Stretches for Lower Back Pain

Article by john gmillano

Lower back problems can easily be very agonizing and can practically render the individual incapable of completing daily matters that usually would be of no concern, however there is a way to minimize this discomfort and this is through performing stretches for low back pain. These kinds of stretching exercises are meant to help loosen the muscle groups in the lower back and make it to where the person is no longer having to deal with the pain on a daily basis. It is essential to note that this may not relieve the pain entirely, however it can help to decrease the pain substantially if the individual keeps up with performing the stretches each day in an effort to loosen up the muscles in the back.

Maybe the best stretching exercise for lower back pain is known as the Cat Stretch. This involves the person getting onto their hands and knees, then simply slowly and gradually arching the spine like a cat would do when they stretch. When exhaling the person should press their spine towards the ground. The key benefits of this stretch is that it is carefully working the muscle groups in the spinal area and is great to do the very first thing each morning in order to have more range of flexibility during the day. And the more one performs exercises, the more unlikely they’re going to have soreness in their lower back during the day.

One more back exercise that many people have found effective is those stretching exercises that stretch the hamstrings. Why is this? Due to the fact many people are experiencing back pain a result of the muscles in their legs not being able to bend with the person. Consider the fact anytime a shoe hurts the feet that most people experience this in their back, the same can be said of stiff and inflexible muscles. With this exercise the individual simply needs to sit down with one leg stretched out to the side, the other leg tucked up close to them. Get hold of the foot and bend over to stretch your hamstrings you are going to feel the lower back area being extended as well. Most people refer to this as a common runner’s stretch. And discover that by performing this each morning before they go to work or just to start their day is a great way in which they lessen the back pain which they feel during the day.

Any time lower back pain makes the day go by slowly and painfully, then the person should make sure that they are doing anything they can so as to help to reduce the pain. You shouldn’t have to take medications or use ice packs when exercises for lower back pain can be implemented to resolve the problem.

These are some stretching exercises which can assist in alleviating lower back pain by looseningmuscles through the lower back and more importantly through the legs. A lot of lower back painic caused by tight hamstrings dragging on the lower back.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Lower Back Strengthening Exercises

