Thursday, September 6, 2012

Keep at it to Stop Hurting!

We all have some pain in our joints or muscles. This is unfortunately a fact for anyone over 50. My own pain is in my neck and lower back, where I have degenerative discs, and in my hips where they are simply wearing out.
Not much I can do for this other than surgery which at this point is not a consideration. I can maintain these parts of my body to keep them as useful as they can be and as pain free.
I do regular stretching for the back and neck, while consciously watching my posture especially when sitting for a long period of time. I use a lumbar support for the back, and try not to strain the neck.
I also do lower back exercises. I will warm up my core with ab work, then hit the lower back extension machine where I will do 1 set with warm up weight and one set of 6-9 reps with loaded weight. This is part of my every 3 day back workout. Then I move on to the other back exercises I do which include pull-ups and lat machine pull downs.
For the lower back the daily stretch is a must.Every time it feels tight, or on rising in the morning, a routine of stretches that takes only a few minutes will make a world of difference in how you feel.
The neck can be stretched and strengthened too. All this will help with the pain management.

This book really helps!!