Is Bending Over Bad For My Lower Back?

1. Too Heavy – Lifting a heavy object that we are not accustomed to lifting. If our bodies and tissues have not been appropriately prepared to manage a load, it may increase the risk of injury. Using your legs in a squat motion can be helpful to take some load off the lower back muscles, but ultimately it may still overload structures in the body. It would be like sprinting 100 meters as fast as you can when you have not trained for any form of running in years.
2. Too Long – The general increase in time spent sitting among the world population has gotten a lot of attention in recent years. This is a result of modern lifestyles being more sedentary and occupations requiring us to do more sitting related work. Spending too much time in any posture can cause stiffness and decondition our bodies. We need to move as regularly as possible.  I emphasise that it is not the bending movement, but the time spent in that position that is the contributing factor.
3. Too Soon – Following a recent acute lower back injury it may be wise to avoid some aggravating movements. Often with lower back injuries, the aggravating movements involve prolonged sitting and heavy lifting. It might be important to avoid these for a period of time, but always intend to reintroduce these movements at a later stage.

1. Try some extension. Moving in the opposite direction can often provide a useful stretch and help stimulate the opposing muscles to encourage more holistic muscle function.
2. Move more regularly through the full range of motion. I often advise patients to regularly bend all the way back (stretch your arms up to the sky) and all the way forward (try to touch your toes) to improve circulation. Motion is lotion.
3. Prepare for lifting. If your work or home life does require you to lift heavy objects, you need to prepare yourself appropriately. Firstly, get an idea of the weight you need to lift and the frequency of lifting. Next, do some exercises to strengthen and prepare the muscles for the task at hand. Lastly, try performing a quick warm-up before lifting, this can be a simple rehearsal of the movement without weight or with a lighter weight to prepare your body. Remember to space the activity out as much as possible. Instead of doing all the lifting in one session try to spread it over a few hours or days to avoid fatigue.

                       

     

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