Article by Jared DiCarmine

One of the most important parts of your body when it comes to stay fit and healthy is your lower back. Over 80% of the population will have some form of pain at least once during their life. I personally have chronic lower back pain already in my young adult life. This was due to a tragic and freak weight lifting accident that happened from dead lifts. The injury never was properly diagnosed and therefore mistreated. A year later, I re injured the same spot and now I have chronic lower back pain. In fact, it’s not even that area exactly; it’s my pelvis which gives me problems. It is actually shifted out of place slightly and now has settled in that position. Since it went a year with being misdiagnosed and mistreated, it settled into place and now it’s chronic. It really sucks. But m y point is when it comes to lower back strengthening exercise, there is no one size fits all approach because everyone is different and everyone has different contraindications, biomechanics, and core strength. One of the big things most people don’t understand is if you want a healthy and strong lower back, you need to also have a healthy and strong core, or set of abdominal muscles. Generally the core can be made up of your abdominal muscles, your glutes and your lower back, but for now we’re just talking about all the different layers of abdominal muscles you have throughout your middle torso. You see your abs are like a giant onion with multiple layers of different muscles each there for a specific reason. If you peel back one layer, you’ll find another layer. So when it comes to lower back health, you really want to focus on the deeper abdominal muscles such as internal oblique’s and transverse abdominus. These muscles when fully developed and trained; provide stability to your lower back and act as a brace throughout your core. The stronger these muscles are, the better off you will be. Now when it comes to lower back strengthening exercises, there are a lot of them that can be listed. But for now, we’ll start off with some basic exercises and move on to the bigger and more well known ones. The first lower back strengthening exercise that you can do in your own home or at a gym is called the superman. Simply lie face down on the ground with your arms out stretched in front of your or at your sides to make it a little bit easier. From this position, try and lift your chest off the floor and your lower legs off the floor at the same time. At the top, squeeze for 2 seconds then slowly lower back down. When doing this movement, try and focus your attention on the thoracic part of your spine. This area is made for mobility and what you generally want to target. The thoracic spine is basically your middle back area and slightly lower. Feel free to do this exercise for 3-4 sets of 10-12 repetitions.The next exercise you can do at a gym specifically is the hyperextension machine. Simply get in position within the position, hold your hands across your chest and slowly lower your body until you feel a nice stretch in your hamstrings. From there, reverse the motion and come up all the way squeezing your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. I only want you to come up into a neutral position so there is no concave look in your lower back. Keep everything neutral and flat, almost like a plank. This is going to protect your lumbar vertebrae from hyperextension which is something you don’t want to happen too often. Feel free to do 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions. The next exercise you can do at your home or in gym is the manual glute ham raise. Simply find a spot in the gym or in your home that you can hook your feet under so that it’s nice and snug. From there, slowly lower your body resisting the temptation to fall forward as much as possible. Once you can’t hold it anymore, drop to the floor and push away slightly with your hands just enough so you can get some momentum going and then activate your hamstrings to pull yourself back up. Directly this exercise is not a traditional lower back move but your back does have to isometrically contract to keep your body upright. And the last exercise that I’m going to talk about today is the Romanian dead lift also known as RDL’s. RDL’s are great for your hamstrings, glutes and lower back. They are also an awesome move for your upper back since those muscles will need to isometrically contract to keep your arms in place from coming out of their sockets during the movement. Don’t worry this won’t happen if that is what you’re thinking. To perform this movement, all you need is a pair of dumbbells or a barbell. Standing nice and tall with your arms in front of you, push your butt back, keep your chest up and pivot at your hip so that the weight gently slides down the front of your legs. Go all the way down until you feel a nice stretch in your hamstrings and then return to the starting position. Make sure not to round your back like you see a lot of people doing in the gym and make sure to keep the majority of your weight on your heels. All in all, these 4 lower back strengthening exercises are great when it comes to really building up some muscle around your lower back and strengthening this often weak point for many people. Just remember, with a stronger lower back, you also need a strong inner core to balance everything out.

Trainerwise.com FINALLY A BACK STRENGTHENING ROUTINE THAT WORKS THE APPROPRIATE PART OF YOUR BACK TO MAKE IT STRONG NOT PAINFUL
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Related Lower Back Strengthening Exercises Articles

Back Exercises for Lower Back Pain

Article by AlnwickKajetan

Since a lot of manual workers have problems with their backs due to excessive stress, exercises for lower back pain can help them a lot if they learn how to do them correctly.

One of the exercises for lower back pain you can stretch and bolster your back just by sitting on an exercise ball with your feet flat on the floor. Start by lifting just your heels from the floor, one at a time. Then raise each foot, then each leg up higher and higher. Do not go up high enough to cause more pain, as the goal is back stretching not making the difficulty worse.

Do some arm circling motions to loosen up your shoulders. Doing this at the beginning of the exercise regimen and at the end will serve as your warm up and cooling down exercises.

These exercises should be done in a controlled fashion to stretch and strengthen not only your back muscles but also your abdominals. These targeted exercises improve coordination and develop better posture as a result of the strengthened back and abdominal muscles. Exercises that are targeted specifically for treating lower back problems have been shown to be the best for protective treatment.

To take this exercise to the next level, as before make the contraction nice and hard by exaggerating the curve in the back, lift the pelvis off the ground towards the ceiling into the bridge position, supporting through your shoulders.

Of course, after you have healed the spinal issues, you can try exercises for lower back pain that will allow you to eliminate future problems and heal a little quicker than you might have otherwise. With so much to consider, you might feel a little bit overwhelmed, but you shouldn’t. You simply need to take the time to figure out what kind of pain you have, why that pain started, where it’s coming from, and which issues will be best for your specific needs.

