Login | April 16, 2025
Do’s and don’ts of back care
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: April 7, 2025
Having endured various degrees of low back pain for a large part of my adult life and then finally undergoing a back operation in 2023, I could likely write a small text on all the do’s and don’ts I learned about spinal care.
But rather than go into that long expository endeavor, how about instead I give you a greatly condensed version of back care advice that you can easily mull over during a quick cup of morning coffee?
So a lot of the stuff I’m going to offer concerning spinal do’s and don’ts came to me in small bits and pieces over the years.
Some bits I learned as a consequence of my visits to GPs, PTs and orthopedic specialists, and some pieces I learned as information I’d garnered from fitness related journals and strength and conditioning conferences, while the rest of it I picked up from my own personal experiences.
Now to the point: All of this is stuff I wish I’d have paid more attention to back in my younger days - in my 20s and 30s - when I believed my bulletproof, athletic body was invincible to the host of dumb things I did to it…and conversely, to all the smart things I should have done for it.
So for all you young does and bucks who still have plenty of time to clean up your “back act,” know that this advice might help you to avoid a visit to the OR (operating room) a few decades down the road.
Conversely, if you’re someone like me who now gets monthly issues of AARP in the mail, well, this advice can still do your back good.
Posture
In my younger days I can distinctly remember my GP telling me I had a forward tilt to my posture (aka anterior head syndrome), and that that was likely causing some of my low back pain.
Yet I failed to do anything about it, this despite my fitness involvement via a plethora of traditional weight-training exercises.
I did nada for strengthening my low, posterior core musculature (iliopsoas, quadrates lumborum, gleteals, multifidus).
What’s more, I only did token ab exercises like sit-ups when I had time.
Little did I know back then that the abs also play a crucial role in spinal support.
Weak abs can contribute to poor posture and excessive low back arching.
So today every one of my resistance workouts begins with posterior/anterior core muscle exercises.
Heavy lifting
As a young man I squatted, deadlifted, benched and did shoulder presses with heavy weights far too often - and sometimes I ended up doing the heaviest of those lifts with questionable technique to get a PB (personal best).
And that’s because I’d received zero in the way of proper instruction to know any better.
Thus, possessing good technique, along with an understanding of lifting parameters such as volume, frequency and duration are crucial to maintaining a healthy spine.
So always seek out a qualified individual to teach you exercise technique and exercise programing parameters.
Now just as important as the gym lifting advice is advice concerning lifting heavy objects at home and work.
Don’t lift heavy objects thoughtlessly.
To lift properly: Stand close to the object with feet shoulder-width apart, bent knees, straight back and tight abs prior to lifting. Then use your leg muscles to push upwards while holding the object close to your body.
Now if you can’t visualize this then pop on a few Youtube videos on proper lifting technique.
And in this area, well, I couldn’t begin to count how many times I abused my back by lifting objects improperly.
Use your head, not your back.
Spinal flexibility
This was another critical area I flubbed in my younger days.
I just didn’t have time to stretch or so I thought.
So I implore you to stretch on a regular basis via yoga, pilates and/or any kind of generalized stretching routine.
Stretching improves spinal flexibility and stability.
Just doing simple stretches on your own like the superman, sphinx/cobra, bird-dog, cat/cow, child’s pose and the double-knee tuck can limber up those tight back extensor muscles that have become severely tight over the years.
There you are - three pieces of spinal-care advice, that if adhered to, just might keep your back healthy decades down the road.