• Your abdomen is basically the “front of your back.”  Some of the muscles that attach to your spine are actually accessible through your soft abdomen by a trained massage or muscle therapist.  Sometimes the muscles in the “front of your back” are the ones that cause your lower back pain.
• When you do sit-ups, the movement removes the natural curve from your lower back; it makes it flatter.  The curve is good–it’s there for a reason.
• When you do sit-ups, it’s easy to strain your neck muscles.
• Sit-ups shorten your abdominal muscles.  Short muscles in front help flatten your lower back and take away your natural curve.  Short muscles in the front of your body make it harder to keep good posture.  Good posture helps prevent back pain.

What are some safer options?

• Suck in your abdomen.  That strengthens your muscles without aggravating any other part of your body.
• Do reverse crunches.  Rather than raising your head, reverse crunches curl your pubic bone toward your nose by using your abdominal or stomach muscles.  Your head never leaves the floor and nothing gets strained.

How do you do a reverse curl?

• Lay on your back, knees up.
• Move your knees so they are over your waist.
• Activate your stomach muscles (not your hips, legs or butt.)
• Contract (squeeze) your abdominals and bring your knees closer to your face.  Your tailbone will leave the floor but your head does not.

Remember the key to being pain-free is having muscular balance on all sides of your body.  If you have a strong back AND the front of your body is also strong–so all of the muscles are working in balance–you can get rid of your back pain.

Want to discover more about what happens when you have muscle imbalances?

Go to Back Pain Natural Relief. It’s a long page packed with information.  Scroll down and read all about it.  You will learn more about the importance of balancing your muscles and discover how to get  rid of your back pain naturally.

Here are a few reasons why they may not be the exercise-of-choice for you.

When you do sit-ups, it’s easy to aggravate your neck and upper back.  This can cause neck pain and or headaches.

Sit-ups strengthen the upper abdominals.  When the upper abs are tight, they can pull us into forward-head posture.  “Forward-head posture” means that when we are standing up, our head is in front of our body instead of over our shoulders.  Not good, for many reasons.

It’s easier and less potentially aggravating to strengthen your lower abdominals, instead.

This is how to get into position:  Start on your back with your knees bent and pointed toward the ceiling.  Lift, or move, your knees toward your head, so that your shins (lower legs) are perpendicular to the floor.  Now you are ready for the strengthening movement.

Note:  Your head will be resting comfortably and will never leave the floor during the movement.

This is how to do the movement:  Using only your lower ab muscles, not your legs or hips, move your knees closer to your chin.  That’s it.  Your tail bone may lift or roll slightly upward, off the floor or mat.  Go back to the position where your shins are perpendicular to the floor.  Repeat.

Isolating the lower abdominal muscles can be a very ‘interesting’ thing for a lot of people.  They want to do this move with their hip muscles.

If you place your hand on your lower abdomen, between your belly button and pubic bone (and closer to the pubic bone), those are the muscles you want to contract–make tight–when you move your knees closer to your chin.  It’s okay to practice with your hand pressed lightly there until you learn to isolate the lower ab muscles.

Do only two or three movements for the first few days.  Your newly awakened muscles may get sore from over-use if you do more.  After a few days, you may add one or two a day and gradually work up to ten movements once or twice a day.

Always pay attention to your body and move thoughtfully.

And, remember, if you work on strengthening your back side, from knees to head, those muscles will hold you straight, strong and upright and your belly won’t pouch out like it will if you have forward-head posture.

That would be very good.  For more help, go to http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”