Exercise for your back pain - It's a great relief
As you have seen in our last article back pain how you can protect yourself from back ache. Now we have come up with some simple exercises that will give a great relief to your back pain.
Exercises that may help reduce or prevent low back pain include:
- Aerobic exercise, to condition your heart and other muscles, maintain health, and speed recovery.
- Strengthening exercises, focusing on your back, stomach, and leg muscles.
- Stretching exercises, to keep your muscles and other supporting tissues flexible and less prone to injury.
Initial Strengthening Exercises:
Ankle Pumps: Lie on your back and move your ankles up and down. Repeat 10 times.
- Heel slides: Lie on your back and slowly bend and straighten knee. Repeat 10 times.
- Abdominal Contraction: Lie on your back with knees bent and hands resting below ribs. Tighten abdominal muscles to squeeze ribs down toward back. Be sure not to hold breath. Hold 5 seconds and relax. Repeat 10 times.
- Wall Squats: Stand with back leaning against wall. Walk feet 12 inches in front of body. Keep abdominal muscles tight while slowly bending both knees 45 degrees and hold 5 seconds. Then slowly return to upright position. Repeat 10 times.
- Heel raises: Stand with weight even on both feet. Slowly raise heels up and down. Repeat 10 times.
- Straight Leg raises: Lie on your back with one leg straight and one knee bent. Tighten abdominal muscles to stabilize low back. Slowly lift leg straight up about 6 to 12 inches and hold 1 to 5 seconds. Lower leg slowly. Repeat 10 times.
Some stretches:
- Lie on your back near edge of bed, holding knees to chest. Slowly lower one leg down, keeping knee bent, until a stretch is felt across top of the hip/thigh. Hold 20 seconds. Relax. Repeat 5 times on each side.
- Lie on your back with legs bent. Hold one thigh behind knee. Slowly straighten knee until a stretch is felt in back of thigh. Hold 20 seconds. Relax. Repeat 5 times on each side.
- Lie on back with both knees bent. Cross one leg on top of the other. Pull opposite knee to chest until a stretch is felt in the buttock/hip area. Hold 20 seconds. Relax. Repeat 5 times each side.
- Sit on chair. Place your left ankle over your right leg, just above the knee and lean forward. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on other side.
- Lay flat on stomach, forehead to ground, with arms bent and palms down on the ground under the shoulders. Push downward with arms as you raise your upper torso and arch your back. Hold for 3 full breaths before slowly bringing the upper torso back down to the ground.
- Stand with knees slightly flexed. (Can also be done sitting down) Place your right hand behind your head. Grab your right elbow with your left hand and pull gently. Bend slowly to the left until you feel a gentle stretch. Hold 10 - 20 seconds. Switch sides. Repeat.
Aerobic Exercises: Maintain spine in neutral position while stabilizing with abdominal muscles to protect the low back during aerobic exercise.
- Stationary bike for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes.
However you should be very choosy while doing exercises for back pain as some exercises can aggravate back pain. If you have low back pain, avoid:
- Straight leg sit-ups.
- Bent leg sit-ups or partial sit-ups (curl-ups) when you have acute back pain.
- Lifting both legs while lying on your back (leg lifts).
- Lifting heavy weights above the waist (standing military press or bicep curls).
- Toe touches while standing.
Consequently, a regular exercise routine helps patients avoid stiffness and weakness, minimize recurrences of low back pain, and reduce the severity and duration of possible future episodes of low back pain. You will feel better.
(Sources: bigbackpain.com, orthoinfo.aaos.org, healthlinkbc.ca)
