Cure Back Pain: 80 Personalized Easy Exercises for Spinal Training to Improve Posture, Eliminate Tension and Reduce Stress

by Jean Francois Harvey BSc DO

Using the latest advances in the science of movement, this book offers the unique and innovative Spinal Training method to help prevent and alleviate back pain. And in addition to strengthening your back, Spinal Training will also improve your posture, eliminate tension, reduce your stress response and diminish pain. Drawing from Pilates, yoga, physical therapy and others and based on the principles of osteopathy, biomechanics and kinesiology, this holistic approach makes it possible for effective and gentle work to be done on the areas that are the most important for reducing back pain and enhancing good posture for a healthy back. Full-color throughout with lavish and clear illustrations of the back's anatomy, this book features step-by-step photos with 80 exercise routines that meet the requirements for a healthy back. These routines can be customized with the self-assessment exercise provided. Thus the exercises can focus precisely on each person's specific needs and desired outcome. The Spinal Training method can be used by anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. Each training plan can be individually adapted to the nature of the specific pain, for any type of posture, degree of flexibility, muscle strength, or the time available to regain normal back strength. Whether the goal is to simply maintain a healthy and happy back or to reduce and eliminate pain, this books offers the right tools to make the back feel better, no matter what the condition may be.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Juli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our modern society is designed in a way that does not support the health of our backs. From hours spent sitting (often in a slouched or slumped position), to the way we hunch forward over our steering wheels, phones, and keyboards, to the infrequency of use of certain planes of motion, to the amount of pervasive stress we experience daily (and carry as physical tension)… we simply don’t have the healthiest foundation to support one of our most critical physical assets: our spine, protector of our nervous system, originator of movement.

In Cure Back Pain, Jean-François Harvey explains how we get into bad patterns with our backs, and how simple exercises, performed regularly, for even a short period of time each session, can make a huge difference. He then provides the exercises we can use to achieve a healthier spine.

Read more of my thoughts on this book.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

About 100 pages of info and about 150 pages of stretches and exercises. Many illustrations and photos.

Notes
Standing puts 220 pounds of pressure on disks. Sitting puts 308.

Avoid ab strengthening exercises (sit-ups, crunches, ab roller, etc.). They put a lot of pressure on lower back. They can damage disks. They more often activate hip flexors than abs.

Avoid back strengthening exercises unless you're a weight lifter. They're too restrictive for spinal column. For most people, pressure exerted exceeds resistance of spinal column. They don't help make slight adjustments needed to achieve good posture.

Avoid handstand poses and inverted poses (head on floor, bending at neck, legs in air).

Avoid extreme stretch poses because of injury risk (except cobra pose [McKenzie stretch] if done gradually, with forearms on floor).

Avoid extreme bending poses (standing and bending forward) unless you have good flexibility and healthy back.

Sit-ups only work superficial layer of abs, not deep ab muscles or back muscles.

Strength training gradually affects superficial back muscles, but not deep muscles of spinal column. Superficial back muscles need stretching, not strength training.

Deep back muscles need endurance training, which comes from sitting or standing posture, walking, running, etc., not strength training (weightlifting).

Cardio exercises benefit back. Best are those done in relatively neutral standing position (e.g., walking, running, tennis, soccer, basketball, dancing).

Runners don't have more back or knee problems than non-runners.

Morning isn't the best time for stretching because body temp is at its lowest upon waking. Better to do mobility exercises in morning (e.g., cat pose, cow pose).

Hold stretches for at least 30 seconds; 45 is better.

[Marius Heje Mæhle · Rating 4 out of 5]

En kort innføring in det viktigste for ryggsmerter med en enkel og godt kortlag øvelser som Jean kaller Spinal training.

Life is nothing but movement - Montaigne

Intro
- Fysisk trening er det viktigste for å hindre smerter
- Å sitte er tyngre for ryggen enn å stå/gå
- Hvis du leder ett aktivt liv, håndterer stress bra, bruker tid til å slapp av og gå, danse, og holde en god holdning, er du mest sannsynligvis kommet en lang vei på løsningen.
- Fokuset burde være på gentle mobilitietsøvelser sammen med pusteøvelsr og posture øvelser.
Mastering good posture
- Grounding (sittende eller stående)
○ Gå barfot
- Hold hodet nøytralt, tenk at du har en string på toppen av hodet, forleng nakken og hele spine
Nøkkelen til en god holdning
- Find en posture som passer deg
- Lag forandringer
- Bruk liten effort
- Relax
- Arbeid på en ergonomisk måte
- Vær oppmerksom på kroppen din
- Gi degselv tid
Forbered kroppsbehersekelse
- Forstå kroppen bedre
- Bruk visualisering
- Gjør øvelser som gjør at du må høre etter på kroppen
- Forstå dine hindringer
- Vær conscious
- Selv-reguler
- Adapation
Ryggøvelser
- Flexibility, mobility, neuromuscular, breathing, deep muscle strengthing, postrual og cardiovacular

Resten av boken er en god oversikt over basis-øvelser

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm considering buying a copy of this book to keep for reference.

[Aaron Polish · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book about back pain and to eliminate the pain by therapy.