Exercises For Back Pain
People today are living a very hectic lifestyle. They are busy with their work life as well as their social life. Most of time, people doesn’t relax and even take time to notice the things around them. Out of their hectic schedules, they don’t find enough and ample time to do some exercises or even goes to the gym.
The problem with people is that they don’t prioritize their health over their work and lifestyle. When it comes to exercising, they always have “no time” for it. They will say they’re busy. But what we must understand is that we should always find time to exercise or else, we would find ourselves facing difficult situations cause by having no exercises at all.
Most of us are having sedentary lifestyle today – the one where we just lie in our beds the whole day and doesn’t move a lot. Did you know that even if you don’t exercise and just do activities and move a lot in a day, you are making yourself healthy and your muscles stronger?
Stronger muscles can be achieved by taking in lots of calcium and Vitamin D. However, because you cannot ensure that you are eating foods that are rich with these vitamins, so therefore you consider exercising. Along with the unhealthy lifestyle is taking also wrong foods – meaning, with no vitamins at all.
Since we are quite busy, we don’t have much time to cook our food and make sure that the foods are healthy. We fail to do this because we rather choose to eat fast food and ready to cook foods rather busy themselves cooking. Did you know that when your muscles are brittle because it is weak, you easily get yourself muscles strained and injury? The most common reason for back pain and some other body pain are due to muscle fractured and injury. This is the very reason why people should implement exercise in their daily life.
Exercise has been said to do many benefits for our body and a great thing about exercise is that it practically avoid us from getting fractured bones easily. Apart from it, therapists use this activity to make people relief themselves from pain. Unlike any other pain relief method, exercise can provide long term pain relief effect especially when done regularly.
Most treatments only cure the pain for a while and provide instant yet short term effect. Like heating pads – the moment the heat goes off, the pain will be back sooner than you think and you will find yourself face with back pain again. The good thing about exercise is that they don’t only give pain relief but as well as addresses the root of the problem – for instance, it corrects the problem such as weak and brittle bones by making it elastic and stronger.
Just because you are young and you think that bones brittleness and muscle weakness only affects the older people think twice again. Any people are candidate to having back pain or pain in any part of our body – there are no excuses and exemptions. One thing is clear though – older people are always more at risk to fractured bones.
However, not because younger people have usually stronger muscles and they don’t have to worry about it – even young people also have weak bones especially with the lifestyle most people are doing now. Our only best defence against this is to implement lower back pain exercises and stretches.
Here are some exercises and stretches that you can do:
BACK EXTENSION – this is very useful to strengthen back muscles. To be able to do this, lie down on your stomach near the edge of the bed. Make sure that your upper body, just above the hips should be hanging outside the bed which is parallel to the floor. Keep your hands crossed on the chest and bend the upper body to make your head touch the ground. Then you can come back to your parallel position again. Repeat this exercise twelve to fifteen times.
SQUATS – this is known to aid lower back pain relief because it simply work and strengthen your buttock muscles. When doing this at home, stand with your back against the wall. Your feet should be around twelve inches away from the wall then let your back lean against the wall and make sure that you did not move your feet. Then slowly, bend your knees and bring your buttocks towards the ground until your thighs become parallel to the ground – do this while leaning your back against the wall. Make sure that you hold the squat position for 10 seconds before you come back to the original position. Do 12 to 15 time of this exercise.
PELVIC TILTS – when doing this exercise, lie down on your back and use some exercise mat and place your hands on your stomach. Squeeze your pelvic as well as your abdominal muscles and then press your upper body on the ground so that the curve of your back almost looks like straight. Repeat this for 12 to 15 times.
These are just three of the most simple yet effective lower back pain exercises to make sure you don’t get yourself lower back pain. Make the effort to avoid yourself from experiencing pain brought by weak muscles – do the effort to make your bones and muscles stronger now.
Back Pain Exercises – Simple Solutions For Instant Relief!
Many people suffer from back pain and are therefore looking for back pain exercises that can bring them some relief from the pain they are experiencing. This is becoming an increasingly common problem for people of all ages. However, before carrying out exercises to get relief it is important to understand the exact causes of the pain itself.
Our human body depends on the spinal column in order to maintain our mobility and stability. Our spine gives us the support required in order for us to bend, move or twist around. Our spinal column itself is made up of 24 vertebrae and it protected by muscles and ligaments. Damage or injury to any of these muscles or ligaments will result in back pain.
There are many back pain exercises which can be effective in eliminating the pain itself. Just like the rest of our body, your back needs regular exercise in order to be strong and healthy. Exercise both your back muscles and also all of those muscles which actually support your back together with your abdomen and thigh muscles.
It is also a good idea to increase the amount of fish oils in your diet as this will help lubricate your joints. There are some simple exercises which you can do in the comfort of your own home which will be helpful for reducing back pain.