Most back pains are caused by an imbalance between muscular strength and muscular flexibility. With yoga, you can work on both-but keep in mind you cannot do all yoga poses. You will have to check with your doctor first which poses are safe for you to do and which ones are not.

Do the same sequence, but use your wrists as a fulcrum. On the down stretch, point your pelvis toward the floor, and let your neck and head tuck in. On the up stretch, point your butt toward the ceiling, and let your neck and head stretch up too. Some people find it’s easier to picture this sequence as a snake arching out and contracting.

Another good stretch to do starts in the same position, feet slightly apart. You want to place your hands on your lower back with your fingers pointing down and bend backwards as far as you can without bending your knees. Hold that position for about five seconds and then slowly come up to the starting position again.

Another clear benefit of doing a stretching exercise for lower back pain [http://dr-mark-carrano.newhaven065.com] is it can help prevent future injuries. How many different medications can boast that claim? When working on giving your back muscles more strength your also reducing the chances of injuring them with the many stresses we give our backs on a daily basis.

When done correctly and with sufficient weight, the leg press can be a very effective exercise. But most gym goers throw on a ton of weight, aren’t very flexible and try to feed their ego by pushing some big weight. When doing this they are very likely to lift their lower back off the pad that is keeping the integrity of the spine. When this happens with all that weight on the leg press, injuries will happen.

These exercises for lower back pain should help you to experience pain relief and could result in better posture. They have also proven to be effective at strengthening not only the lower back muscles, but also the abdominals as well.

Find More Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain Articles

Top 10 Lower Back Pain Exercises

Article by Jack Woo

Most people who suffer from lower back pain have this misconception that they need plenty of rest and refrain from activity for some time. In fact resting, especially on bed, is not desirable. If you do not experience any other serious medical conditions, other than back pain, then you should stay active.

You should be able to start exercising when you no longer feel any acute pain. Lower back pain exercises will help you to recover and also prevent from future back pain. Right types of exercises will:• Improve your posture• Improve flexibility and strengthen your back• Reduce weight• Prevent falls

A complete Lower Back Pain Exercises program includes:• Low impact aerobic activity such as swimming, walking and bicycling to improve blood flow and help speed up recovery and maintain your health. • Strengthening exercises for your back, stomach, and leg muscles.• Stretching exercises to condition your muscles and supporting tissues to be more flexible• Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi combines low-impact movement and meditation. These are very helpful in preventing recurrences of lower back pain as they are designed to achieve a physical and mental balance.

Exercises for Lower Back Pain

1. Partial crunches strengthen the abdominal muscles

Lay your back on the floor with knees bent and shoulders raised slightly. Exhale as you raise your shoulders, and inhale on the way down. Do this slowly 8 – 10 times with the arms across the chest or hands behind your neck. Do not pull your neck up with your arms. Gradually increase the number of repetitions as you get physically stronger. This exercise strengthens your back and stomach.

2. Pelvic Tilts

Lie on your back, bend your knees, and keep your feet flat on the floor.Press your lower back into the floor. Tighten your buttocks muscles.Hold for five second while inhaling and out smoothly while exhaling. When you are comfortable with this exercise, hold your breath for 10 seconds and put your feet farther away from your body.

3. Wall Sits

Stand with your back against a wall with your feet apart at shoulder width and about one foot from the wall. Slide your back down slowly until your thighs are parallel to the ground.Your back must be against the wall at all times. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds and then slide your back up the wall. Repeat this process 5 to 8 times, depending on your fitness level. Increase your hold time by 5 to 10 seconds as you are more comfortable.

4. Assisted Hamstring Stretches

Use a rope, belt or a piece of towel to assist you in this exercise. Lie on your back with legs extended. Raise the leg that is wrapped with the towel into the air and straighten the knee. Pull the towel so that your toes bend towards your face. If you do not feel the stretch on your hamstring, pull harder and raise your leg higher. Hold for about 10 to 15 seconds. Repeat 3 times for each leg.

