.
2/1/2012
· Woke up w/ slight pain in lower right side, slept well.
· Sat and watched Sportscenter for 1 hr.
·Went to work. Sat for 4 hrs while working on computer.
·Went to lunch w/ co-workers.
·Worked in front of computer for another 5 hrs.
·Went to gym for 45 minutes. No pain while at gym.
-Walked on treadmill
-Chin-ups
-Bench press
-Curls
-Db press
-Seated rows
·Watched 2 hrs of TV and went to bed
. Slight pain at bedtime
After you are finished, review your journal and look for trends. Especially on days preceding back pain.
As you see there is a TON of sitting. Sitting for TV, sitting for work, and sitting in the car. Yes there was a trip to the gym, but no lower body stretching or corrective work was performed. While seated, you are in a terrible postural position. Your hip muscles become tight, your shoulders are in a rounded hunched position, and your glute muscles become inactive and weak. All which creates more stress on your back!
To combat these positions it is VERY important to have a proper stretching and strengthening program for muscles that are involved with these movements. If not, poor posture will keep the stress on areas that you want to avoid.
One quick look at this journal gives a ton of info. Start a journal TODAY. When you have more pain than normal, take a look at the last few days and see if you can find a pattern. Maybe you are sitting too much, maybe it’s an exercise that hurts more than others, or maybe an improper stretching program is causing pain. You will never know until you record your activities.
Don’t just guess!
KEEP A JOURNAL OR LOG!
That’s it. Go purchase a small notebook or journal and keep track daily of what you do. The best time to do this is when you are experiencing repeating pain. Take a note of what you do for each day. Now you don’t have to record EVERYTHING. But keep track ofactivities that involve movement or certain positions for long amounts of time.
Also, keep track of how you feel.
For example, your log might look like this.
2/1/2012
· Woke up w/ slight pain in lower right side, slept well.
· Sat and watched Sportscenter for 1 hr.
·Went to work. Sat for 4 hrs while working on computer.
·Went to lunch w/ co-workers.
·Worked in front of computer for another 5 hrs.
·Went to gym for 45 minutes. No pain while at gym.
-Walked on treadmill
-Chin-ups
-Bench press
-Curls
-Db press
-Seated rows
·Watched 2 hrs of TV and went to bed
. Slight pain at bedtime
After you are finished, review your journal and look for trends. Especially on days preceding back pain.
As you see there is a TON of sitting. Sitting for TV, sitting for work, and sitting in the car. Yes there was a trip to the gym, but no lower body stretching or corrective work was performed. While seated, you are in a terrible postural position. Your hip muscles become tight, your shoulders are in a rounded hunched position, and your glute muscles become inactive and weak. All which creates more stress on your back!
To combat these positions it is VERY important to have a proper stretching and strengthening program for muscles that are involved with these movements. If not, poor posture will keep the stress on areas that you want to avoid.
One quick look at this journal gives a ton of info. Start a journal TODAY. When you have more pain than normal, take a look at the last few days and see if you can find a pattern. Maybe you are sitting too much, maybe it’s an exercise that hurts more than others, or maybe an improper stretching program is causing pain. You will never know until you record your activities.
Don’t just guess!
