Back pain is no fun, and sadly a lot of people suffer from it. My brother was one of them. His back pain came on suddenly and with so much force he could hardly lie down or move without a painful grimace. I knew I had to help him.
I used every technique I knew and then some. Being away from my office I was without any tools other than the table I had by chance, some olive oil from his kitchen, my hands and experience.
I used several massage techniques, such as myofascial release, friction, petrissage targeting his trigger points. After that I focused my attention working down his lamina groove (the center of his back), stretching his spinal column as much as he could handle in the hopes to relieve some of his pain and tension. Finally, after 45 minutes he began to loosen up.
It was still not easy for him to get off the table, but he did feel better and as the day progressed he began to experience greater ease in movement.
However, it was the simple exercise I gave him for homework that made the greatest difference in his pain and mobility.
Homework:
NOTE: Only the spinal column should move during this exercise.
- Sit on the edge of a bed or chair with your feet braced on the floor hip width apart. The purpose of this position is to keep your hips from moving.
- Clasp your hands together chest high, with your elbows out.
- Keep your palms in front of the sternum and elbows out.
- Swing to the left as far as you can, then swing to the right as far as you can.
- Repeat for a count of 50 each side.
Each day he did this exercise his flexibility increased from almost no rotation each way (at best it was 5 degrees) to full rotation which is approximately 40 to 45 degrees each way.
The chiropractor who gave me this exercise 30 years ago told me doing it every morning to help eliminate back pain. I don’t do it every day, but I do it several times in a week…so far so good. Thanks Dr. Dexter!
Try this for yourself for a week and let me know if you can tell a difference in your spinal mobility and/or back pain.
