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LYING HAMSTRING STRETCH
This stretch is done near a door or wall. The position places minimal stress
on the lower back, allowing you to relax and move deeper into the stretch.
1. Lie on your back with one leg near the vertical surface.
2. Place the opposite leg on the floor.
3. Work the first leg up the wall toward perpendicular, and hold for
20-30 seconds.
4. Lower the raised leg back toward the starting position.
5. Slide your butt closer to the wall, and repeat on the opposite side,
holding for 20-30 seconds.
Tip: Remember to breathe while holding the stretch.
SCISSOR HAMSTRING STRETCH
This stretch allows you to engage both hamstrings simultaneously.
1. Step your right foot in front of your left, about a foot apart.
2. Place your hands on your hips.
3. Keep your hips and shoulders facing forward (the hip of the leading
leg will move forward, make a conscious effort to bring it back).
4. Keep your chest up and your head in a neutral position.
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down.
6. Flex at your hips toward your front leg as far as you can without
bending your knee.
7. Hold for 20-30 seconds while breathing.
8. Repeat on the opposite side.
Tip: Keep both legs straight, but be careful not to hyperextend your knees.
You can avoid locking your knee by maintaining an imperceptible bend in
your front knee.
The
DAN
Guide to Healthier Diving
32
|
SPRING 2016
DIVE
FITNESS
Y
ou have planned financially for
your dive vacation. Isn’t it time
to implement a health and fitness
plan to ensure you feel your
best and can make the most of
your trip? Chronic back pain is
a major health challenge that limits comfortable
participation in many physical activities such as
scuba diving. Prevention is generally much more
practical and effective than treatment. Regular
exercise is a great way to free yourself from lower-
back pain. Getting into the habit of doing exercises
such as the ones in this article is a great way to
promote good spine health.
These stretches are frequently prescribed to
people with lower-back pain for rehabilitation, but
if you currently have lower-back pain, be sure to
consult with your physician or physical therapist
prior to doing these exercises.
Complete these stretches five to 10 times. You
can (and should) perform these exercises daily.
One of the most important areas to stretch for
prevention of lower-back pain is your hamstrings.
Your hamstrings run down the backs of your
legs from your sitting bones (ischium) to just
below your knees, crossing both your hip and
knee joints. Tight hamstrings place unnecessary
pressure on your lower back, which can lead to
pain and musculoskeletal imbalances.
GET THE MOST OUT OF
EVERY DIVE VACATION
By Jessica B. Adams, Ph.D.
Photos by Stephen Frink
LOWER-BACK
PAIN PREVENTION