Recipe of the Week

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

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The chances are that at some point in your life you will have suffered from a bad back as we know it affects two out of every three people worldwide and is the reason for millions of working days being lost every year. It can also cause you to be very immobile for periods of time which can then seriously affect your health and fitness.

The difficulty with the spine is that it is a highly vulnerable structure that makes it very open to injury and spinal degeneration. For some, it can be a long-term chronic condition that has to be managed.
 
Not too long ago a good deal of rest was prescribed to anyone with a bad back to allow the spine time to settle down... but not now. The advice now would very strongly be to keep moving and to exercise with the best and most appropriate exercises which are designed to maintain our mobility and gain strength. 
 
In the section below you will see just six moves that will help you do this. It is also important to remember that it is never a good idea to stand or sit still for too long – backs simply don't like it!  I also demonstrate a gentle Back Workout on the website.
 
If we are overweight our spine will suffer along with the rest of our body as it will be under more pressure than when we are a healthy weight.  So, make weight loss a priority if you are overweight by following a healthy eating plan. If you smoke then try to give up as soon as you can, as nicotine is scientifically proven to accentuate pain and delay the body's healing process.

 
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD POSTURE
 
Retrain your Posture
If your spine is out of correct alignment then sadly the entire body is affected. Poor alignment means some muscles are working too hard and therefore are overused and 'tight' whilst others are weak, under-used and 'lax'. This makes all our everyday movements inefficient resulting in pain and discomfort. Take the upper body for example, if our shoulders are permanently rounded then the muscles in the front of the chest become short and tight and the 'posture' muscles of the upper back become weak and slack, but we can help to correct this with regular posture exercises.
 
Your Forward Head Position (FHP)
The older we are the more we may need to address postural issues that have most likely arisen over a long time and now result in recurring pain and discomfort from the neck and down to the lower back. Too much leaning forward with computer work for example leads to the head 'fixing' in a position forward of the rest of the spine. One lady I work with has been a keen sewer all her life, making hundreds of costumes for the local amateur theatre company. Her FHP is the reason she has recurring neck problems and she is working hard to address it. 
 

POSTURAL CORRECTION

Many years ago, at a conference in America for teaching exercise to older adults, I learnt a short postural correction that has stayed with me ever since:

• Fingers on the chin: Place 2 fingers in the middle of your chin and gently push back.  This brings your neck vertebrae in alignment over the rest of your spine.
   
• Turning of the Thumbs: Standing tall with arms by your side. Make a fist with your hands but leave your thumbs out. Your thumbs should be pointing forward. Now turn the thumbs outwards and feel the shoulder blades draw closer together at the back.  The shoulders are now in a better postural position.
   
• Pulling in the Tum: Still standing upright, simply pull the tummy muscles in and at the same time bring your tailbone down towards your heels. Now your lower back is in a better postural position.

 
KEEPING YOUR SPINE ‘MOBILE'

• Pelvic tilt:  Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, hip-width apart. Now gently push your lower back into the floor lifting the tailbone off the floor. Then release back.  Repeat 8 times.
   
• Hip roll:  Still on your back with knees bent, bring the knees and feet together and gently lower both bent legs to the right side and turn your head to the left. Hold for 2 seconds then slowly return and change sides. 
  Repeat 3 times to each side.
   
• The Cat:  Come up onto all fours, with hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips. Now arch the spine up like a cat, letting the head relax down. Hold for 2 seconds then return to the start position.
  Repeat slowly 5 times.

 
GENTLY 'STRENGTHENING' YOUR BACK:

• Bridge: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Now peel your hips off the floor, one vertebra at a time, to form a bridge as you lift your hips off the floor, and hold for 2 seconds then slowly allow your spine to return to the floor, again, one vertebra at a time.
  Take your time and repeat 6 times.
   
• Table Top:  Come up onto your hands and knees and extend your right leg straight out behind you with your toes still on the floor. Now, holding your core tight, extend your left hand forward. Then, with the core tight to help you balance, lift both the right leg and the left hand from the floor to come in line with your spine. Hold for 2 seconds then return to the start ‘all-fours’ position and change sides.
  Repeat 6 times with each leg. Take your time.
   
• Back Extension:  Lie on your front with arms out to the side and elbows bent at a right angle, hands facing downwards. Now lift your head and shoulders off the floor keeping your forearms on the floor. Keep your head looking at the floor with your chin tucked in.  Hold for 2 seconds then return. 
  Repeat 6 times.

 
Practise Pilates
Go to the website to follow one of the Pilates programmes. There is one for beginners where Rosemary is learning the basics for anyone new to Pilates, but this gentle programme is perfect for bad backs. Pilates offers an ideal combination of mobility, strength and stretch that will forever keep your back in good order.

Did you know... 

The Eurovision Song Contest has been held annually since 1956 (apart from 2020), making it the longest-running annual international televised music competition and one of the world's longest-running television programmes.

52 countries have participated at least once. Each participating broadcaster sends one original song of three minutes duration or less to be performed live by a singer or group of up to six people aged 16 or older.

Eurovision ranks among the world's most-watched non-sporting events every year, with hundreds of millions of viewers globally. 

69 songs from 27 countries have won the Eurovision Song Contest up to 2022. Ireland has recorded the most wins, with seven in total, followed by Sweden with six, and France, Luxembourg, the UK, and the Netherlands with five each. Of the 52 countries to have taken part, 25 have yet to be the winner.

This year's entry for the UK is "I Wrote a Song" co-written and performed by English singer and songwriter Mae Muller, which became the first UK Eurovision entry in over a decade to debut on the UK Singles Chart's top 40.
Good luck Mae!