Back pain is one of the main causes for visits to your family doctor and why? People believe that because their spine is made up of separate vertebral joints, the spinal joints are designed to flex or bend.
Our back or spine is probably the most delicate part of our anatomy and we need to protect it; because inside this column of bone hides the spinal column, which transports all the nerves of our entire nervous system throughout the body.
One of the first goals that you must learn to do is learn how to sit on your pelvic bones. The reason for this is so that you can use your pelvic area as a base for taking the weight of the upper area of your body. You are still able to move your legs without it disturbing your upper body.
The position you sit in when riding a bicycle is exactly the position that you need to sit in, because in this position, you are secure and your back is supported vertically on your pelvic bones.
You do not need a back rest, because your skeletal joints are supported by resting on top of each other without needing any muscle contraction. It is what I have called a "relaxed hold" in your spine, so that you spine can remain like this for as long as you wish.
When children sit on the floor with their legs crossed, they too are sitting on their pelvic bones. This is also a good way for you to sit, so that you learn to sit on your pelvic bones with your back remaining upright and aligned above your pelvic bones.
If you think that you will tire in this position, you are wrong; there are no muscles being used to sustain this position. Your spine is locked in a vertical position by anatomical hooks without the need for muscular action to sustain it.
As you sit in this position, you can now lift one pelvic bone and then the other pelvic bone. As you lift one pelvic bone, your spine will move curve over to the opposite side for keeping your skeletal balance. Then you can let this side return to its normal position and lift the other side.
If you find this difficult to do, then try taking the arm on the same side and stretching across your body and up into the air. Your hip on that side will lift off the ground and your body weight will rest on the opposite hip.
This movement should not hurt, but may feel strange if you have not completed this exercise before. You are in fact stretching one side of your body, while the other side feels the pressure of your body weight.
Try repeating this procedure on the opposite side of your body and notice the difference. Your body is learning to move, which is healthy movement for your spine.
Now rest your back against the back rest behind you; or if there is no back rest, just let it sag for a few moments and then return to your spine being vertical on your pelvic bones. The more you practice this position, the more you will become accustomed to sitting in it.
I have learned to ride a bicycle for long periods of time, so I am well adjusted to sitting in this position and therefore don't need a back rest to lean my back upon.
Your spine is the most important part of your anatomical structure, because it maintains the upright position of the body and protects the spinal cord inside the spinal column. It is here all the central nerves are located, transporting and distributing information throughout the whole body.
Like the rest of your body, the spine needs supported movement that provides gliding action of each vertebra on top of each other. The vertebra are stimulated by the gliding movements and strengthened by stretching of the muscles and tendons located around the spine.
The author Gail McGonigal is a qualified Occupational Therapist, who also has a Master's degree in Health Promotion. Gail owns a company called Active Living Solutions Ltd that is designed to help the larger person be comfortable in sitting and free from back pain. Gail's new knowledge in positive health has come through her own experience of erasing her own back pain, through riding a bicycle and wants to show you how the pain can be erased, using different positioning when sitting. Gail explains how her correct ergonomic movements can erase discomforts, through using a "relaxed hold" position; where she constantly sits on her pelvic bones and straightened her spine into a supported position. Gail has learned that positioning of skeletal joints is important for relieving pain and providing optimum comfort in functional movements when sitting.