Exercises for lower back pain

Merkavar

Anyone have any suggestions of recommendations on exercises you can do at home that might help strengthen or stretch the back, relieving lower back pain caused sitting all day?

laurachambers86

As a long-term lower back pain sufferer, it really depends on the root cause. I struggled for years to get an accurate diagnosis and as a result often did things that made it worse. If you haven't seen a doctor then that's the first step just to rule out anything more serious.

I found The Back Mechanic book really helpful long-term as there are some diagnostic tools in there as well as exercise suggestions.

Number one thing is posture and movement! Trying to maintain a good neutral posture even when sitting is essential, as well as transitioning from sitting to standing correctly (the above book can help with that). Try to stand up as frequently as possible, even if it's just to do a lap of the room or something.

Edit - as a side note I have found pilates to really help me strengthen my core and back, it may not work for you but could be worth a try. Definitely start with an instructor to make sure you are getting the positions right.

Retroguy2000

Bird dog yoga, planks, and you can do reverse hypers on a firm bed or table (lay facing down, legs over the edge, raise legs to parallel and back to floor).

tomcustombuilder

You want to concentrate on core strength

Merkavar

laurachambers86 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips, I will try to see if i can find that book or something similar

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

Is bird dog yoga different to normal yoga? I will look it up

Thanks

claireychn074

A sports physio suggested I get a gym / exercise ball - the kind you can sit on and which are cheap from Amazon.
Sit on it for c15 mins each day and gently push the hips back as far as possible - hold for a couple of seconds, then push forward. (Might want to be near a wall or desk when you first do it so you don’t roll off.)

It works the lower back and core muscles and helped my hip flexors and QL. BUT - it does depend on the source and cause of the pain. I do a tonne of back and core stuff as part of my sport but it’s usually as part of my training, the ball helped during the day when I’m sat on my bum for over 8 hrs at the computer.

syntheticplatypus

I've been using an app called FitBod to plan my workouts and it has me doing a lot of Superman floor exercises and variations of it and I have to say , my back pain is pretty non-existent since adding those to my work out.

Retroguy2000

I see a lot of negative opinions about the safety of Superman for the lower back. I avoid it for that reason.

Brigit02

If you have lower back pain cause by herniated disks I'll tell you what helped me. I went to PT for about three months and my back improved. These videos show some of the exercises I did that helped:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JS94QNq0vw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQot16miua8

Hope this helps! Back pain sucks.

serpentegena

I don't want to give any advice that is too generic or too specific. Exercises are usually best recommended by a physiotherapist. You can draw on the "fitness folklore" that circulates, or you can contact a professional.

What I can say, is that I used to have terrible back pain issues about 10 years ago. They were correlated with a time of great stress for me, and the associated weight gain, sedentary lifestyle, stress eating/terrible diet, slowed metabolism, weak immune system and more.

After suffering through nearly incapacitating back and knee pain for a few years, I set about reducing my stress, improving my diet and increasing my exercise. As I did all that, my back issues gradually resolved by themselves, with no particular treatment or back-pain exercice.

I'm not saying it will work for anyone. If your back issue is severe enough to require medical attention, then my example is not applicable.

But I do believe that, if you're not in an extreme situation, the greater issue is best (and most durably) taken care of by fixing the root cause, which is often multifactorial.

A holistic approach to the issue would be to simultaneously reduce the symptoms you are suffering from, like the pain, but also adressing the root cause.
One thing you might benefit from is carefully increasing the amount of exercise in your routine. One goal that is sometimes overlooked is building muscle around the injured part of the body, and thus, increasing the body's strength to support its weight as well as its capacity to heal itself (more exercise will result in an increased metabolism, and it also primes the body's rebuilding mechanisms, which in turn decreases the strain on the immune system).

In closing:
- treating the symptoms is good
- treating the root cause is better
- carefully increasing the amount of exercise would be of help in treating the root cause of back pain (after you've talked to your medical professional and been cleared for it)
- finally, dealing with a healthcare professional can't be replaced with anecdotal advice from other sufferers. I would strongly recommend that you consult someone reputable, with kinesiology/physiotherapy training.

MovinNow

Hi there, here is my experience as a fellow sufferer with back pain.

What to do depends on how long you have been having this, and how intense, your access to healthcare.

If long time and/or intense, be sure to see your Dr, if this is feasible for you. Request your Dr to refer you to physical therapy. The physical therapist can give you specific strengthening, stretching exercises to SAFELY address your personal conditions. Doing the wrong exercise, or doing exercises incorrectly can make your back worse.

If short term or mild, get up and move at least once an hour. Consider taking anti inflammatory pain meds (like ibuprofen) for a short time IF you know these are safe for you. Also, although it’s counter-intuitive, movement like gentle walking or water exercise is really helpful.

Try icing (20 minutes max, using large gel freezer pad you can get at drugstore). For some people, a heating pad helps, but for some it can further inflame and aggravate.

The best relief I have had is doing daily core exercises as recommended by the physical therapist, walking, and doing gentle water exercise at my local YMCA.

Best of luck to you

Merkavar

serpentegena wrote: »

.

Some good points here. Yeah I plan to treat the cause which I beleive is weight gain and sitting too much. But those a more long term solutions.

The back exercise idea was more short term, like improving core strength so that me weight and sitting has less of an impact.

Merkavar

MovinNow wrote: »

Best of luck to you

Thanks yeah its more a short term new issue. I do try to get up and walk around regularly but it doesn't always happen. Just ignore the reminder in my watch

Merkavar

Brigit02 wrote: »

Hope this helps! Back pain sucks.

Thanks I will check those out. I have bought a mat to kneel on etc as the ground is hard so hopefully I can do these or something similar without hurting my knees in the process

kshama2001

Merkavar wrote: »

serpentegena wrote: »

.

Some good points here. Yeah I plan to treat the cause which I beleive is weight gain and sitting too much. But those a more long term solutions.

The back exercise idea was more short term, like improving core strength so that me weight and sitting has less of an impact.

Can you get up more frequently when you're sitting? I used to get up for water, then get up to pee, and repeat and repeat.

Also, I will never again work anywhere that I can't have a really good chair. I will provide it myself if I have to.

Even if that is dialed in, do still work on core strength. And weight loss

ryanlafortune

I am going to list off some things and you will need to google. Work on your core, and also strengthen your low back... good mornings, reverse hypers, Romanian deadlifts,