3556: What Exercises Correct Lower Back Posture on Mobility Training

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[00:01:00] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily and I'm Dr. Neal, your host of the show. Welcome back to another special Friday edition of Optimal Health Daily where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition and lots more. You send in the questions and I answer them for you. Now once a month, usually during the first Q&A episode of the month, I mention a bit about my background and credentials so you can better understand where my perspectives come from.

[00:01:29] And given this is the first Q&A of the month, it's time. While I've always been obsessed with Batman, I wasn't always interested in the things I talk about on this show. Nutrition, exercise, health and wellness. But being diagnosed with a chronic disease at the age of 19 definitely changed my life's purpose. It was at that time I decided to focus my attention on helping others so that no one else had to experience a chronic disease diagnosis like I did.

[00:01:59] But in order to do that, I wanted to be sure I had some credibility. This is not meant to be a humble brag, but instead gain your trust. I received both my master's and doctoral degrees in public health. And to make sure I covered all of my bases, I also became a registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified health education specialist, and a certified exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine.

[00:02:25] I've been teaching in higher education for a long time now and am currently faculty within the California State University System. I've published peer-reviewed studies, presented at national and international conferences, and have been interviewed by over 70 different media outlets for my expertise on basically everything I talk about on this podcast. So again, all of this to say that when I provide my commentary after each episode,

[00:02:52] and I answer the questions you send in, like today, I hope you feel as though it's coming from a place of truth. My only intention is to help you feel your best. Now, I'll let you know how you can send in your own question at the end of the show and get a copy of our workbook for free, but for now, let's hear today's question and start optimizing your life. Hi, this is Mary.

[00:03:21] I'd like advice on how to improve posture and stick with it, especially lower back. Thanks. Thank you for taking the time to send in your audio question, Mary. This is actually a fairly common question, and I'm guessing this comes up so often because no one really has an answer to it. So I guess we should roll credits. Hmm? I should keep talking? Okay. Well, then I guess I'll explain what's going on

[00:03:49] and we'll try to actually provide some helpful tips and not leave you completely in the dark. Now, I'll start by saying that there are actually many research studies on this topic. Researchers have tried to answer this question, which exercises will help correct posture the most? And after years of research, the results are underwhelming and mostly inconclusive. Here's the basic thinking about our posture and why it tends to suffer.

[00:04:17] However, when we maintain poor posture, the muscles that support our posture may have to contract or stretch, depending on the position, for too long. This excess contracting or stretching of the muscles may damage the muscles over the long term. So if they're contracted for too long, they might get stiff. If they're overstretched, they may be painful or lead to other pulls and strains. This leads to misalignment,

[00:04:45] meaning some muscles are way too short because they've been contracted for so long, whereas others have been overstretched. So if these are the potential causes of poor posture, then we would assume the solution would be to improve the strength of those muscles by stretching the shortened ones and strengthening the overstretched ones. Ta-da! Right? No, not so fast. It turns out that when researchers tried this approach,

[00:05:13] it didn't really seem to improve posture. So this led some scientists to believe that this whole theory of misalignment should be thrown out. Others said, not so fast, and continued to study this idea of stretching and strengthening these muscles to help improve posture. In fact, I was able to find a recently published meta-analysis that looked at whether these types of activities are helpful. Oh, I should explain what a meta-analysis is.

[00:05:42] It's a type of research study that basically finds all of the other studies that have been published on this topic and performs one big, or meta-analysis, comparing the results of all of these studies. Meta-analyses are considered the gold standard when it comes to research because when they're performed correctly, they can summarize the results of many other studies that came before it. Now, here's what the researchers found in their meta-analysis.

[00:06:11] Incorporating stretching and strengthening exercise did seem to help in most of the studies they looked at, but the quality of those studies weren't all that great. Regardless, they found that stretching and strengthening the muscles seems to help and doesn't really seem to harm. So they basically say, you know what? Go ahead and stretch and strengthen those muscles because it's unlikely to harm you and it may possibly help. Now, more specifically,

[00:06:39] they found that exercising the muscles two to three times per week for at least six weeks was most helpful. This is also what the American College of Sports Medicine recommends. Each session should last 30 to 45 minutes, but they could be as short as 15 minutes or as long as 60 minutes. But 30 to 45 minutes seem to be the sweet spot. At this point, you may be thinking, Dr. Neal, you keep talking about days a week and how long each session should be,

[00:07:08] but what exercises should I actually be doing? Well, this is where it gets a little bit more confusing. There is no agreement about which exercises will help the most. Yes, a combination of both stretching and strengthening seems to help, but for which muscles? Well, we don't know for sure. It's basically a case-by-case basis. So, you might think doing deadlifts or squats or neck exercises is going to help, but we don't know for sure.

[00:07:38] This is where seeking the help of a healthcare professional like a physical therapist can be really helpful. I should mention that a physical therapist is different than a personal trainer and a massage therapist. Physical therapists have received a master's or doctoral degree in physical therapy specifically. Personal trainers and massage therapists may not have an advanced degree. So, physical therapists are truly the experts

[00:08:06] when it comes to these types of health concerns. They will determine the potential causes of the posture issues you're experiencing and provide you with exercises to help stretch and strengthen the appropriate muscles. Most importantly, whatever they recommend will be suited to your needs specifically. So, they'll design a program that may require more than three sessions per week or maybe less. Maybe the sessions will last 15 minutes and not 30 or 45.

[00:08:36] They will know what's best for you and that's the most important thing. At least, that's what the science is telling us so far. Observe. Observe. The North American Dad. 50s. Great polo collection. He enters his vehicle information on Carvana. An offer appears in minutes. Remarkable. He squints, reads it again, smiles and says, Dang, that's a good offer. The highest form of approval.

[00:09:06] No haggling. No hassle. No one called him boss. He's still on the couch. Astonishing. Sell your car today on Carvana.com. Pickup fees may apply. New and exclusive holiday decor just launched online at the Home Depot. Check out the viral Grand Duchess collection with smart holiday lights you can control from your phone. Easily customize the twinkle across trees, wreaths and garlands to match your holiday vibe.

[00:09:34] Create stunning light effects then switch it up with the tap of your fingers. Even the man in red will be impressed. Shop the holiday decor you want online only at HomeDepot.com. Thank you again so much for the question, Mary. And if you want your question answered right here on the show, send one in. You can email one to health at oldpodcast.com. Or if you want your voice heard on the show,

[00:10:01] come by oldpodcast.com slash ask. You can record right from your computer's microphone. It's really easy and you can even play back your message and do retakes before sending it in. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question. The number is 61-ILOVE-OHD. All right, that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for your continued support. Thank you for taking the time to send in your questions.

[00:10:31] I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits. You're welcome. I'll see you back here tomorrow.