5. Press-up Back Extension

Lie on your stomach with your forearms supporting your body. Push your hands downwards to raise your shoulders. Relax your stomach and allow your back to arch slightly. Make sure your hips and pelvis remain on the floor. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds, and then relax. Repeat 3 times.

6. Knee to Chest

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Gently bring one knee up to your chest until you feel the stretch in your lower back. Keep the other foot either flat on the floor or extended. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. Switch leg and repeat the process a few times.

7. Bridging

Lie on your back with knees bent and your feet either flat or heels on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze your buttocks. Raise your hips off the floor until your shoulders, hips and knees are in a straight line. Hold for 10 seconds and then slowly lower your hips to the floor and relax. Repeat about 10 times. Use your hands to balance your body and avoid pressing downwards to help with the lift. Use only your shoulders and feet for the downward force.

8. Bird Dog

Kneel on the floor with both hands firmly placed apart about shoulder-width. Tighten your abdominal muscles, lift and extend one hand and the opposite leg while balancing on the other hand and knee. Hold for 10 seconds then return to hands and knees on ground position. Repeat using the other hand and leg. Do 5 repeats on alternate hands and knees.

9. Cat and camel

Kneel down on all fours and keep your head straight so that you are staring at the floor. Exhale and slowly turn your face toward the ceiling while allowing your lower back to “sag” slowly into an arch. Do not force it down. Inhale and then arch your back in the opposite direction by contracting your lower abdominal muscles as you lower the top of your head toward the floor. All motion should be initiated and controlled by your lower back. Repeat three times in each direction.

10. Hip Roll

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Fold your hands across your chest or flat on the floor at your sides.Roll your knees to the left until they touch the floor, without moving your upper body. Hold for 3 seconds.Return to starting position and do the same movement to your right this time. Do about 10-15 reps for each side.

Select five exercises to do per session and the other 5 the next. Rotate them on subsequent days. All the exercises should be done on a firm but soft surface, like a yoga mat or carpet. If you feel any pain, stop immediately.

A physiotherapist can help you to decide when and what stretching and strengthening exercises are appropriate and how to do them.You should refrain from participating in these activities during recovery:• Golf• Contact sports• Racquet sports• Jogging• Dancing• Weight lifting• Sit-ups• Toe touches while standing• Leg Lifts (Lifting both legs while lying on your back).

Ask your doctor or physical therapist whether there are additional exercises that will work best for you.

Repetition of the lower back pain exercises will help you increase flexibility, build endurance, and strengthen specific muscles to support your spine. These exercises will expedite your return to normal work and social activities. The positive benefits of exercise not only improve strength and flexibility but also change and enhance your attitudes toward your disability and pain.

More Lower Back Pain Exercise Articles

Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain

Article by Dan Eitreim

Back exercises for lower back pain can be classified into two main categories…those for an injured back, and those that are meant to prevent injury. Both are important.

Lower back pain can be a real problem, and millions of people suffer from it every year, in fact, according to an article on “More than 50 million Americans deal with chronic pain, at a cost of more than $ 100 billion annually.”

The main problem is that the lower back (the lumbar region) is particularly susceptible to injury. It is the area that is tasked with supporting all of our body’s weight bearing activities.

If the muscles are allowed to get weak or inflexible, injury occurs. Starting a program of back exercises for lower back pain should be a priority for all of us.

Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain – The Injured Back

Unfortunately there will be times when you pull or strain your back, and you will suffer from lower back discomfort. The biggest culprits are when we undertake a strenuous physical activity (like some sort of sporting activity) without properly warming up and stretching first. Another big cause of injury is when we lift a – too heavy – weight with our back muscles and not our legs.

It hurts – big time – and all we want to do is get some rest and crawl into bed. But, that is a big mistake. Medical professionals now believe that you need to move to improve. Not moving will allow the muscles to stiffen as well as become weaker making the recovery time much longer as well as increasing the possibility of further injury.

In the beginning moving and exercising may be uncomfortable, however it will help you to recover far quicker. But you have to take care to do the correct back exercises for lower back pain…. These back pain exercises have to be gentle, and help to stretch and strengthen the muscles in your back, which will give you lower back pain relief and help to speed recovery.

