Re: Back Spasms

You got it. Probably need a good adjustment or two but yeah, if you keep your hamstrings loose that will allow the lumbar cruve ro reestablish and as long as that lumbar curve is there your lower back stays pretty darn strong. It'll surpirse you. Something so simple yet so effective.

Every night before bed make sure your hamstrings are nice and loose.

Put your foot up on a chair, put both hands on the thigh and gently push straight down. Keep you back flat. Let the pull go to the bottom of your butt and behind the knee. If it pulls further than that you're stretching too far. Keep you back flat. Hold for 10 seconds and do the other leg. Repeat four times.

If that doesn't loosen them up do it again in 15 minutes.

Doesn't hurt to stretch the calves either. Just get on a step and let one heel hang down and then the other, repeat four times about 10 seconds each. Again repeat in 15 minutes if still tight.

Back spasms. No heat, unless you like pain and being totally immobile. General rule: Put heat on muscles and cold on joints. Yeah I know, there's a lot of muscle on your back. NTL, no heat on you spine - go with ice. Minimum 30 minutes on or you can keep it on as long as you like. Depends how bad the problem is and if there's any disc involvement.

The cold will minimize the swelling and tighten the joints up.

If no improvement in 48 hours you'll need a few adjustments. Which gets into a whole new ball game. No lumbar rolls. Go with Thompson technique and Intersegmental traction (Cox).

So you're right, keeping the hamstrings normal is THE key to maintaning a strong, stable lumbar spine.

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