Your employer may be willing to provide you an ergonomic assessment.  It is cheaper for your employer to prevent a neck, elbow or back pain than it is to treat an injury and have an employee out.  A prevented injury saves your company direct costs and/or indirect costs. 

If you must see your physician, he/she may order one using CPT code 97537.  Encourage your physician to review this website and then contact me. 

Contact Gary at ErgoFit101.com for an ergonomic assessment. 

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Test your own trunk strength and flexibility with the Kraus-Weber test.  Of course, you should consult your physician prior to performing any exercise, including trunk strength/flexibility testing.  If you receive pain during any exercise or test, then STOP immediately. 

The test is separated into 7 sections.  There are 10 points per section for a total possible score of 70 points.  Personally, I believe that 65+ points is a good score.  But, I would shoot for 70/70 and work on any section in which you receive less than 10 points. 

This Kraus-Weber Trunk Strength & Flexibility test came out of the Eisenhower-era when the Presidential Physical Fitness test was conceived.  At that time, most european kids could pass this test, but only 50% of the American kids could pass it.  Eisenhower et al. recognized the US needed to do something.  Let me explain the test and scoring...

Lie on your back and raise both legs 10" off of surface.  If you can hold this position for 10 seconds, then give yourself 10 points. Otherwise, give yourself 1 point per second.  If you achieve less than 10 points, then there are exercises to work on this.  I will provide some for you. 

Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter  

Give yourself 10 points if you can raise to this position, one time.  You may need to get someone to hold your feet.  If you have difficulty with this test section, then there are exercises designed to improve your score. 


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter  

Give yourself 10 points if you can raise to this position once.  You may need to get someone to hold your feet.  If you have difficulty, then there are exercises to improve on this score.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

If you can hold this position for 10 seconds, then give yourself 10 points.  If not, then give yourself one point for every second.  I personally believe if you score less than 10 points, then you should work on this.  There are exercises, below, that can help. 
 

Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter      

If you can hold this position for 10 seconds, then give yourself 10 points.  If not, then give yourself one point for every second.  I personally believe if you score less than 10 points, then you should work on this.  There are exercises, below, that can help.  


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter    

If you can hold this position for 10 seconds, then give yourself 10 points.  If not, then give yourself one point for every second.  I personally believe if you score less than 10 points, then you should work on this. 

Good quad strength is required for good lifting technique.  Otherwise, you will compensate with the low back muscles.  Three out of four low back injuries are related to improper lifting and deficient quad strength may foster improper lifitng.  You must be able to perform this in order to lift correctly.  


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter  

You should be able to touch your toes from the standing position.  If you can, then give yourself 10 points.  If you can't, then give yourself 5 points.  Some people have never been able to touch their toes.  But, frankly, you should continue to work on it anyways.  You become less flexible for every decade you age.  Yes, women are more flexible than men.   
 

Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter      

If you achived 10 points for all 7 sections (70/70) then you are doing well.  Keep it up.  Perhaps, the exercises below may help with maintenance.  If there is any section that you received less than 10 points, then please look at the exercises below.

These exercises are loosely based on a protocol created by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' physicians in 1998.  I've personally used this protocol for my low back patients since 1998 with great outcomes.  Of course, you should consult your physician before performing these exercises.  I'm only showing you a portion of the protocol.  There are lower and higher levels of progression.  These are general exercises that may help you improve your Kraus-Weber score and your core strength/flexibility.  All of these exercises may be performed once or twice per day.  

March on a swiss ball, in the seated position, for one minute.  This is a great way to warm up the hip flexors for stretching and for improving your Kraus-Weber Hip Flexor and low ab scores.  Keep your back posture neutral, with NO slumping.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     
      

Start with 20 and progress from there.  It may seem tough, but before you know it, you can complete 100 like it's nothing.  This is a great exercsie if your upper and lower Ab scores are low.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.  Don't push it.  Just hold it for a slight stretch - don't make it painful & NO bouncing.  Repeat a couple times and you'll see you can reach further each time.  This is a great exercise if you did not achieve 10 points on the low back/hamstring flexibility score.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.  Don't push it.  Just hold it for a slight stretch.  Repeat a couple times and you'll see you can reach further.  This is a great exercise if you did not achieve 10 points on the low back/hamstring flexibility score.  No bouncing, hold steady without making it painful.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Great exercise for your trunk extensors.  Raise each arm with leg for 3 seconds, then alternate to opposite arm and leg for a total of 20 times on each side.  This is a great exercise if you did not achieve all 10 points for lower back test and/or upper back test on the Kraus-Weber test.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     
   

Great exercise for your trunk extensors.  Raise your body up for a total of 20 times.  This is a great exercise if you did not achieve all 10 points for lower back test on the Kraus-Weber test.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold each squat for 30 seconds.  Try to achieve 5, 30-second squats.  This is a great exercsise if you did not achieve all 10 points on the Kraus-Weber Quad test.  Also, this is a great exercise for those with knee osteo-arthritis.  You can strengthen the quads without moving the knees.



Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold this position for 20-30 seconds.  Don't push it.  Just hold it for a slight stretch.  Repeat a couple times and you'll see you can reach further.  This is a great exercise if you did not achieve 10 points on the low back/hamstring flexibility score.  NO bouncing and keep it pain free.  You'll achieve a greater stretch if you perform it gently.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

***I recommend this exercise for everybody - especially if you are in a 'sitting' profession.  Stretch your hip flexors for 20-30 seconds at a time and repeat on each side.  Simply kneel, move your hips forward, then push your shoulders backward.  

Your hip flexors may be way too tight if your back hurts after sleeping, standing from a seated position, standing for more than 10 minutes, fast walking or other reasons.  Usually the low back pain from tight hip flexors is insidious or idiopathic - you don't know how it happened. 


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat 3 times.  This is a great de-fatiguing exercise for anybody who sits for more than an hour or two.  Also, it's a great exercise if you have to bend over to shovel, garden or anything similar.  In general, it's great to do this exercise once for every hour of sitting or driving.   


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     
   

Hold this position for 10 seconds, 3 times - each side. 


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     
 

Hold each stretch with opposite hand for 30 seconds each.  Repeat for a total of 3 times each.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Hold onto something stable, then use your feet to turn your body away for a 30-second hold (as in the pic).  This is a great stretch to improve your forward-shoulder posture.  If you work on a computer, then you must do this.  Ninety % of those 'carpal tunnel' symptoms actually come from the tight, forward shoulder - not necessarily the wrist.  Repeat 3 times each.

Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

It's amazing how many people can not draw their heels to the buttocks.  Sometimes, the hips raise up and off the surface while doing this maneuver.  If so, then you should perform this stretch on your stomach.  Otherwise, you can stretch your quads in the standing position.  Stretch each quad for 30 seconds. 3 times each.  If you notice your hips raise up from the surface, then your hip flexors are TOO tight.


Model: Kelly Mejia.  Place: Alter Ego Fitness downtown.  Photographer: Gary Porter     

Thank you to Kyle and Ron at Alter Ego for allowing Ergofit101.com to use your facilities.  And, a great thanks to Kelly Mejia for illistrating the Kraus-Weber Trunk Strength & Flexibility score with coinciding exercises.