Back muscles: exercises to strengthen at home, the gym, with osteochondrosis, scoliosis

The selection of physical exercises for back muscles is based on:

1. Knowledge of the physiological characteristics of the distribution of muscle fibers in a specified part of the body . It is necessary to choose the method of muscle involvement during training.
2. Original goal setting:

• Or strengthening the entire back to maintain an acceptable level of physical fitness.
• Or the impact on specific areas to obtain a therapeutic effect during the course of physiotherapy.

Back anatomy

Muscles of the back (exercises for strengthening are given later in the article) physiologists distinguish between the following groups:

Main muscle category	Subcategory	Types of physical activity that maximize the use of specified muscles
Surface:	Trapezoidal.	Static exercises, transfer of objects, loads
	The widest.	Pulling up, working with the barbell
	Raising shoulder blade.	Any movements requiring shoulder joint work
	Large diamond-shaped.	Push up, reduce the blades to each other
	Small diamond-shaped.
Deep:	Belt (neck and head).	All kinds of turns, tilting the head, fixing the chin and crown in certain poses
	Lift the spine.	Complexes of repetitions from flexion and arching of the back from the lumbar to the thoracic, work with the pelvis and body
	Transverse spinous.
	Interspinous.
	Intertransverse.
	Suboccipital.

The list of effects is not limited to the listed set of exercises. Walking, running, swimming, moving goods, working with arms and legs – everyday actions in the process of human life have the same effect on muscle fibers. With the difference that they affect the vast muscle apparatus of the whole organism, not allowing to achieve the effect of a point effect on a specific group of fibers.

Why is it necessary to strengthen the back

The spine is the core in the body, performing (together with the bones of the chest and ribs) not only the protective role of all internal organs from external physical effects, but also fixing their location in the corresponding locations.

Without a developed muscular corset, pathological changes in the spinal canal will not take long. The person will be diagnosed with curvature of the spine, displacement of the discs, protrusion.

Effects:

1. Various types of pinching and squeezing of adjacent organs, violation of their blood supply:

• General imbalances in blood flow and lymphatic duct in various parts of the body will be noted. The result is the formation of zones of oxygen starvation and foci of stagnation.
• The reflex and conduction functions of the spinal cord, an organ of a single part of the central nervous system, will not be performed properly. The consequence is a violation of motility, facial expressions, diction; problems with impulse transmission at the cellular level.

2. External manifestations that have a repulsive effect on surrounding people:

• Slouch.
• Gibbosity.
• Lameness.

3. Decrease in the general level of human life quality. A physically developed person (including those with a trained back) has a number of advantages when performing all kinds of power actions.

General principles of home gymnastics to strengthen the back

Back muscles (strengthening exercises are not difficult to use at home) can be trained only after appropriate consultation with a doctor.

Existing problems with the spine may not manifest themselves for a certain time, but they are potentially dangerous with exacerbations after the first exercise.

 After obtaining the required permission, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

1. At home, a person is his own trainer and trainee. The created psychological effect should be taken into account for different categories of persons:

• For people prone to laziness, it is necessary to prescribe for themselves the whole range of exercises to be performed. And stick to it.
• For overly demanding people, one should remember the need to alternate loads with rest.

2. Even the simplest exercises require training in the form of a warm-up. It will allow you to achieve maximum effect with minimal energy consumption for the body, and also to avoid muscle strain.

3. The first lessons must be carried out with a small set of exercises in order to start the process of adaptation to innovation. You can increase the load after a positive result from the exercises is noted.

4. The days of classes with days of rest should be evenly distributed throughout the coming week.

5. The exercise room should be spacious, well-ventilated. Clothing itself should also be selected appropriate.

6. The appearance of discomfort, pain, dizziness should be regarded as signals to stop gymnastics with immediate medical attention.

Contraindications

The back muscles (exercises to strengthen which bring a positive effect in most) can be trained.