Back, hip, and leg muscles:
For this exercise you should stand with your back facing a wall. You need to stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and then place your hands on your hips. You then need to breathe in and out deeply and at the same time slowly slide your back down the wall.
Keep sliding down the wall until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. You now need to count to five and then gently slide back the starting position. You should repeat this exercise 6 times; this exercise is helpful to improve the strength in your hip, back and thigh muscles.
Abdomen muscles:
For this exercise you need to lie with your back on the floor. Make sure that your feet are flat on the floor with your knees slightly bent and then raised towards the ceiling. You now need to lean forward until you notice that your head and shoulders have left the floor, attempt to touch your knees with your hands. You now need to maintain this position and count to 10. You should repeat this exercise 6 times as this will help to increase the strength in your abdominal muscles which support your back.
Back muscles:
For this exercise you need to stand with your hands placed on your hips and make sure that your feet are positioned slightly apart. You now need to move your hand to touch the small of your back while making sure that you keep your knees straight. Now you need to try and bend backwards as far as you can. Hold this position for around 4 seconds and then return to your original position. This back pain exercise is helpful to increase the strength in your back muscles.
Lower Back Pain Exercise – 2 Vital FACTS
Surely exercise is a good way to relieve back pain. You are right in assuming that as long as you understand a few facts about exercising your back pain away.
If you are planning to do any lower back pain exercise, there is some vital you are lacking. Obviously no fault of yours, but you need to know a few things first. You don’t want to make your lower back pain worse, do you?
The first things to realize is that there are 2 goals with back pain exercises – you want to remove your back pain now and you want to stop it returning.
Like I said, there is some vital information you need first. The first helps to explain more about your goals when you are doing any lower back pain exercise. The other is the first step in any exercise regime, one that most people forget which makes it harder to remove your back pain.
Exercises are designed to help relieve back pain, the one question remains. What actually causes your back pain and will exercise help?
Lower back pain is created by both tight muscles and weak muscles; it is also caused by joints not moving properly. Any exercise you use must address these factors if you want to relieve back pain.
Will one exercise do all this? More it’s likely not. This is why you need to use a lower back pain exercise regime. One that covers all the factors creates your back pain. If not, then you will not remove all your lower back pain, leading you to a chance of chronic back pain.
Oh yeah, remember I said there was one vital step in any lower back pain exercise regime. Well here it is…
You must first know where your back pain comes from. If you do not know which muscles are out of balance, if you do not know which joints aren’t moving well and you do not know what type of distortion your spine and pelvis have – you are not going to be able to target the actual cause of your lower back pain.
Identifying where your lower back pain comes from is always the first and most important step. Once you know this, then you can use lower back pain exercise to help ease your pain. However, it should be used with other methods to make sure all the causative factors are removed.
Low Back Pain Exercises To Avoid
For most people with low back pain, exercise is one tool they use to help ease pain. Exercise can take the form of stretches or strengthening techniques, but some can actually cause more harm than good. If you decide that you need low back pain exercises, then this is an important blog post to read.
To understand more why certain exercises are harmful, you first should know the main causes of your pain.
What Causes Low Back Pain?
1. Low back pain is created by three main issues. You have muscles out of balance, meaning there are some weak and some tight muscles. To remove pain you need to balance your muscles by stretching those that are tight and strengthening those that are weak.
2. The second common cause is joint imbalance. If you joints become “sticky” or fail to move freely then the muscles that surround them work harder and therefore become out of balance also.
3. The third cause of back pain is trigger points. Trigger points are localized spasm of muscle fibres where the nerve joins the muscle. These trigger points can cause local pain, joint stiffness and referred pain.
Knowing the cause of your pain helps to clarify why certain exercises should be avoided.
Low Back Pain Exercises To Avoid
The simple rule first – if it causes pain … stop. Exercise is designed to ease pain not make it worse. If you are performing any exercise and pain occurs, this is your body’s way of saying stop.
Pain after exercise is not a concern, as this usually means you have worked the muscle and there is a small amount of fatigue in the muscle and hence some discomfort. Pain during an exercise should be avoided.
However the following are exercises that should be avoided. They are commonly used and misused when you have pain; they are more suited to building strength once your low back pain has eased.
1. The first low back pain exercise to avoid is the back extension exercise. Although good to build strength, your spine is commonly aggravated if you go too far back. This may feel okay at the time but will irritate what is called the facet joints and inflammation may occur.
This type of exercise is more suited once pain has gone and is used carefully to build strength.
2. The next low back pain exercise to avoid is the dreaded sit-up. Sit ups if performed correctly will help build your core muscles. If performed wrong will aggravate a low back condition.
While you have pain you should perform a sit-up by only raising your shoulders off the ground and NEVER come all the way up. Coming up to far places a huge stain on your lower back, if it is out of balance.
Before You Start Low Back Pain Exercises!
