Our back is weak.

This is the dumbbell I use for my rowing exercise. It is also being done to prepare myself for the next kayak competition that is sometime in October this year.
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No matter how big you are or how strong you appear to be, your back is one of the weakest part of your body.

As a masseur, I have come across numerous strong persons who suffer from a weak back. This weakness could be due to insufficient exercise for the back. Very few people seem to bother about muscles in the back, except for those professional or aspiring body-builders.

When we think of a beautifully, muscled body, we first think of the arms; big biceps, not even triceps, big forearms, chest muscles, and abdominal muscles. Well, man is an egoistic being and those are the parts he can exposed for others to appreciate most often. Of course, those who visit the beach and wear swimming costumes also think of their legs. But the back! Who looks at it? Even the guy himself hardly sees that part of his body. So, not much effort is put in to improve the back.

Imagine a front that has strong, taut muscled chest and stomach and a back that has hardly any developed muscles. A strong front and a weak back. no wonder we see quite a number of the body-building people forever arched forward for two reasons; compressing the front muscles to show them off or the back too weak to straighten the body. So we have a unbalanced body.

A weak back would mean no strong enough muscles holding up the vertebrae. The spinal column is not well supported by strong enough muscles. Therefore, if there is strain upon the spine, something may give way. It could be the weak muscles or the spine. Whichever it might be, there would be pain.

So most people suffer from pain due to twisting or turning the body too fast for the muscles to perform that movement well. So we have a twisted back. See how easy it is to hurt the back? Even picking up something from the floor can hurt the back if the back is weak and the action is wrongly carried out. Wrongly carried out? What do I mean? Well, there are two ways to pick or lift up something; the correct way is to bend the legs at the knees to go down and the wrong way is to bend the back to stretch down. The wrong way with a weak back can bring pain to the lower back. And once a part of the spine has been weakened, the problem can return again and again unless, we do systematic strengthening of the back. Improper method of strengthening can hurt the back. It has to be a slow gradual process and I believe yoga is the best way.

Even bending too long at a certain task can lead to back problems. There are those who sit at computers should get up every hour or so to stretch and straighten their backs. And it is important that we try to sit with a correct posture. There are people who slant their bodies or the angle of their necks as they work away at the computer. To prevent a painful back in future such people have to do something about their posture, straightening their backs or getting a better chair which would not cause them to slouch.

And how many people slouch in their chairs every evening as they relax in front of their television. That curved lower back will with time weaken and be the cause of pain. Why, some people even slouch as they drive around. Imagine their poor cramped lower back and they wonder why their backbone is tight and stiff.

So, the way we sit, move and pick or carry things are important in the prevention of pain to our back. Just as important is developing a stronger back. One simple exercise I use is a rowing action with weights. I choose a dumbbell that I can comfortable row with for at least fifty times. Choose a weight that is right for you without straining too much. Hold the dumbbell with both hands and turn it in a rowing action with your body straight, turning only as and when required just as you would in rowing a boat. The aim is not to build muscles but to strengthen the back. Even when the back is strengthened, use the right action to pick or lift up things and hold the body in a good posture always.