Best Exercises For Lower Back Pain Relief
For those having stiffness, soreness, and minor lower back pain, they should not ignore the symptoms as it may lead to chronic lower back pain. Consulting a doctor and taking to exercises are important to keep yourself healthy and fit. Best exercises for lower back pain relief are discussed in this article.
You can do various positions such as the Bird Dog, Cross Knee Bridge, the Side Plank, and the Single Leg, which all sound very confusing. These exercises concentrate on aligning the spine in the proper position, tightening the abdominal and pelvic muscles. You should always consult a physician before undertaking any form of exercise to ensure that you are able to carry them out without causing yourself any injury. While doing these exercises, it is important not to allow the pelvis to drop. The feet should always be flat and firm on the floor and the spine straight and hips maintained at the same level. Advance slowly by taking to more sets and repetitions.
Best Exercises For Lower Back Pain Relief
Pain sucks plain and simple! Back pain and back injury are one of the most common causes of an officer having to leave law enforcement early. Some studies indicate that at any given time almost 10% of officers are out or on light duty with a back related issue. Other studies have shown that when anonymously surveyed almost 50% of officers state back pain or “minor” injury in the past 6 months. Back pain is far more prevalent in Law Enforcement than many of us realize and then factor in the culture and bravado of Law enforcement, you know the “pain don’t hurt” or my personal favorite “pain is weakness leaving the body” bravado. The athlete in me knows there is a time and place for pushing through the pain but the rehab guy in me gets nervous when we ignore pain as tissue damage is often occurring.
So let’s take this very complicated process and make it as simple as possible. Back pain has many causes and symptoms many of which are out of the scope of this article. So to keep it applicable and actionable the following suggestions are for those of you having soreness, stiffness and even very minor pain. If you are experiencing active and constant pain, especially with pain radiating up or down from the back go to your doc asap!
While these exercises are not fancy they are difficult and most importantly will help to correct the problem. Of course the more time you spend on the foam roller and using your tennis ball for self massage the better of you will be when doing these 4 exercises 3 times per week.
1) The Bird Dog:
Preparation
Position your body on all fours.
Movement
• Brace your abdominals and retract the cervical spine, tuck your shoulder blades down. (Neutral Spine Position)
· Slowly raise and extend one arm and the opposite leg. (lock- elbow & knee)(Hold for 5 seconds)
• Return to the start position & repeat on the opposite side.
2) The Cross Knee Bridge:
Preparation
•Laying on your back, Leg crossed with the ankle laying across the opposite knee.
Movement
•Bridge up off the floor to the point that the back is flat, hold for 2 seconds, return to the floor and repeat.
Tips
•Do not allow the pelvis on the crossed side to drop or roll.
•Maintain an abdominal brace at all times.
•Keep the foot on the floor flat.
3) The Side Plank:
Preparation
• Position yourself on your side propped on your elbow, feet together.
• Maintain a ridged body alignment with proper head position.
Movement
• Brace your abdominals, and maintain spinal alignment.
• Raise your torso up off the floor, hold and repeat. Continue on the opposite side.
• Keep the glute muscles engaged throughout the exercise
4) The single leg reach:
Preparation
· Standing 2-3 feet from a cone or small object. Brace your abdominals. Balance on 1 leg.
Movement
· Hinge from the Hip down toward the cone.
· Never lock the knee, keep the abs tight and especially focus on keeping the pelvis and back flat and level during the movement.
· Perform 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps.
· Advance by squatting deeper or reaching further out. Make sure the knee stays in line with the foot and that the foot does not roll in during the descent. Keep your spine strait and level at all costs and make sure the hips are level.
You may not be that into exercising, but some are great for lower back pain relief. Best exercises for lower back pain relief are suitable because they seek to align the spine correctly, tighten muscles of the abdomen and pelvis that also support the spine and internal organs.
These lower back pain relieving exercises will not only reduce back pain, but stop back pain, and even fix back pain for good. This video is produced by David Wicker, the founder of White Tiger Wellness.
Another video on the best exercises for back pain relief as demonstrated by Dr. Neil King – founder of King Chiropractic in Maryland
To get more details on how to help get back pain relief – get your free copy of The 7 Day Back Pain Cure from The Healthy Back Institute. It is available for a limited time by clicking the access button below.
You might also like:
Tags: Back pain exercises, Back Pain Relief Exercises, best exercises for lower back pain relief, Lower back pain exercises