Read on To Discover A Single Exercise to Enjoy Benches Again Without Talking to Your Doctor or Insurance Company

By: Leading Northern Neck Back Pain Expert,

Dr. Arnan Sisson

Folks in the community have heard me for many years spouting the importance of lumbar support. It’s a subject that I could talk about for hours (ex) how it addresses the single #1 cause of back pain in 99% of folks, what’s the best brands, what’s the biggest mistake when using these tools, etc.).

All back doctors go to great depths to tailor lumbar rolls to every client when encountered. And heck my wife and I even own 3-4 ourselves! So, it’s an understatement to say that these things are important. But what if we are in a situation where we physically can’t use these amazing devices?

Today's blog post is going to cover those very situations and a little-known exercise I use to deal with this issue in the best way.

So, first off, what are the positions where we can’t use lumbar rolls? These are positions where we’re sitting on objects that don’t have a back. These could be bleachers, stools, etc.

When sitting on these objects we cannot use the lumbar roll properly, because we need that chair back to position our lumbar roll. The roll is sandwiched between the hardback of the chair and the small curve of the lower back. This produces a wave of extension to the back. This places the back in a VERY strong and comfortable position. So not having ½ of this equation completely rules out the use of the lumbar roll.  Not to worry though, we have a simple exercise that gives us our solution!

This movement is called my Slouch Over Correct exercise. It’s a movement that is performed every 20-30 minutes while you’re in your backless chair.

The video above, has me performing the movement. That’s a great point of reference. But below I’ll list the specifics step by step.

• While sitting, bend your back and chest forward as far as you can. Slouch here and think of the worst possible position ever (1-sec hold).
• Next, go the opposite direction. Extend the back, push the chest up, and think of the best possible posture ever (1 sec hold).
• Now relax this position about 20%. Hold this for 10 seconds.
• Repeat these 10 times and between your exercises try to hold this 20% position.

That’s it! Usually, these chairless positions are short-lived (baseball games, eating in the kitchen, etc.) and it's very easy to use this exercise to make you remember to have good posture.

Try this in these short-lived positions, but the primary strategy that should be used long-term is a lumbar roll. This is better for longer periods because it doesn’t require the client to “think about” treatment. The roll will automatically force the user into a good position.

That’s it for today, everyone, remember movement is medicine!