Virgil

Ok Niamh strained her back last week, I think it was. I forget where she mentioned it, but I had responded that the problem with most younger people developing back pain was usually the result of weak core muscles. I doubt you've damaged you spine at that age, but of course it's possible if you've had some accident. The core is the groups of muscles around the belly (abdomen) and along the sides (obliques). There are different layers of abs and obliques and they all have their physiological names. This site has more than you want to know about the various core muscles: http://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_...e_abdomen.html. When one has weak core muscles the back has to pick up the extra load and can strain. One’s center of gravity is at the core, so one is always twisting and turning around one’s center of gravity, so by strengthening your core you will really take a lot of pressure off your back. Most athletes are trained to firm up their core at all costs.

Here are a few exercises I recommend. First I don’t recommend pure sit ups. When one thinks of stomach exercises one thinks of sit ups. Pure sit ups are where you pin your feet and with knees bent sit up to your knees. Here’s a picture of a pure sit up: . I don’t recommend this because I believe it puts too much pressure on your spine and lower back.

Instead of sit ups I prefer the reverse, where you bring your knees to your head (or the tips of your forearms which are beside your head), sort of like this:
These focus toward the middle of the abdomen.

To focus on the upper abdomen do crunches. Crunches are where you keep your knees up while on your back and you pull yourself up toward them. Here: . You can rest your feet on something or just hold them up yourself like the picture. You can vary and add the twist by doing bicycle crunches, alternating to an opposite knee, like this: .

For the lower abs I recommend leg raises. Lying flat on your back, lift your legs off the ground and hold. The lower off the ground the harder I think it is. So find an angle where you feel the strain but can manage it. If you get more advanced, go for toe touches:

One final exercise that strengthens your entire abs is the plank. Just get into a push up position but hold yourself up on your forearms and toes and just hold. I try to go for 60 seconds but usually quit after 45 or so. They are tough. What ever you can do is good. If you muscles start trembling while you’re doing it, that’s a good thing.

For obliques, try side crunches: Twists, either standing (just twist left and right) or with a medicine ball (or any object, a light weight would be idea) sitting where you twist the object from one side to the other: . You can do crunches where you cross over to the opposite leg and toe touches where you cross to the opposite toe.

Also you probably want to strengthen your hips and lower back. Try the bird dog where you start on your hands and knees and lift one arm forward and the opposite leg back.
Hold for as long as possible. Or you can lift the leg up and down for a number of repetitions.

If you can do fifteen minutes a day where you vary the exercises four times a week, within a few months you should have a very firm tummy and I bet you won’t have too many back strains. Remember you should get a muscle burn to get stronger muscles.