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Exercises for Lower Back Pain
~ Work the Surrounding Muscles Too ~
Exercises for lower back pain aren't limited to working just your back for relief. The right exercises to relieve back pain need to also be
focused on the surrounding muscles, such as the hamstrings, hips/butt and abs.
To help prevent or relieve back bain, you need exercises that both stretch and strengthen your abs, back, hips and hamstrings. These
are the muscles that surround your spine. When you keep the surrounding muscles strong, it supports your spine which automatically aids in
good posture.
Besides weakened muscles, low back pain is usually caused when we overwork our backs or from muscle strain or even injury. That's why exercises
for lower back pain are essential to keeping a strong, healthy pain-free back.
Surprisingly, staying active is what will help with back pain instead of staying sedentary. Now don't get me wrong, this may be required
depending on your condition, but in order to rehabilitate your spine, you need to strengthen the muscles surrounding it.
So with your doctor's go ahead, it's wise to incorporate gentle stretching and exercises for lower back pain for the sake of your back.
A bit of caution when stretching your back:
(Source: MSN Health & Fitness)
As we know, stretching your back helps to reduce back pain, but it CAN cause problems if you do it first thing in the morning, right
out of bed.
According to Ted Dreisinger (PhD, FACSM, president of Therapy Advisors in San Diego, CA.) "At night when you sleep, the discs in your spine
gain water." Because of this, it adds pressure on the discs in your back when you first wake up, which in turn causes even more stress
on your back when you bend forward or backward.
What you should do first when you wake up in the morning is go ahead with your usual routine for about 10 minutes, such as brushing your teeth,
drinking your morning coffee, washing your face, etc. Just do what ever it is you do, THEN take a second to do a simple stretch.
Simple Morning Stretch AFTER 10 minutes of your usual morning routine:
• Stand up straight and place the palms of your hands on the top of your butt, as if your going to put your hands in
your pocket.
• Gently lean back and look up. You'll feel a nice stretch in your lower back.
• Hold for a few seconds, then repeat 3 to 4 times.
Exercises for Lower Back Pain
- Back Strengthening Exercises -
these exercises can help to strengthen your back while loosening tight muscles.
- Lower Back Stretches - these stretches
will help to relieve back pain while loosening back muscles.
- Butt and Hip Stretches - doing these stretches
will increase the range of motion in your hips while keeping the muscles long and not short. Short muscles are what can also cause you pain.
If the muscles in your hips are shortened, then it will pull on your back muscles causing pain.
- Abdominal Stretches - your abs and back are
part of your core. You'll want to make sure it's strong to support your upper body. You don't want to make your back strong while your abs
are weak. Create a solid foundation by strengthening your whole core area.
- Face Down Hyperextensions:
• Lie face down on a workout bench or edge of a bed with only your legs hanging off. So your whole upper body up to your
hips will be on the surface.
• You'll need to brace yourself. Get a good grip of the bench or bed.
• Lower your legs to the floor, then lift them back up to straighten your body.
• Repeat 8-10 times.
- Pelvic Tilt:
• Lay on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat, hip width apart.
• Keep your back relaxed.
• Tighten your abs and gently press the small of your back to the floor and hold for a few seconds.
• Release and repeat.
- Hip Flexor Exercise with Bonus Butt Lift:
• Stand holding onto something sturdy like a chair or counter top.
• Balance on one foot and lift the other knee up until it's at a 90° angle (thigh parallel with the floor).
• Bring the leg back down then kick your heel back as far as you can. You should feel a nice contraction in your
glutes. If you look in the mirror while doing this, you should be able to see your butt muscle flex.
• Do 3 sets of 10 reps on each side.
• For an added bonus, add ankle weights while doing this exercise.
Strengthen your back AND surrounding muscles and you will be doing your back such a HUGE favor! As we get older, our bodies get weaker
IF we don't take care of them. Incorporate exercises for lower back pain and eliminate these problems by creating a strong healthy body period.
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