The back exercises for lower back pain that you need to do can be done at home with no special equipment making them ideal.

To avoid further injury, you will need to gently stretch your back. Take care to never cause any pain – you should only stretch to a comfortable position. Begin the exercises slowly, and over time and as your back begins to heal, extend the stretches and the amount of time that you perform them. Your target is to stretch to a comfortable position, and hold it for at least 20 seconds.

As you continue doing stretches every day, you will find your flexibility rapidly increases…this will go a long way to prevent future injury.

Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain – Don’t Bounce!

Take care to gently stretch and hold the position…too many people bounce or jerk into position which is not beneficial as a stretch and can cause injury.

If you are in a chair at a desk or table you can easily perform the chair stretch, and ensure that your back is being exercised. By leaning forward in the chair you are stretching your lower back, but being gentle in the process. Holding this position for at least 20 seconds, and repeating it three times is beneficial.

With any sort of exercise, if you feel that your back is getting worse, or there is in fact more pain you will need to stop the exercises immediately. However, by taking reasonable care, this rarely happens and you will begin to feel better very quickly.

Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain – Preventative Exercises

The cat stretch is another very popular and easy exercise to perform on your back, and can help to release all of the tension that has built up.

You will need to get down on all fours, and arch your back while contracting your stomach muscles, and letting your head drop. As you let your back drop you will need to raise your head. Repeating this exercise three times can ensure that your back is being stretched.

As a side benefit…this one can also work to strengthen your lower back and abdominal muscles which will help prevent future injury. Not to mention that it feels good and gets the blood flowing! It can be an invigorating way to start (or even end) the day.

Lunges, sit ups, and torso twists are also very good back exercises for lower back pain, and all of these can be done daily. Don’t neglect the abdominal muscles. They play a key role in back support!

Even if you are not suffering from lower back pain at the moment, by keeping your back exercised it can prevent injuries in the future. As a precaution…Take care to stretch and warm up before any strenuous physical activities – and make it a point to lift with your legs!

Staying flexible, strong, and using back exercises for lower back pain whenever there is a problem…and you will soon be back pain free.

Related Back Exercises For Lower Back Pain Articles

Lower Back Exercises for Back Pain Relief

Article by Dr.Larry S. Case

Lower back exercises are an important component of any lower back pain relief program, and it is essential that that they are carried out correctly if they are not to exacerbate the problem. However, whether these exercises are appropriate for you or not will depend upon the cause of your back pain, and if you are suffering from a herniated disc you will need more specialized treatment prior to undertaking any exercise program.

Many people wrongly believe that they should never exercise with back pain, because they feel that will just make the condition worse. In fact, if you allow your back muscles, particularly those of the lower back, to progressively weaken through a lack of exercise during chronic back pain, then your spine will not be sufficiently supported and your back will become increasing weaker and more prone to further injury.

Exercise, therefore, is necessary for a quick and proper recovery, although it is important that you realize that you must not try to lift anything if you are suffering from, or have recently suffered from, acute back pain of any form. If you have chronic back pain never lift with a bent back, but with a straight back and lift with your knees. Any weigh over 30 pounds will too heavy for you, at least until you have built up your core strength.

If you have recently suffered a back injury, you should rest for a few days until the acute pain has subsided and then begin with just a few simple stretching exercises. Leave the strengthening exercises until the pain has subsided or you are liable to make your condition worse.

Many people can get used to the pain, and falsely believe that have become fit enough for more vigorous exercise, and then do themselves more lasting injury. It is very important that the pain has subsided prior to undertaking any lifting exercises or significant stretching, although you can try some simple stretches such as those detailed further below. These will help to relieve the pain by relaxing your muscles, and also improving the flexibility of your joints.

Before attempting any lower back exercises it is important to warm up your muscles. This gets the blood flowing through them and enables the muscles cells to contract without doing further damage. A warm bath or shower will help achieve this. Gentle stretching improves the circulation through the muscle tissue and helps to loosen them up. This helps to improve your mobility and relieve the pain.

