Lower Back Pain: Can Exercise Help ?
You may feel like resting, but moving is good for your back.
Exercises for lower back pain can strengthen back, stomach, and leg muscles.
They help support your spine, relieving back pain. Always ask your health care
professional before doing any exercise for back pain. Depending on the cause
and intensity of your pain, some exercises may not be recommended and can be
harmful.
We will first start with NOT what to do:
Avoid: Toe Touches
Avoid: Sit-ups
Avoid: Leg Lifts
Try: Aerobic Exercise
Try: Bird Dog
Try: Pelvic Tilts
Try: Wall Sits
Try: Bridging
We will first start with NOT what to do:
Avoid: Toe Touches
Exercise
is good for low back pain -- but not all exercises are beneficial. Any mild
discomfort felt at the start of these exercises should disappear as muscles
become stronger. But if pain is more than mild and lasts more than 15 minutes
during exercise, patients should stop exercising and contact a doctor. Some
exercises may aggravate pain. Standing toe touches, for example, put greater
stress on the disks and ligaments in your spine. They can also overstretch
lower back muscles and hamstrings.
Avoid: Sit-ups
Although
you might think sit-ups can strengthen your core or abdominal muscles, most
people tend to use muscles in the hips when doing sit-ups. Sit-ups may also put
a lot of pressure on the discs in your spine.
Avoid: Leg Lifts
Leg
lifts are sometimes suggested as an exercise to "strengthen your
core" or abdominal muscles. Exercising to restore strength to your lower
back can be very helpful in relieving pain yet lifting both legs together
while lying on your back is very demanding on your core. If weak, this
exercise can make back pain worse.
Try: Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic
exercise strengthens your lungs, heart, and blood vessels and can help you lose
weight. Walking, swimming, and biking may all help reduce back pain. Start with
short sessions and build up over time. If your back is hurting, try swimming,
where the water supports your body. Avoid any strokes that twist your body
Try: Bird Dog
Start
on your hands and knees, and tighten your stomach muscles. Lift and extend one
leg behind you. Keep hips level. Hold for 5 seconds, and then switch to the
other leg. Repeat 8 to 12 times for each leg, and try to lengthen the time you
hold each lift. Try lifting and extending your opposite arm for each
repetition. This exercise is a great way to learn how to stabilize the low back
during movement of the arms and legs. While doing this exercise don't let the
lower back muscles sag. Only raise the limbs to heights where the low back
position can be maintained.
Try: Pelvic Tilts
Lie
on your back with knees bent, feet flat on floor. Tighten your stomach by
contracting it as though you were preparing for a punch. You’ll feel your back
pressing into the floor, and your hips and pelvis rocking back. Hold for 10
seconds while breathing in and out smoothly. Repeat 8 to 12 times.
Try: Wall Sits
Stand
10 to 12 inches from the wall, then lean back until your back is flat against
the wall. Slowly slide down until your knees are slightly bent, pressing your
lower back into the wall. Hold for a count of 10, then carefully slide back up
the wall. Repeat 8 to 12 times.
Try: Bridging
Lie
on your back with knees bent and just your heels on the floor. Push your heels
into the floor, squeeze your buttocks, and lift your hips off the floor until
shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line. Hold about 6 seconds, and
then slowly lower hips to the floor and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 8 to 12
times. Avoid arching your lower back as your hips move upward. Avoid
overarching by tightening your abdominal muscles prior and throughout the lift.
Try: Press-up Back Extensions
Lie
on your stomach with your hands under your shoulders. Push with your hands so
your shoulders begin to lift off the floor. If it's comfortable for you, put
your elbows on the floor directly under your shoulders and hold this position
for several seconds.
Try: Knee to Chest
Lie
on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Bring one knee to your
chest, keeping the other foot flat on the floor. Keep your lower back pressed
to the floor, and hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Then lower your knee and repeat
with the other leg. Do this 2 to 4 times for each leg.
Try: Hamstring Stretches
Lie
on your back and bend one knee. Loop a towel under the ball of your foot.
Straighten your knee and slowly pull back on the towel. You should feel a
gentle stretch down the back of your leg. Hold for at least 15 to 30 seconds.
Do 2 to 4 times for each leg.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/
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