The 4 Lifting Tips To Save Your Back
Do you have pain with lifting? Are you sore after a day in the garden? Do you struggle to get through your house work? Well, don’t let me stand in the way of a good reason to delegate your housework, but, wouldn’t be great to be free to do what you want when you want to…without your back pain holding you back?
So this is one of the main things people present to us with at the clinic. A massive 70-80% of us suffer with back pain at some point throughout our lives. So, how can we lift in a way that's better for our back? Below I have 4 key lifting tips that you can easily integrate into your every day life to lift stronger and reduce your chance of injury.
A lot needs to happen in our body to bend forward, pick up an item and return to standing.
- There needs to be lengthening of tissues - this doesn't just include muscles, but also nerves, fascia. In addition, we need good, smooth movement in our joints.
- We also need some tissues to shorten. This can mean compression on some structures like the abdominal organs and reduction of space in some areas that nerves run through.
- We need muscle contraction to allow this movement to even happen.
- We also have the coordination of the movements which brings in proprioception requirements. This is where the brain must receive and process feedback from the body like the moving arms and legs to know where it is in space and adjust it's commands accordingly.
There certainly is quite a bit going on, fortunately it's all under subconscious surveillance and control.
Watch this video or keep reading...
4 Lifting Tips To Save Your Back
- Set a strong intent through your foot. Imagine you’ve got half an orange underneath the middle part of your foot, or, front half of your arch. To prepare to move, especially when lifting, imagine squeezing that orange. This will activate more muscles in your legs and your glutes to get them all to do their fair share so your back isn’t doing all the work as you bend and lift. This is also a great process to do when standing, especially if you have back pain when standing. For example cutting veggies, standing in line, folding washing etc.
- Breathing with your lift. To improve the safety of the lift, use your breathing in a way that supports the movement that your body is doing. To do this, breathe out as you bend forward and breathe in as you straighten up. Always breathe through your nose for this process.
- Breathe out as you bend over (put things down). Bending forward compresses the front of the body, chest and abdomen and naturally causes the ribs to depress. Therefore, actively breathing out and having the ribs depress supports this natural movement into forward bending.
- Breathe in as you extend back up (pick things up). When we extend back up, the front of the body opens up. Breathing in elevates and expands the ribs, which helps the the body to open up. Therefore breathing in naturally helps your back to straighten you up, taking pressure off the back as you lift. - Lift more regularly. This will help to condition your body to lifting. Use everyday tasks as an opportunity to lift more and build more strength and resilience in your body.Opportunities to lift more in day to day life:- When you pick up the washing basket to walk away you could lift it and place it back on the ground 5 times in the same place before moving on
- Place your shopping bags on the floor and bend down to lift the contents one by one.
- Lift and carry gardening supplies rather than using a wheelbarrow or trailer. - Bend your legs when you lift. This is a common one, but with the addition of what I presented in tip 1 then you actually take this tip and make it even more supportive of your back. When we bend our legs while squeezing an orange under our mid foot then we use more muscles in our legs rather than just our back.
By lifting more regularly, focusing on which muscles you use and breathing to enhance your movements you are going to move better and lift stronger, reducing your likelihood of soreness or injuries from lifting.
For more effective, easy exercises please check our exercise library. There are many stretches, mobility and strengthening exercises for the lower back, hips and glutes. These are my pick of the most effective exercises I've seen and are the exact exercises I prescribe patients I see in clinic. For personalised advice, treatment and management on this topic and more, give us a call today.
Written by Dr. Jess Harvey B.Sc. (Anat, Phys), B.Ap.Sci (Comp. Med.), Ma Osteo., Registered Osteopath and Director of Head 2 Toe Health.
We provide Osteopathy, Acupuncture, Massage, Life Coaching and Counselling in Springwood (Brisbane) and Oxenford (Gold Coast). We aim to get you as well as possible, as fast as possible, permanently. We believe in a thorough approach to restoring and maintaining health and address many aspects of our lifestyles that can contribute to pain, stiffness, dis-ease and disease. For any further information, please contact us on info@head2toehealth.com.au or 07) 3208 8308.
This information is intended as a general guide only and is not specific for any particular condition or situation. This information is for educational purposes only. Please seek specific advice for your individual circumstances.