Is Your Back Too Flat?
Friday November 10, 2006
Until back pain gives us a serious heads up, many of us don't realize that our lower backs are actually too flat. Of course, if you've tried any of the Pilates rolling exercises, like seal or open leg rocker, you might have had a graphic flat low back experience as smooth rolling is almost impossible for those of us whose low backs are flat.
In Pilates we work a lot with neutral spine, allowing the 3 natural curves of the spine - without tucking or hyper extending the low back. The reason for this is that neutral spine is the most structurally strong position for the spine, making neutral spine position the most supportive of efficient everyday kind of movement. If your low back is too flat, then not only is it hard to do Pilates rolling, but more importantly, the body tends to take on a variety of muscular tensions to compensate for the lack of support from the natural shape of the spine.
Read more about flat low back in Flat Low Back Posture from About's guide to back and neck pain, Anne Asher.
One of the common causes of flat low back posture is tight hamstrings. A great stretch for tight hamstrings comes from yoga: Reclining Big Toe Pose. Also, if you are working with a flat back, you may also be tucking your pelvis with your back and gluteus muscles. This habit can be exacerbated in Pilates if one doesn't really understand how to scoop the abs. without flattening the back. If this sounds like you, try going back to the basics of finding your C-curve, and keep in mind that there is a big difference between a strong scoop of the abdominals and tucking the pelvis with the back and gluteus muscles, which will flatten you out.
In Pilates we work a lot with neutral spine, allowing the 3 natural curves of the spine - without tucking or hyper extending the low back. The reason for this is that neutral spine is the most structurally strong position for the spine, making neutral spine position the most supportive of efficient everyday kind of movement. If your low back is too flat, then not only is it hard to do Pilates rolling, but more importantly, the body tends to take on a variety of muscular tensions to compensate for the lack of support from the natural shape of the spine.
Read more about flat low back in Flat Low Back Posture from About's guide to back and neck pain, Anne Asher.
One of the common causes of flat low back posture is tight hamstrings. A great stretch for tight hamstrings comes from yoga: Reclining Big Toe Pose. Also, if you are working with a flat back, you may also be tucking your pelvis with your back and gluteus muscles. This habit can be exacerbated in Pilates if one doesn't really understand how to scoop the abs. without flattening the back. If this sounds like you, try going back to the basics of finding your C-curve, and keep in mind that there is a big difference between a strong scoop of the abdominals and tucking the pelvis with the back and gluteus muscles, which will flatten you out.
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