Risks of a Back Brace
There are two types of back braces. Rigid back braces immobilize the muscular and bony structure of the spine. Soft elastic braces, also known as lumbar corsets, are designed to support the spine.
Read more →Back Exercises: Strengthen Your Spine and Correct Posture
Strengthening the spine and rhomboids is essential for correcting slouching and alleviating chronic back pain. Compare the effectiveness of pull-ups versus lat pulldowns and explore targeted routines for scoliosis or pinched nerves.
Exercises for Back Pain Due to Adhesions
Adhesions are part of a family of musculo-skeletal disorders that contribute to low back pain. They are a type of internal scar tissue that builds up around the muscle fibers and connective tissue, causing them to clump together and restrict their independent movement.
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The Best Exercises for Thoracic Back Pain
Many Americans suffer from back pain in one form or another. Thoracic back pain means the pain is located in the upper or mid back. There are many causes for thoracic back pain, like not lifting properly, poor posture, spending too many hours in a bad chair at work or a previous injury.
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Weight Training Exercises That Strengthen the Lower Back
According to Consumer Reports, four of every five American adults experience back pain. While lower back pain may seem like a chronic condition that cannot be helped, you can help yourself have a pain-free lower back.
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Exercises to Straighten My Lower Back
Spending long periods of time sitting at a desk or driving a car can cause your lower back to become rounded. Tight muscles, combined with weak abdominals, can make this rounded position become habitual, which places a significant strain on the ligaments and discs of the lower back.
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Exercises for Adults With Slight Curvature of the Spine
A curvature of the spine may fall under the categories of scoliosis, kyphosis or lordosis. Scoliosis defines a sideways deviation of the spine and is the most common type of abnormality. Kyphosis refers to an excess curvature outward of the upper back to look like a hump.
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Back Extensor Strengthening Exercises
Forward bending of the back is known as flexion. Backward bending is known as extension. Back extensor muscles make this backward motion possible. In anatomical terms, they are known as the erector spinae or spinal erectors. They start at the base of the skull and run all the way down to the tailbone.
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Exercises for Pinched Nerves in the Upper Back
Pinched nerves are caused by excessive pressure being placed on a nerve by surrounding tissues. Pinched nerves can happen anywhere in the body, including the upper back, and they can cause pain, weakness and loss of mobility.
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How To Fix Slouching
A rounded upper back, sometimes called a slouch, is correctly called hyperkyphosis. Hyperkyphosis can be caused by a number of factors including tight chest muscles, weak upper back muscles, an imbalanced exercise program with too much emphasis on pecs development or spending too much time sitting at a desk or driving.
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Pull-Ups vs. Lat Pulldowns
Pull-ups and lat pulldowns share a number of similarities, including how the joints in the upper body move while doing them and the muscles they work. However, depending on your current strength levels, one exercise may be more ideal than the other.
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Lower Back Exercises for Women
Your back is made up of two major muscles. That includes the trapezius muscle, a large muscle that spans across the back of the neck and shoulders, down to the top of the lower latissimus dorsi muscle.
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Are There Exercises to Lengthen the Spine
Strengthening and stretching the chest, core and back are necessary for proper posture. To lengthen the spine you must correct bad posture habits, such as slumping, slouching and swaying. To correct these habits you must be aware of how you sit, stand and walk, and strengthen and stretch the opposing muscles.
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Exercises to Tone Midriff & Lower Back
The midriff area is located below the chest and above the pelvis. When it comes to this area and the lower back, fat has a tendency to accumulate on both men and women over the years. These areas are no different than any other area when it comes to toning them.
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Curved Spine Exercises
There are two main types of curved spine: kyphosis and lordosis. From a side view, kyphosis is the excessive curvature of the thoracic spine, causing a "C" shape instead of an "S" shape of a normal spine.
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Spine Flexion Exercises
Flexing your spine uses your rectus abdominus muscles at the front of your body and also stretches the erector spinea muscles of your back. Spinal flexion, in which you lean forward and round your back, can be active, such as when performing sit ups or crunches, or passive, as when leaning down to tie your shoe laces.
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Free Weight Exercises for the Rhomboids
Located in your upper back and between your shoulder blades, the rhomboids are responsible for shoulder retraction, or the drawing of your shoulder blades together. If the rhomboids are weak or tight due to disuse, your shoulders will drift forward -- a common problem for people with sedentary lifestyles.
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Exercises to Strengthen the Spine
While you can't actually strengthen your spine, you can strengthen the muscles that surround it, and this thick group of muscles is called the erector spinea. They extend from the base of your head all the way down to the bottom of your back, and are essential for even the simplest of daily tasks.
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The Best Back Exercises for Scoliosis
Scoliosis affects about 2 percent of the United States population and is more common in young girls, although boys and adults may have scoliosis too, according to SpineUniverse.com. Approximately 80 percent of scoliosis cases are called "idiopathic" scoliosis, which means that the cause of the condition is unknown.
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Lower Back Extension Exercises
Back isolation exercises are vital for developing a strong lower back. However, the muscles of the lower back -- erector spinae and quadratus lumborum -- are often overlooked in a training plan.
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