Walking is a good exercise to begin with and so is swimming – particularly in warm water. Physiotherapists normally provide hydrotherapy in water at around 40C, close to blood temperature, that helps to loosen up the joints and muscles.

The initial lower back exercises provide very gentle but effective stretching, and work on your back indirectly by the movement of other areas of your body. Lying down flat on your back and slowly bending and straightening one knee, allowing your heels to slide up and down the floor is a gentle exercise that will do you no harm. Do this 10 times with each leg, and you will impart a gentle stretching motion on your lower back muscles.

Then, still lying down, you can try tightening your abdominal muscles with your arms down straight. Make sure you breathe normally doing this to keep your blood oxygenated. This will put slight pressure on your spine and your lower back muscles, stretching them and helping them to recover.

These lower back exercises, and others similar to them, will help provide acute lower back pain relief and help you to recover to a stage when you carry out more demanding exercises. You will never be truly recovered from back pain, however, until you are able to improve your core muscle strength, and the flexibility of your joints and muscles. All of these will provide stronger support for the bones of your spine and muscles of the lower back.

A gentle massage followed later when feel stronger by deeper massaging and stretching offer lower back exercises that will loosen up the joints and muscles and help provide this core flexibility needed for more permanent back pain relief. You can save on the cost of frequent professional massages by using power massage pads that provide the form of deep massage needed to free up the deep joints and relieve deep-seated muscular pain.

Once you are able to, more extensive stretching exercises will be needed to offer more lasting back pain relief from chronic conditions, and inversion tables are ideal to provide stretching exercises precisely targeted to the areas that have to be exercised.

Lower back exercises can be used both to help you regain your strength after acute back pain and to provide chronic back pain relief, but they must be carried out correctly and targeted to the muscles and joints that have to be stretched, made more flexible and strengthened.

Good Lower Abdominal Exercises to Drop Excess Weight

Article by Roger Ryan

Anyone trying to get rock hard abs will need to work out the upper, middle and lower sets of muscles. This article will look at some good lower abdominal exercises. These are the best ways of working out your lower abs so they are as strong as possible. Lower abdominal exercises will help to strengthen your muscles so that you can tone your stomach.

Leg Raises as Good Lower Abdominal Exercises

One of the easiest examples of ab exercises is the leg raise. This is also a very convenient exercise which can be a useful way to tone and slim your stomach. There’s no need for any expensive exercise equipment to do these exercises.

To do these exercises you should start by lying down on your back. Then put your legs up in the air while keeping your knees bent. This should mean that your lower legs are parallel with your chest. Now rotate your legs while keeping your knees bent. Don’t let your feet touch the floor though. Try to start by doing at least 10 repetitions, when you get more experience then you might be able to increase the number of repetitions that you do so you strengthen your abs quicker.

More Complicated Leg Lift

Once you have mastered the normal leg raises it’s time to make it a little more difficult. By making the exercise more taxing you can create even better lower abdominal exercises. This is another very simple exercise to do.

Start in the same position as the last exercise. But this time when you move your legs you should also try to sit up. This is similar to abdominal crunches which makes it very good abdominal workout. This feels strange at first, but when you practice then it should be quite good fun. This can be a good addition to any abdominal exercise regimes.

Knee Lifts

Another example of good lower ab workout are knee lifts. To do this you will need somewhere to hold onto. Suitable places include a chin-up bar, or a door frame. Hold firmly onto the door or bar and lift your feet off the ground slightly.

Then you should bend your knees and bring them tight in towards your stomach. Hold it for a second and then start to put your feet down. Don’t touch the floor yet though. Complete 10 repetitions before stopping. These are good workouts because they work very quickly. When you get more experienced you can increase the number of repetitions to speed up progress.

These good lower abdominal exercises can help to develop great looking abs in months.

Find More Lower Abdominal Exercises Articles

« Previous Page