Before you attempt any exercise whether it is stretches or strengthening exercise, you first should identify what is exactly causing your pain. There are four main distortion patterns that cause back pain and identifying these patterns help you work out which low back pain exercise is best to use.
Head over to the Back Pain Advisor to grab a copy of their free guide which teaches you how to detect these imbalances, it is the first step in removing your pain.
Upper Back Pain Exercises
The back supports the weight of the upper part of the body and has to be strong enough to carry out its work unhindered. People focus on strengthening their lower back to avoid back pain, but upper back muscles too need toning up.
A well toned back looks good and helps in maintaining correct posture. Some effective exercises are mentioned below. Women would rather have a well-toned upper body, whereas men prefer a muscular back.
Basic Upper Back Exercises
Dumbbell pullovers and dumbbell rows are effective upper back exercises for both men and women.
Dumbbell Pullover: You need a narrow workout bench for this exercise. Your back should be in horizontal position. Pick up the dumbbell and raise your arm slowly upwards until your upper arm is in level with your upper body; hold, and take back your arm to the original position.
Initially do five repetitions and gradually raise the count to fifteen. Now, repeat the exercise with the left arm. These Upper back exercises are a great way to build a strong upper back that helps add to the ‘V’ shape of the body.
Best Exercise for Lower Back Pain
The best exercise is different for each individual, as the reason behind your pain is unique to you. This is why it is best to use an individualized program with ongoing free support, so you can make sure your specific case is dealt with effectively.
However, in all lower back pain cases there are a few areas that must ALWAYS be addressed.
These are:
The Hip Flexors – these muscles help support the lower back and pelvis, they also keep the curve in the lower back. If out of balance these are a common cause of pain. Stretching these is vital if out of balance, you also need to stimulate the nerve and blood supply to. These muscles are used often and are commonly tired. Hence they need to stimulate their nutritional supply.
The Hamstrings – like the Hip Flexors, these muscles help support eh pelvis and movement in the lower back. These are commonly tight on one side and hence pull the pelvis out of balance.
The Adductors – this muscle is one of the most commonly forgotten muscles in all exercise for lower back pain. Yet is the most common reason why imbalances develop.
The Quadratus Lumborum – similar to the Adductors, this help support and even less likely to be exercised.
The Abdominals – for most people, and even in those that do countless sit-ups, these are in a weakened state. Weakness does not relate to how many sit-ups you can do, but how well the nerve and blood supply functions to the muscle.
If the supply is lowered, then the muscle loses functional strength. You can still do sit-ups but when you relax the muscle stops supporting the pelvis and lower back. This is one of the most common reasons why lower back pain develops.
These are just the muscles you need to target to help with lower back pain relief. But the process doesn’t stop there… You MUST also use lower back pain exercises to remove the joint imbalances and use simple methods to eliminate any Trigger Points present.
Top 3 Lower Back Pain Exercises
Because there are so many unique causes and individual reasons that people struggle with lower back pain, it can be difficult to find out the perfect cure for you. The number one recommended treatment for lower back pain is to improve your fitness and start exercising more. There are several types of exercises that can help you reduce your daily discomfort, and each type has distinct advantages for each person and each pain.
Aerobic Exercise
There are many types of aerobic exercise that can improve your fitness without causing further injury to your back. Many people that suffer from lower back pain become immobilized by their discomfort, but staying off your feet can actually make back problems worse. Aerobic exercises are the best way to improve your overall health, with distinct benefits to blood circulation, body fat reduction, and muscle tone.
If your back pain is extreme, there are still exercises that can be completed to help. Swimming is a great option for people that are unable go for a run or participate in similar high-impact exercises. Cycling is also a very suitable form of aerobics, and both stationary bikes and bicycles can help you improve your fitness. If either of these are too much strain, taking a long walk can be an easier start to your exercise routine.
Strength Training
Because the lower back region has so many associated muscles, strength training is a great way to improve your daily comfort. The lumbar region is the section of your torso surrounding the base of your spine and many back problems are associated with this group of muscles. Most of the recommended types of strength training involve using your own body weight rather than dumbbells or free-weights. They include different types of sit-ups, trunk exercises, core exercises, and heavy stretching.
Another type of strength training involves a medicine ball. The medicine ball can be incorporated into a regular workout routine and helps to strengthen core muscles through exercises that involve twisting and turning while lifting the medicine ball from the floor. All types of strength training should be initiated with caution, as there are some back problems that may be exacerbated by certain exercises. Consult with your physician before beginning strength training.
Alternative Approaches
In today’s modern world, there are many alternative approaches to alleviating lower back pain with exercise. Less traditional forms of strength training are gaining popularity across the country for their manifold benefits. Yoga in particular is prescribed for many lower back issues. This form of deep stretching not only strengthens the muscles of the lumbar region, but also improves circulation throughout the body.