Making sure that the following health problems are absent:

1. Periods of exacerbation of chronic diseases of internal organs.
2. Lesion of bone tissue of an infectious nature.
3. Recently undergone surgery.
4. Stroke, coronary heart disease.
5. Malignant neoplasms.

Important! Periods of overwork and exhaustion of
the body are not the best time to start training, even if a person does not have any deviations.

Warm up before training to strengthen the spinal muscles

Her task is to increase peripheral blood supply, warm up muscles and ligaments.

This will avoid their stretching and pinching.

1. Starting position – standing, feet shoulder width apart. A deep deep breath is slowly taken through the nose, and is exhaled quickly through the mouth. 5 reps
2. Smooth turns of the head to the left and right are performed, looking back.
3. Work with the shoulder – shoulders are pushed back and forth. Then they make circular movements – synchronously and alternately.
4. Hands are stretched forward. The palm of one hand covers the back of the palm of the other hand. Alternating.
5. The legs are alternately bent at the knees with a rise to the level of the abdomen.
6. The pelvis rotates, simulating the torsion of a hoop in slow motion.
7. The final action is tilting the body forward, to the right, to the left.

A set of exercises to strengthen back muscles at home

Its basis is the coverage of all muscle groups.

Thanks to which the trainee can not go deeper into the study of the anatomy of a particular category of muscles and avoid the selection of ways to train it:

1. Lying on your back:

• Alternately, the legs rise, bend at the knees above the pelvic area. Next – they straighten.
• Hands spread out in opposite directions. Without taking her back off the floor, her left hand rises and her fingers reach for the wrist of her right hand. The head goes towards the movement. Similarly, the action is performed with the other hand.
• Evenly elongated legs are lifted so that the feet are 7’9 inch from the floor and slowly parted in opposite directions. Then they return to the starting position. Alternative – the legs perform the exercise “scissors” in the same position.
• The legs are bent at the knees so that the heels are completely in contact with the floor and pressed against the buttocks by the back of the feet. Slowly rises and falls the pelvis, trying to achieve maximum amplitude.

2. Kneeling and straight arms extended in front of the chest:

• On inhalation, the back bends towards the floor, on the exhale – in the opposite direction.
• The right arm and left leg come off the floor, while the position on all fours continues to be held. They stretch behind their backs towards each other. Next, the same thing is done with another pair of limbs.

3. Lying on your stomach:

• Hands are extended up above the head, after which they come off as high as possible from the floor. Similar actions are performed with the feet.
• Without tearing off parts of the body from a flat surface, a crawl on the stomach is simulated.

Yoga for strengthening the back

A feature is not only the fact of training the spinal muscular “corset”, but also the development of plasticity of movements:

1. Lying on his stomach , a grab is made behind the ankle with his hands, while his back flexes smoothly. Exercise is performed under the supervision of a doctor with dysfunctions of the endocrine system, as it has a stimulating effect on them.
2. Sitting in a lotus position, the head leans forward until the forehead touches the floor. Further, the same movements, only to the right and left of the body. Bending is performed with a full exhalation, returning to its original position – with a full breath.
3. Lying on your back:

• The right leg bends at the knee and is thrown over the left leg. The left hand along with the shoulder joint goes in the opposite direction. The body “twists”, after which it returns to its original position. The same actions are repeated with other limbs.
• The extended legs rise and with the tips of the socks they are thrown behind the head, and the pelvis stretches after them. Thoracic and humeral spine remains pressed to a flat surface.
• The body rises on the palms and heels, with the maximum arching of the back and pelvis up.
• The simplest exercise in the physical plane is that in the initial position no movements are performed, only deep breaths and exhalations are performed. It is the final action. The difficulty lies in controlling the maintenance of a relaxed state of the body.

A set of exercises for the gym

The back muscles (exercises to strengthen which are not limited only to the gymnastic direction) can also be trained with the help of simulators, creating a load on certain muscle groups.

Suitable for professional athletes, bodybuilders.

1. The bar rises from the floor above the head from a position with the body inclined forward, with bent legs at the knees and a straight back.

