The back, a structured machine
Our lifestyle has a direct influence on our spine. It happens to be the central part of our skeleton. It is the anchor point from which muscles and ribs are organized. It supports the head and protects the spinal cord, which ensures good nerve transmissions between the brain and other parts of the body.
Not to mention that it allows us to stand up and absorbs shocks. The vertebral column consists of 33 vertebrae, separated from each other by inter-vertebral disks, a sort of cushioning cushion made of cartilage.
It is never straight. It has curvatures that compensate for the vertical position (standing) constraints and function as springs, which support gravity and shock waves.
The back is also composed of 244 muscles, called dorsal muscles, the best known of which are dorsal; the trapezoids which decompose into portions: upper (in the neck), middle and bottom; the lumbar. These muscles are distributed symmetrically on both sides of the column. They control our posture and guarantee the stability of the trunk.
Maintaining and working the muscles in your back is essential to avoid the daily discomfort of back pain and even injuries during sports training. The back muscles have distinct functions, but they intervene for almost every movement of everyday life. The big dorsal allows us to lower our arms, to bring our elbows and shoulders back.
He is at the origin of the V-shape of the back. As for the trapeze, their role is to lift the shoulders, to bring the shoulder blades closer together and to guarantee the rotation of the shoulder joint. The role of the lumbar is not negligible either since its main function is to straighten the bust.
Working on the lumbar spine helps to strengthen the spine, which is regularly put to the test, especially when you practice a significant physical activity including bodybuilding. Many bodybuilding exercises exert strong pressure on the column.
Back pain often comes from poor postures adopted throughout the day, whether at work, driving, on the couch or in sports. They are generated by a lack of muscle structure around the column. Your back is too soft. By developing your back muscles, your pains will disappear and your figure will gain harmony.
Back pain, a question of good habits
To avoid back pain, immediately take the right reflexes. If you want to stop complaining of chronic pain, watch your weight. Overweight has a bad effect on our backs since it imposes a higher load on the joints of the hips and the lumbar region. It can cause early osteoarthritis through accelerated wear of these joints and makes our back more prone to kidney and other disc problems.
The weight in men, being mainly located on the belly, causes a loosening of the abdominal belt which then supports less the spine. As for women with large breasts, they may adopt a forward slanting posture, very bad for the back.
However, careful eating is not enough to eliminate persistent back pain. You also need to know how to take a posture that protects the condition of your back. Proper posture allows you to exert equitably distributed pressure on the spine and joints.
Do not try to be perfectly straight. This is to find the perfect posture, slightly curved, avoiding you to be too arched or too rectilinear. To improve your posture, it is advisable to develop in a balanced way your abdominal belt and the muscles of your back.
Sport and your back
As you can see, strengthening your back is essential, especially for athletes, since it significantly reduces the risk of injury and guarantees a harmonious muscular development for the entire body. Tractions are the most effective exercise to strengthen your back because it mainly involves the back muscles such as the dorsal or trapezius.
Different variations of the exercise exist and allow to focus on one part of the back rather than another, playing with the spread of hands and the orientation of the palms (towards the face or the opposite).
