Lower Back Pain Exercises

According to NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), lower back pain is considered to be the most frequent known cause of disability specifically affecting people’s working ability. For instance, in 2008-09 Australians spent $1.2 billion on treatments associated with back pain and back problems. Fortunately, in most cases it is possible to treat your lower back pain without using drugs or undergoing surgery. How you ask? By doing some lower back pain exercises of course!

Easing Yourself Into Exercise

If in case you are suffering from a lower back pain, it’s of great importance for you to try as much as possible to practice some exercises on a regular basis in order to strengthen your back. According to AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons), spending around 30 minutes every day exercising during the early stages of your back pain can help to alleviate the pain and stress you’re experiencing. In addition to this, your doctor or your exercise physiologist can help you in suggesting some specific exercises that will help improve your condition. Below are some of the better lower back pain exercises out there for reducing lower back pain in the early stages.

Lower Back Pain Exercises

Lower Back Flexibility

Most of the trusted clinics recommend repeating this particular lower back flexibility exercise 5 times daily. In fact you can even increase the number of repetitions up to 30 per day since you will realize later that it will become easier for you to perform the movements. Start by lying on your back on a mat or on the floor, bend your knees and at the same time keep your feet flat on the floor.

The next process for you is to arch your back. Hold the pose for about 5 seconds and then relax back onto your mat or on the floor. Ensure to flatten your back as if you are trying to pull the navel down towards the floor. You have to hold this kind of pose for around 5 seconds before relaxing back onto the mat or the floor. This is one of the most common lower back pain exercises you’ll come across.

Lower Back Rotation

Make sure to repeat the lower back rotational stretch 2 or 3 times each and every side of the body. In order for you to remember how to do this kind of stretch, try it once in the morning and once at night to keep it fresh in your mind.

Start by lying on your back. After lying on your back, bend your knees and place your feet to be flat on the floor. Remember to focus on keeping your shoulders firmly touching the floor and roll the knees to one side of the body. Take your time and hold this kind of pose for about 10 seconds before returning to the starting position. Once you are done with that exercise, repeat it on the other side. It can be helpful to place a ball between your legs but not essential.

Seated Stretch

This seated version of lower back kind of rotational stretch should be done 3- 5 times on each side.

Look for an armless chair or even a stool to use as your base. Try to twist your torso by stretching to the side. Make sure to hold this position for about 10 seconds and repeat on the other side too. There is a variation of this where you cross one leg over the other and lean forward. These are both helpful hip flex exercises and are a good exercise for relieving sciatic nerve pain.

Have A Ball

Once you’re comfortable with the initial exercise program, you can decide to introduce some more challenging exercises by using an exercise ball, also known as Swiss ball. The abdominal muscles should be tightened and you should try to complete each and every exercise in a controlled manner. We will cover some helpful lower back exercises using the Swiss ball in our next post, but if you would like to get a jump on these go ahead and contact our team to arrange an exercise rehabilitation program tailored to your needs!

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