The back doesnt move too much in running or walking, in fact, often people with back pain are advised to refrain from all other forms aof exercise and only walk so as to not bring any strain on the back. However, this is often counter-productive as both running and walking further shorten back muscles, making the back and hip area stiff. While this might not cause immediate pain, this stiffness sets us up for increased chances of injury in the future.
This short session quickly wakes up the spinal muscles – through using the arms and the legs to move the top and the lower parts of the spine respectively, and through twists.
While this session has been categorised as ‘before running’ this is partly because we might be more enthusiastic at this time and might be too tired afterwards. However, these movements can also be done after running, albeit that have to be done more gradually.
