Hey, what’s up everybody? Dr. Hunter Merriman here with Next Level Chiropractic, your chiropractor for low back pain in Bradenton, FL. And today I wanted to talk to you about four ways to avoid injury when lifting.
Now the first thing is something we’ve all heard of. People say it over and over, engage your core. But how do we do that and why do we need to do that? What does that even mean?
Our spine is a vertical column. Without the appropriate stability, under stress, under pressure, the spine will literally buckle. It can cause severe muscle strain. It can injure the discs, et cetera.
Now, how do we do that? I’ll be honest. It’s kind of a skill. I’ll tell you what it’s not. It is not sucking your stomach in as far as you can. That does almost nothing.
Engaging your core basically means creating as much intra abdominal pressure as you can, by engaging your core muscles. When you do that, that intra abdominal pressure is what stabilizes that spine during that movement.
Now the second thing. Whenever you go to pick up anything, do not pick it up way out here in front of you. That causes your low back to be a significant point of leverage and almost certain injury, even with the lightest loads.
So do not lift from out here. Bring the weight to you, as close to your center of gravity as absolutely possible.
Chiropractic Techniques to Avoid Low Back Pain in Bradenton, FL
The second rule, hip hinging. A lot of people had never heard of this. Hip hinging is taking your hips and rotating ’em this way, so your low back flattens out. You never want to lift anything with a rounded back. When you do that, by rotating the pelvis this way, we flatten out or even increase some of the lordotic curve back here, and it takes the pressure off the discs.
Anytime you round out the low back and then add stress, the pressure within the discs gets pushed backwards, and it can cause a herniation, a bulge, etc.
So, keeping the weight as close to you as possible, rotating the pelvis this way, and coming down.
The next rule, do not lift and then twist. That is what puts people in here more than anything. I hear it every single day. The discs in between the vertebrae are made of concentric rings. That torsional movement, especially under a stressful load, is what tears those discs. And again, they herniate, they bulge, they get inflamed. You can’t walk, you’re on the floor, etc.
So let’s recap. Engaging the core, creating intra abdominal pressure. That’s not just the abs either. That’s the transverse abdominis. That’s the QL muscles, the spinal erectors. All those work together to stabilize the lumbar spine.
So engaging the core, bringing the weight to you, hip hinging this way, head up, and lifting up, and not twisting afterwards. The rule also applies to not lift from a twisted position, and then straighten this way.
So engage the core, bring the weight to you, hip hinge, head up, lift. That is the way you set yourself up for success.
Because the last thing you want is to be getting ready to go on vacation. You’re loading luggage into the car or you’re at the airport. You miss one of those four steps, and then pop, right before you go to Cancun. It’s not a place we want to be.
Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like, share, subscribe, leave a comment below, and we’ll see you on the next one.
Take care.
