Your paraspinal muscles run next to your spine to support it. You have numerous small, individual paraspinal muscles that help control movements between your vertebrae and the rest of your bones. Strengthening your paraspinal muscles with specific...
Your paraspinal muscles are responsible for the extension of your spine or straightening up your back. They run along your spine and help with posture, spine health and are active in almost every movement you make with your torso. Keep them strong...
While you may not know their proper scientific name, you are probably aware of your thoracic paraspinal muscles. These are the large muscles that run up and down your back along your spine and help hold your vertebrae in place. Tightness or an...
The paraspinal muscles are important for maintaining correct posture and spinal curvature. They run parallel to your spine and attach to your vertebrae. These muscles work with the obliques on the sides of your abdominals to hold your spine...
The fifth lumbar vertebra, also known as the L5 vertebra, can be a source of tremendous pain and discomfort. The L4-L5 disc, located between your fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae, and the L5-S1 disc, between the fifth lumbar and first sacral...
The paraspinal muscles support your spinal column, including the lumbar vertebrae in your lower back. The weight of your growing uterus during pregnancy often puts strain on your lumbar area, which can cause pain and discomfort. You can usually...
Although you may not give your thoracic muscles a lot of thought, their main function is to help you breathe. The thoracic muscles are located between your ribs. The muscles contract and expand as you inhale and exhale. Thoracic muscles are...
A trigger point, according to the information website Spine Health, is " a sensitive area in the muscle or connective tissue (fascia) that becomes painful when compressed." You have various pressure points located in your back that can help...
Though the pelvic bridge is an easy-to-do exercise, it is highly useful in maintaining strength in the low back and useful in a low back pain prevention programs. Pelvic bridging is also a great exercise that strengthens the paraspinal muscles,...
Inversion therapy is nothing new. Hanging upside-down to relieve pain and the effects of gravity have been documented as far back as 400 BC when Hippocrates, the famous physician, observed a patient being hung by his knees and ankles from a...
Acupressure is a system of health care that is mostly attributed to Asian cultures and dates back 5,000 years, according to the website India Net Zone. Using the same approach as acupuncture, but without needles, acupressure addresses health and...
Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature in the spine. The condition causes the spine to curve sideways so that it is out of line with the center of your back. Scoliosis can develop in the womb or early during life. Other causes include cerebral palsy,...
Although as many as 80 percent of people in the U.S. might experience low back pain at some point in their lives, the pain is usually mild and lasts no longer than six weeks. Spondylosis, however, causes chronic back pain. Chronic back pain means...
Low back pain will affect nearly 80 percent of all adults at some point in their life, according to the American Chiropractic Association. It is the No. 1 reason workers file a worker's compensation claim and represents the second-most common...
"Oh, my aching back" is a common complaint among adults. Back pain from sleeping wrong, lifting incorrectly and sports injuries plagues a large portion of the population. Most back pain is the result of a muscle strain or sprain, is not...
"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured," B.K.S. Iyengar, founder of Iyengar yoga, said. Through mind-body workouts that improve strength and flexibility, yoga can boost your health while improving your...
Gradual posture shifts begin as the paraspinal muscles, which are responsible for supporting the spine, become shortened and inflexible in certain places and lengthened and weak in other places. There are many factors that help create postural...
Traditional weight and exercise training manifests itself in symmetrical exercises. Despite the strengthening and cardiovascular benefits of these exercises, they can result in overuse exercises if asymmetrical training is not administered....
Flat stomachs, six-packs and washboard abs are something for which to strive. Few of us are blessed with the genes to have toned cores without much effort. Most of us have to work pretty hard to be able to willfully show off our mid-section. To...
Kicking a soccer ball is a dynamic movement that requires many muscles, although several key muscles typically are used to help generate the majority of the force that goes into your kick. Your level of muscle recruitment when kicking a soccer...
The gym ball is an effective piece of equipment for developing stability and real-world strength. Because several muscles of the back are core stabilizer muscles, working the gym ball into your back routine is a way to develop practical strength...
The spinal column is traditionally divided into three main sections; the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spinal segments. The mid back is that portion of the thoracic spine that lies between the shoulder blades and the beginning of the lumbar...
Developing razor sharp abdominals involves two things: developing the muscle, and burning the fat. While you cannot spot reduce, reductions in overall body fat will reduce the fat covering your abdominals, and exercising the muscles themselves...
The left back and shoulder region includes the glenohumeral joint, the shoulder blade (scapula), the upper section of the thoracic spine with their corresponding ribs, and various muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Pain in the left back and...
Your sacrum is a triangular-shaped bone at the base of your lower back upon which your vertebral column rests and is bordered on each side by the two large bones of the pelvis, known as the ilia. Where these two bones join, they form the...
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, 90 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience back pain at some time in their lives. Of these, 2 percent will suffer from a herniated disc, a condition that can be both excruciating and...
If you are experiencing back pain, you are not alone. As people age, their back and abdominal muscles tend to weaken. However, Florida chiropractor Thomas E. Hyde, D.C., says this can be prevented with regular back- and abdominal-strengthening...
Warming up and stretching properly before strenuous physical activity is important and can help improve your athletic performance. Rowing is no exception to this. There are a number of warm-up exercises you should perform, followed by stretching,...
The core is a muscular system that provides the force to stabilize and move body segments. The core could be considered the link between the upper and lower extremities, Jeffery Willardson wrote in the December 2007 issue of "Strength and...
