‘STANDING FORWARD BENDING’ : SELF-TEST TO CHECK YOUR BACK HEALTH

‘Standing Forward Bending’ is a natural movement which we all do in our daily lives. It has often been considered a forbidden movement thanks to all the horrifying testimonials of those with back pain.

Let me classify the general population into the following three categories with respect to back pain:

  1. Apparently healthy: They should be able to bend forward without any symptoms in their lower back
  2. Back pain patients: Their goal should be to bend forward without any pain;that should be the final stage of the therapy or rehabilitation
  3. People with history of back pain: Most of these people fear from bending forward due to their past experience of back pain implying that they have not fully recovered.

Apart from ‘Standing Forward Bending’, one more self-test to check the health of your low back is ‘Cross Legged Sitting on the Floor’. If you have pain or discomfort in your low back or if it takes few minutes to straighten up after sitting cross-legged, your back is not in great shape. The probability of getting an acute irritation is more. It is time to see a qualified physiotherapist at this point.