Having a flexible lower back and enjoying increased lower back mobility will ensure that you don’t suffer from lower back pain in addition to other posture problems. Increasing flexibility and mobility in your lower back will decrease the amount of weight as well as pressure which you vertebra have to endure. As a result, this makes your body more fit and healthy.
The Importance Of Thoracic Spine Mobility For Lower Back Pain
When the thoracic spine is working optimally, it allows you the opportunity to move in basically all directions. It’s built for mobility as well as movement, bending and twisting. The thoracic spine is designed for flexion, extension, and rotation. Essentially, it’s what allows you to safely execute basically all the movements you use in everyday activities.
The trouble is that today’s sedentary lifestyle lends itself to reduced thoracic spine mobility. Like most things in the body, it’s an ‘if you don’t use it you lose it’ scenario. A lack of lower back mobility means that the lumbar spine, pelvis, shoulders and surrounding muscles all compensate in order to allow you to move how you want to move. From a long-term point of view, those compensations can absolutely lead to injury.
If you’re lacking in thoracic spine mobility, the injury risk for the lumbar spine — in other words the part of your spine which is in your lower back — is especially high. The lumbar spine is supposed to keep us stable and, in addition, is not meant to move much at all.
The Risks Of Thoracic Spine Immobility
So when these joints that aren’t supposed to be mobile, are forced to be mobile, it places a lot of pressure on the discs that are in your lower back. The possible consequences of this are:
- Inflammation,
- Degeneration,
- Herniation of the discs,
- Generalised lower back pain,
- Compression fractures,
- Muscles spasms, as well as
- Spinal nerve injuries.
The risks don’t stop there. If your thoracic spine isn’t mobile, anytime you have to perform a movement overhead, your shoulders make up for this lack of mobility. So if you have shoulder impingement – or otherwise chronic shoulder and neck problems – it could actually be due to a lack of mobility in your thoracic spine.
The human body is only able to withstand a certain amount of pressure on its joints and ligaments before getting injured. In today’s world, the number of individuals who suffer from lower back pain is increasing steadily. This is because a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise is making most of us unhealthy.
A few simple stretches done daily will assist you with increasing your lower back mobility. In addition, it will help to prevent back pain and injury. A flexible body puts a lesser load on the joints and ligaments so helping it maintain its health and fitness.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Flexibility is one of the forms of fitness. Just being cardiovascularly fit doesn’t mean that you’re fit. If you’re keen to discover more about what it takes to be fit then why not do our Personal Training Diploma. Read more here.
