“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old; if it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”
Joseph Pilates
The flexibility of our spine is highly dependent on the curves within the structure. In order to maintain a healthy architecture, those curves need to be honored, strengthened and utilized efficiently in daily activity and exercise.
Starting at the top of the spine, the neck or cervical curve is concave, or hollowed out, then to the chest or thoracic area the curve is convex, or bulging outward, then to the lower lumbar spine again concave and finally to the sacrum area convex. It is when these curves become diminished that range of motion and potential for injury may occur. It is important to understand the difference between an acute injury and a chronic condition.
Acute injuries are a sudden or accidental trauma to the area, such as car accidents, falls, athletic injuries or recreational mishap. Chronic is a condition developed over time, and often falls under the radar, because there is not an immediate symptom or reaction. From a health promotion perspective given all “normal” safety precautions are exhibited, acute is for the most part out of our control.
On the other hand, smart and consistent habits to maintain the integrity of our spinal curves will assist in minimizing chronic spinal complaints. I use my own self as an example. After years and years as a gymnast and dancer I started to develop lower back issues. While I had incredible flexibility in my legs and arms, I had very little abdominal strength. Therefore, I relied totally on my flexibility and continued to over accentuate the concave curve in my lower back (lumbar area) because my abdominals were weak.
This overarching of my lower back also created an adverse reaction in my upper spine. You can see where this is going; the problems start to creep up the chain of command. The solution for me was to strengthen my abdominals, as well as my gluteal (large buttocks muscles) to lessen the pull on my back, and thus lessen the exaggerated curve. Work the front of the body, to support the back.
When a body sits for long periods of time in one position, the curves in the spine may not be honored. What does that mean? They might be forced, either by posture or by the chair, to hold a position out of proper alignment. And even though many work situations have ergonomic assessments and good posture is emphasized, static positions by their nature encourage loss of spinal integrity. Think about it like this, how long can you maintain good posture even when you are thinking about it?
In the end it all comes back to training. A dancer doesn’t learn to dance in one rehearsal. Should an employee be able to understand the intricacies of the spine, as well as have the strength to handle the workload demands, in one ergonomic assessment? I think not.
This demands proper core strength training, or other method of building muscle memory into the body, for real support. Skills need time to be fully integrated. Worksite programs that incorporate more of the “how” and not only the “what” offer individuals a higher opportunity for success.
If age is determined by the flexibility and strength of the spine, what age does your workforce have? Or rather, how young are you?
