Stretching, done properly
Holding a long stretch before exercise does not prevent injury, and it slightly reduces power afterward. Warm up with dynamic movement instead, meaning five minutes of leg swings, walking lunges, arm circles and an easy version of whatever you are about to do. Static stretching belongs afterward or on its own. Ease into each stretch to the point of tension and not pain, hold it for fifteen to thirty seconds without bouncing, and repeat it two to four times. Two or three sessions a week maintain flexibility, and daily work improves it.
Most adults who sit for a living are tight in the hip flexors, the hamstrings, the chest and the upper back. Mobility work, which moves a joint actively through its range, serves those areas better than passive stretching alone.
A ten-minute routine
- Perform the cat-cow on hands and knees, arching and rounding the spine slowly ten times.
- Hold a half-kneeling hip flexor stretch for thirty seconds on each side, with the hips tucked under.
- Perform ten glute bridges, pausing for two seconds at the top of each.
- Perform the bird dog, extending the opposite arm and leg, eight times on each side.
- Lie on your side with knees bent and rotate the top arm open across the body, eight times on each side.
- Hold a doorway chest stretch for thirty seconds.
When your back goes out
Most lower back pain is muscular, and most of it improves within two to six weeks whatever you do. Staying gently active speeds that along. Walk, use heat, take an over-the-counter pain reliever according to the label if you need one, and return to normal activity as the pain allows. Imaging is rarely useful in the first six weeks, because scans of pain-free adults routinely show bulging discs. If the pain has not improved after a few weeks, see your doctor or a physical therapist, whom most states let you consult without a referral.
Red flags
Go to the emergency room for back pain that comes with numbness in the groin or inner thighs, new trouble urinating or controlling your bowels, or weakness spreading in a leg. See a doctor promptly for back pain that follows a fall or crash, arrives with fever or unexplained weight loss, wakes you at night, or occurs with a history of cancer.
Tip Set your screen so the top edge sits at eye level, keep your feet flat and your elbows at right angles, and remember that the best posture is the next one.
