Week 2 Responses

Due Thursday September 19, 2019

Response 1: Kelsey C

Back pain and lower back pain are becoming increasingly common today. It can be the older generation or young adults having back pain. As individuals sit longer and have bad posture this is one of the problems. Another issue with athletes with lower back pain can be bad form or improper technique when lifting or working out putting more strain on the back and spine. Our book mentions many different exercises for rehabilitation of the spine and stretches to help. McGill mentions that you have to have “healthy hips for the back to function properly”. In our text book there is an exercise where the patient is on the table doing various hip exercises prone. I think doing exercises like this would help take load off the spine while also stretching the hips. For some patients standing or sitting can put a load on the spine and back. I think flexing and extending the spine can cause a lot of pain and discomfort for individuals. I think by laying prone on the table it takes a lot of the natural loading off of the back. Laying prone on the table you can do basic hip rotations and extensions which can just be something as simple as raising your leg or flexing the knee and rotating the hip.  

Response 2: Megan S

The lecture mentioned that the majority of the population experiencing low back pain will often want to stretch their back using lumbar flexion to provide them with immediate relief. These stretches include knees to chest or touching your toes. The hip extension stretch is a great way to stretch the hips that does not increase the axial load on the spine. A few other stretches include the self psoas stretch is a good stretch for those who are sitting the majority of the day however, there is axial load with this stretch. Cat Camel is also a great stretch which takes compression off your back because you are on your hands and knees for this stretch. The glute-max bridge is an stretch that is also beneficial for those with low back pain, however the form is very important and will impact whether or not this exercise is helpful to a person. A more advanced technique would be a side bridge, again the form here is extremely important. 

Response 3: Kendra C

One of the simple stretches that we give patients at the clinic I work at that is good for stretching the hips out  would be a piriformis stretch in the sitting position. I think this is more simple for older clients to do so that they don't have to worry about getting on the ground and possibly injuring themselves even more. The hip rotators not only rotate the thigh on the pelvis but more functionally rotate the pelvis on the weight bearing fixed thigh. Another more advance stretch that you could have a patient do would be a floor hip stretch. I feel like this would be a more advance stretch for someone who is older just because getting into this position isn't the most easy thing to do. This hip stretch addresses multiple muscles and planes. Tightness around the hip joint and hip muscles is very common among athletes and will restrict full movement and optimum performance.

Response 4: Chad R.

Every muscle has an origin and insertion, there is really no way to isolate just one just one muscle for activation or stretching. Care needs to be taken when stretching any muscle groups so as to not exacerbate an issue you are trying to correct. The hip by nature of the ball and socket joint allows movement in all three planes which requires extensors, flexors, rotators, and abductors and adductors. To stretch the hip flexors a forward lunge is a simple task that can be done with or without the assist of a wall or chair for balance. The main muscles being stretched are the iliacus and the psoas. With the feet together step forward with one foot in a slightly longer stride than walking. With the pelvis facing straight ahead bend the front knee to feel a stretch in the iliacus with the back knee maintaining a slight bend and keeping a neutral upright spine. The spine is spared performing the beginner’s lunge by maintaining an upright torso and a neutral spine curvature.