Flexion and the Spine

Our spine is a good indicator of our internal age. Joseph Pilates said that if your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30 you are old, if its completely flexible at 60 you are young. There are 33 vertebrae in your spine with 14 degrees of movement possible. If not properly trained it could be lost. 80% of adults complain of lower back pain that is usually a result of inflexibility in the thoracic spine. In pilates we love to flex and extend our spines to keep them young and supple.

Our daily life involves a lot of forward flexion, sitting, texting, watching tv or youtube! As a result we lose the 3 natural curves of our spine. Our upper back - the thoracic spine becomes stiff and immobile, the scapula (shoulder blades) compensate by moving away from the spine making shoulder work harder, and increasing your risk of rotor cuff injury. Our bellies hang forward pulling our low backs forward with them. This leaves us stiff at the top (kyphotic), and with our butts sticking out (Lordotic).

Our bodies always strive for balance so this Kyphotic and lordotic spinal position becomes the new "normal" for our body and we lose the ability to stand up straight! This position has become so normal that most people don't even notice anything is wrong.

Our spines are designed to move in three ways; forward (flexion), backwards (extension) and sideways (lateral flexion).

Proper flexion exercises are important as they retrain our spines to find the real normal upright position. These types of exercises include the hundred, roll-up, elephant, and monkey. Extension exercises are good because there is little we do in our every day lives that encourages this movement, and it provides an opportunity to open and lengthen the front lines of our body.

Think swan or single leg kick as examples of this type of movement. We also need that side bend. Lateral flexion opens our side lines and makes us feel taller, and improves our ability to rotate which helps to protect your low back. These exercises include mermaid, side kick, and side bend with rotation on the reformer.

Treat your back kindly and make sure you work on all three types of spinal flexion in your pilates practice. Your back will love you for it - we aren't kidding when we say pilates can make you taller!

I can help you return your spine to its younger self, ask me how!

#Spinalflextion #Kyphosis #Lordosis