Important! The rise is performed only due to the extension of the legs and hips, the spinal muscles are only subjected to static load.

2. Position – one leg is half bent, the second is straightened. The body is tilted forward, with one hand the emphasis is on the fixed base, the second is held by a dumbbell and swing movements are made.

3. The neck is grabbed by hands, set at chest level and wound around the head in a circular motion until it touches the trapezius muscles.

4. The same position with the bar, but the work is done by the shoulder joints – up and down.

Important! Circular movements are prohibited – there is a potential risk of damage to the ligaments!

5. Pulling with a belt-fixed weight. Incompatible with hernias – it contributes to the stretching of the vertebrae, which can have both a positive and negative effect on the pathology.

Exercises for osteochondrosis

Based on the location of the pathology, classes are divided:

1. With cervical osteochondrosis:

• Smooth turns of the head to the right and left.
• Tilt so that your chin touches your chest.
• Tilting the head back.

2. With thoracic osteochondrosis. Any options (standing, sitting, lying), in which there is a flexion of the back in the thoracic on inhalation and extension on the exhale.

3. With lumbar osteochondrosis:

• Standing on all fours, the leg and the opposite arm are extended so that they become parallel to the floor.
• Lying on your back, legs bend at the knees so that heels touch the buttocks. Without tearing their backs, their knees bend alternately in different directions until they touch the floor.

Scoliosis Exercises

Muscle strengthening in this situation should be done in 3 stages:

Preparatory part	The exercises themselves	Final part
The back is pressed against the wall so that from the heels to the back of the head the body is in maximum contact with the surface. Due to this, the spine is fixed in the most even position. Having taken several steps forward, the following actions are performed: 1. Hands rise above the head, spread apart, slightly retract, then lower. 2. Legs bent at the knees rise to the level of the belt. Simulated walking on the spot.	1. Lying with your fingers grasp the back of the head so that the elbows protrude upward. Elbows smoothly part and come together, commensurate with inhalation and exhalation, respectively. 2. The legs bent at the knees are pulled (alternately and together) to the stomach. 3. A turn is made on the stomach, and movements are made similar to movements during swimming.	To consolidate the result, they turn on their side and stay for at least 15 minutes.

Correct posture

Recommendations:

1. If the lifestyle involves prolonged sitting (work, study), then you should get up from the table every half hour and go through 10-15 steps.
2. The monitor must be correctly positioned so that you do not have to bend the neck to work behind it.
3. The chair should be with a hard back.
4. The seat itself needs to be selected quite rigid. Excessively upholstered furniture disposes to sit incorrectly.
5. For women – the height of the heel should be within reasonable limits.
6. For children – you should control the convenience of fixing on the school bag.
7. Gymnastics should become an integral part of life.

Correct posture is possible only with due attention to it – until a steady gait becomes the usual way of moving.

Maternity Exercises

They exist and are aimed at reducing back pain that often occurs during pregnancy.

The condition for their implementation is the doctor’s control over the implementation of physiotherapy exercises:

1. Swimming.
2. Standing on all fours, the head goes down, and the back arches up like a cat.

   

3. The same position, only the head throws up and the back down.
4. Resting against the humeral part of the back and the feet of the legs bent at the knees, the pelvis and lower back slowly rise from the floor. Slowly and smoothly returns to its original position.

Important! Circular movements of the pelvis, as well as the raising of both legs in a supine position, are prohibited! They are fraught with complications during the course of childbirth.

Expectant mothers will be provided with additional help wearing a bandage, observing a rest regimen, and a restriction in computer work.

Lifestyle

The selection of exercises to strengthen the muscles of the back is not the only task for a person who takes care of his health. The approach to solving the problem should be comprehensive.

This should include:

1. A complete diet, including the necessary elements for the formation of strong bone tissue.
2. Alternating periods of activity and rest.
3. Positive emotional background.

Work in each direction will allow a person to be healthy and lead a full-fledged lifestyle.

Author: Babanin Vyacheslav

Video: Strengthening the muscles of the back

How to strengthen your back muscles: