5 Tips To Nourish You Intervertebral Discs

The intervertebral discs are the cushions between the vertebrae that make up our spine. They serve as shock absorbers and allow for the flexibility of the spine. However, they can become damaged or degenerate over time due to poor posture, lack of movement, or injury. This can lead to chronic pain and discomfort. The good news is that there are ways to nourish your intervertebral discs through movement.

Here are some tips for nourishing your intervertebral discs through movement:

1. Move your spine in all directions

The spine is designed to move in multiple directions, including flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral flexion. Moving your spine in all directions can help prevent stiffness and promote healthy blood flow to the intervertebral discs. Incorporate exercises such as cat-cow stretches, spinal twists, and side bends into your daily routine.

2. Practice low-impact exercises

High-impact exercises, such as running and jumping, can put stress on the intervertebral discs and cause them to degenerate over time. Instead, focus on low-impact exercises that are gentler on the spine, such as swimming, cycling, and walking. These exercises can help improve circulation to the intervertebral discs, which can aid in their nourishment.

3. Strengthen your core muscles

The muscles in your core support the spine and help to stabilize it. Strengthening these muscles can help prevent injury and reduce the risk of degeneration in the intervertebral discs. Exercises such as planks, bridges, and bird dogs can help strengthen your core muscles.

4. Maintain good posture

Poor posture can put pressure on the intervertebral discs and cause them to compress, leading to pain and discomfort. Maintaining good posture can help alleviate this pressure and promote healthy blood flow to the discs. Make sure to sit and stand with your shoulders back and your chin tucked in.

5. Stretch regularly

Stretching can help improve flexibility and mobility in the spine. Incorporating stretching into your daily routine can help prevent stiffness and promote healthy blood flow to the intervertebral discs. Try stretching your hamstrings, hip flexors, and chest regularly.

In conclusion, nourishing your intervertebral discs through movement is crucial for maintaining a healthy spine. By moving your spine in all directions, practicing low-impact exercises, strengthening your core muscles, maintaining good posture, and stretching regularly, you can help prevent degeneration and alleviate chronic pain and discomfort. Remember to consult with a healthcare professional before beginning any new exercise regimen.

Maintaining Good Spinal Health

Spinal discs receive nutrients through diffusion. Spinal discs are avascular structures, meaning they do not have their own blood supply. Instead, they rely on diffusion to receive nutrients and oxygen from the surrounding tissues.

Diffusion is the process by which molecules move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. In the case of spinal discs, nutrients and oxygen from nearby blood vessels diffuse into the disc, where they are absorbed by the cells that make up the disc.

The process of diffusion is facilitated by the movement and pressure changes that occur within the spine during everyday activities such as walking, sitting, and bending. This movement creates a pumping effect that helps to circulate fluids within the discs, facilitating the diffusion of nutrients and waste products.

Maintaining good spinal health through practices such as chiropractic, regular exercise, proper posture, and adequate hydration can help to promote the diffusion of nutrients into the spinal discs, supporting their health and function.

Back Pain vs Sciatica

Back pain and sciatica are two distinct conditions that can affect the lower back and legs. While they may seem similar, there are important differences between the two that can help determine the appropriate treatment.

Back Pain:

Back pain can be caused by a variety of factors, including muscle strains, ligament sprains, herniated discs, or degenerative disc disease. It can range from mild to severe, and may be accompanied by stiffness, muscle spasms, and limited mobility. Back pain is generally localized to the back, although it can radiate to the hips and thighs.

The most common causes of back pain are poor posture, overuse or misuse of the back muscles, and injury. It can also be caused by underlying medical conditions, such as osteoporosis, spinal stenosis, or a herniated disc.

Sciatica:

Sciatica is a specific type of back pain that is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. Sciatica is characterized by a sharp, shooting pain that radiates from the lower back down the leg, often to the foot. It can also cause numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness in the leg or foot.

Sciatica is usually caused by a herniated disc or bone spur that presses on the nerve. It can also be caused by spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease.

The Difference:

The main difference between back pain and sciatica is the location and nature of the pain. Back pain is generally localized to the back and may be accompanied by stiffness and muscle spasms. Sciatica, on the other hand, involves sharp, shooting pain that radiates down the leg and may be accompanied by numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness.

In conclusion, back pain and sciatica are two distinct conditions that can cause discomfort and limit mobility. Understanding the differences between the two can help determine the appropriate treatment and management plan. If you are experiencing persistent or severe pain in your back or legs, it is important to consult with a healthcare professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Training Low Back Flexion - Part 2

Throughout my sports training growing up, in college and even in chiropractic school, I was told to keep my spine in neutral to prevent injury. I even started preaching this to others when it came to building core strength and preventing lower back injuries. Keeping the spine neutral when squatting and deadlifting. Choosing exercises like hollow holds or planks over sit ups, knee ups and crunches.

Once I started seeing lower back injuries in myself and others who had a strong core, I started looking outside the box to figure out what was going on. All of the strength built was in that one range of motion, neutral. Once outside a neutral spine, there was no strength because those positions were never trained.

Try to pick up an awkward object with a neutral spine. It’s virtually impossible. Picking up a pencil, golf ball or even trying to tie your shoe with a neutral spine is not that simple, nor should you have to do it braced like you were picking up a few hundred pounds.

Joints are meant to move. The spine is meant to move (the spine is made up of 365 joints!) and move often. We should train our spine in all ranges of motion as well as neutral so we are better prepared for what life throws at us. This is important because the research shows that during a squat or deadlift, when we think our spine is in neutral, we are actually in spinal flexion (see video @ 4:20 mark).

As I talked about in Part 1, the reverse hyper exercise works your back in flexion and extension. However, since the reverse hyper machines are not easy to come by, we need to have some alternative exercises to accomplish the same benefits.

The alternatives:

• Lumbar Spine CARs - this is a great way to get the spine moving and improve spinal segmentation. Think about moving one segment of the spine at a time.

• The Jefferson Curl - start doing these with no weight, focusing on form. Take a video from the side to make sure your entire spine flexes. If you are unable to achieve full flexion, especially the lumbar spine. Do not add weight until your lumbar spine can round…most of you will have great flexion in the neck and thoracic spine but the lumbar spine will be blocked, making it look flat. If/when you decide to add weight, start low and gradually increase. Always err on the side of caution as this is not a max load lift.

• Sit Ups/Crunches - these should be self-explanatory or easy to YouTube.

• Knee-ups or toes-to-bar - most of you would just do knee ups as toes-to-bar are an advanced movement.

All of these movements incorporate spinal flexion while building strength. The Jefferson curl is an important exercise in my routine and I perform it 1-2x per week. It took me a couple of months to work on technique before I added weight. Adding spinal flexion strength exercises has been a game changer for my low back.

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Training Low Back Flexion

In the early 70’s, a famed world record breaking power lifter named Louie Simmons suffered a series of injuries to his low back. After fracturing his spine in 1973, his doctors recommended he undergo surgery that would leave him missing 2 discs and fusing part of his spine.

Alternatively, Louie Simmons opted for a more conservative approach consisting of acupuncture, stretching and performing the reverse hyper exercise (see video below). At the time, the reverse hyper exercise was the only exercise that didn’t produce pain. Focusing primarily on the reverse hyper, Louie completed a “full recovery”. A comeback he repeated in the 80’s after breaking his back again.

The reverse hyper:

• Prevents and treats disc injuries by therapeutically loading, training and strengthening the muscles of the posterior chain.

• Enables the healing process by increasing circulation. Discs are avascular, meaning there is no direct blood flow to them. They get their nutrients through a process of diffusion that occurs when the spinal segments move or “pump”. This movement will also cause cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) to move through the spinal cord and lymphatic fluid to the discs to help eliminate waste products.

• Tractions and decompresses the lower back and spine and opens up the joint spaces on the forward swing phase.

• Restores the natural motion of the hips and the sacrum.

This exercise has been great at treating and preventing lower back injuries. However, the equipment needed for it is hard to come by. Not many gyms or people have them. There are other ways to train your lower back in these positions to improve strength, flexibility and resilience.

Next weeks post will cover these alternative movements to the reverse hyper.

Louie Simmons - Reverse Hyper

How To Improve Hip Joint Health. Part II

Improving hip joint range of motion is not an easy task. Strength + Flexibility = Mobility. This equation is a basic breakdown of the principles but the most important piece is missing. Consistency. I have found that without consistency, your progress will be extremely slow or even plateaued.

I have found it is best to have a plan in place (I’ll show you an example below). When you have plan, you no longer have to think about it or create a plan for the day. You look at your plan and perform each day. It is something you can add you your workout routine or do it on its own when you wake up or right before bed.

Improving function in your hips, you want to have a warm up, a strength piece and a flexibility piece. I have found this formula worked the best for me.

Here is a sample routine to improve hip function which could be done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The routine is set up as supersets. For example, on Day 1 you would complete it as A1, A2, A1, A2, A1, A2 before moving on to B, then B1, B2, B1, B2, B1, B2 before moving on to C….

This sample routine is going to cover all hip ranges.

Day 1 - Front Split

A1: Straight Leg Couch Stretch 3x30s OR Couch Quad Stretch

A2: Single Leg Pike 3x30s

B1: Long Lunge Pulse 3x5

B2: Seated Pike Lift 3x10

C1: Front Split Check In 1x60s each leg

C2: Half Kneeling Hip Flexor 1x5

C3: Standing Pike 1x60s

Day 2 - Side Split

A1: Standing Hip Grinder 1x10

A2: Standing Straddle Pike 1x60s

B1: Straddle QL Series 5x5@10s hold on last rep

B2: Seated/Straddle Good Morning 5x5

B3: Internal Hip Rotation Stretch 5x30s

C1: Horse Stance Squats 2x5

C2: Hero Pose 2x30s

D1: Side Split Push Ups 1x10 (30s last rep)

E1: Pancake Check In 1x60s

Day 3 - Head2Toe

A1: Squat to Pike 1x10

A2: Standing Calf Stretch 1x60s

A3: Single Leg Pike 1x30s

B1: L-Sit 3x15s

B2: Jefferson Curl 3x5

B3: Donkey Calf Raise 3x10

B4: Loaded Head to Knee 3x5 (5 sec hold)

C1: H2T Pulse 3x30

C2: Hero Pose 3x10s | Floor Quad Stretch 3x30s

*Rep schemes with the letter ‘s’ following means seconds, so you would hold the stretch for say 30 seconds. Rep schemes with no letter would stand for reps (ex. 5 reps)

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How To Improve Hip Joint Health

The hip joints are some of the most flexible joints in the human body. Full ranges of motion that you should have in the hip joints are 125 degrees for flexion (knee to chest), 15 degrees for extension (leg going behind you), 30-50 degrees for abduction (leg going out to the side of you), 30 degrees for adduction (bringing leg toward opposite leg), 40-60 degrees for external rotation (rotating your thigh out) and 30-40 degrees for internal rotation (rotating your thigh in).

Loss of hip ranges of motion has been shown to correlate with lower back pain. Two of the most common deficits in hip ranges of motion that I see in the office is hip extension and internal hip rotation. A decrease in hip internal rotation will not allow your pelvis to rotate over the stance limb while walking, thereby limiting the coupling mechanics of the sacrum and lumbar spine. The lack of motion in the sacrum and low back may lead to degenerative changes and excessive compression of the facets on one side. Limitation of hip mobility can lead to excessive compensatory movement of the lumbar spine.

One of the major causes of hip joint range of motion loss is sitting. Sitting puts your hips into flexion and external rotation. This position will cause a weakness and shortening in the psoas muscles (hip flexors), weakness in the hamstrings as well as tightness in the hip external rotators. An asymmetry between sides in ranges of motion tend to exacerbate the problem.

Ok…so what can be done to prevent or fix the hip joints? See Part 2.

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Low Back Project - Tuesday, February 23rd

Today you will be working on the QL and adductors. The QL is tight in a lot of people and this is a great way to address it. 

• Warm Up

  • Squat to Pike - 10 reps

  • Elephant Walk - 15 reps per leg

  • Front kicks - 10 reps per leg

  • Side Kicks - 10 reps per leg

• Horse Stance - 3x30 seconds

• Side Split - 3x30 seconds

• QL Stretch (2 variations) - 3x30 seconds

Low Back Project - Monday, February 22nd

Today you are working on hamstrings and hip flexors again. This group is affected by prolonged sitting. The hamstrings become stiff and the hip flexors become weak. You are doing to flexibility and strength today.

• Warm Up

  • Squat to Pike - 10 reps

  • Elephant Walk - 15 reps per leg

  • Front kicks - 10 reps per leg

  • Side Kicks - 10 reps per leg

• Pike Stretch (3 variations) - 3x60 seconds

• Psoas (Hip Flexor) Strength (2 variations) - 3x10 reps per leg

Low Back Project - Friday, February 19th

Todays programming will consist of the mid back or thoracic spine work again. This will really open your chest and mid back up and get your out of that computer position. This is a great series for after work, during a work break or whenever you feel tension in the upper back. Pick one of the extension pieces that works best for you -> ROS sit up, cobra pose or sphinx pose. No need to do all 3.

• Warm-up

  • Squat to Pike - 10 reps

  • Elephant walks - 15 reps per leg

  • Front kicks - 10 kicks

  • Side Kicks - 10 kicks

• ROS situp - 3x10/Cobra Pose 3x30 seconds/Sphinx Pose - 3x30 seconds

• Thoracic Rotations 3x10+