Prevent Low Back Pain with This Exercise
Video by Dr. Antonio Flaquer
Fire Hydrants (Glute Activation):
Have you ever wondered why your low back pain is still there after only getting adjusted so often? Well, that’s because there more to it than just getting adjusted! Low back pain stems from a lot of factors. Could be an imbalance of the hips, ankles, muscles not firing correctly like they should be. In this research we talk about the importance of glute activation for the prevention of low back pain. Key word “prevention”! We want to be able to prevent the pain from coming in before having it take place and take over our life. In case you didn’t know, our glutes are our main hip stabilizers which help us with maintaining proper hip position.
One of the most underrated glute muscles is the gluteus medius. This is our main hip stabilizer muscle which may be surprising since it’s much smaller than our gluteus maximus muscle. The fire hydrant exercise is a great exercise for targeting this muscle. The main function of the muscle is external rotation of the hip so, being in this quadruped position forces us to only use the gluteus medius. The glutes are part of our posterior chain, along with the back extensors, and hamstrings. All of these muscles play a big roll not only in preventing low back pain but also maintain our posture. Posture now a days are worse than ever since majority of the world works from home. People get comfortable on the couch and slouch, lay in their bed all day and forget about getting up and moving.
Movement is the easiest and most cost-effective way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The research even says it for itself, “Regardless of the exercise approach, optimizing function of the posterior chain muscles, specifically the glutes and lumbar extensors, is crucial for prevention and treatment of LBP.” It goes back to Hilton’s Law and how motion is the one of the essentials to maintaining homeostasis. Every joint in our body has a muscle, tendon, ligament, and nerve that crosses over the joint. When we are not getting the full range of motion through those joints one of those components will not be functioning the way it should be. In other words, if you don’t move it, you lose it. So, make sure you’re getting up and staying activate throughout your day so you can live a healthier lifestyle!
Reference
Lane, C., & Mayer, J. (2017). Posterior chain exercises for prevention and treatment of low back pain. ACSM’S Health & Fitness Journal, 21(4), 46–48. https://doi.org/10.1249/fit.0000000000000307
Our Message
We love to help our patients in McKinney stay healthy. We are here to relieve back pain, neck pain and headaches while also teaching about how our diet and stress effects our over all health. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as the chiropractic adjustment and getting the proper nutrients to stay healthy. Our Doctors, near the corner of Eldorado Pkwy. and Ridge Rd., want to help you stay healthy and out of pain!