Lower Back Pain Exercises

Some exercises can do more harm than good. Certain abdominal exercises you may have learned in gym class have fallen into disrepute because they put strain on the lower back muscles the spine. A poorly designed core workout routine can lead to muscle imbalances, overuse injuries and back pain. It is important not only to know about bad exercises but to be aware of good alternatives as well.Bad: Sit-UpsSit-ups are performed with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. They are an extreme form of crunch in which you bring your upper body as close to your knees as possible. This move mainly targets the rectus abdominus - the superficial "6-pack" ab layer - and the hip flexor muscles. The sit-up is a staple in gym classes, where partners take turn holding each others' feet firmly to the ground.There are a couple problems with the sit-up. First, it is often performed by people seeking to attain a 6-pack stomach since it isolates the rectus abdominus. Isolation exercises, those that target one muscle group, are inferior to exercises that target several groups that work together; the latter encourage greater balance and cooperation between muscles. It should also be noted that doing a million sit-ups a day cannot give you 6-pack abs alone as they don't decrease the amount of fat around the abdomen. A combination of weight loss and exercise is generally required to tone the stomach.Second, the hip flexor muscles targeted by sit-ups tend to be tight in the general population. This is mainly because we sit a lot. Hip flexor muscles stretch from the top of the thigh bone to the lumbar spine and work whenever we bring the lower and upper body closer together. When we sit, the flexors are held in a shortened position. Over time they learn that position, becoming chronically tense. Much of the work done by the body during a sit-up is performed by the hip flexors; thus, the exercise can exacerbate the tension of these muscles. Tight hip flexors pull on the lumbar spine, increasing the arch and creating a postural dysfunction known as anterior pelvic tilt. This leads to strain on the spinal discs and joints as well as the lower back muscles.Good: Partial Crunches + BridgeWhile still an isolation exercise, the partial crunch is far superior to the sit-up. You perform a partial crunch starting from the same position as the sit-up, but only raise your upper body slightly off the ground. This targets the rectus abdominus without overtaxing the hip flexors.It is a good idea to perform the bridge exercise if you do partial crunches; the bridge helps to develop muscles in the back, buttocks and back of the thigh as well. Whenever the front of the body is exercised, the back should be as well in order to avoid muscle imbalances. The bridge also helps to tone the transversus abdominus - large, deep muscles of the stomach that help to stabilize the spine. It is performed by assuming the crunch position and lifting your pelvis off the ground until a straight diagonal line is formed from your knees to your shoulders.Bad: Leg Lifts

There are many possible solutions to help alleviate lower back pain. Everything from seeking professional help and advice, massage, mattresses, lumbar supports, and even medications are used when seeking relief. The truth is that the majority of lower back pain is due to muscular imbalances and postural distortions caused by lifestyle choices.Pain relief is easily found for those who correct these muscular imbalances and improve upon the lifestyle choices they are engaging in that may increase their back pain. These lifestyle choices include such things as daily activities, activity level, posture and body positions held for long periods of time.Core stabilization is an important component for low back pain suffers in reducing their pain. Since lower back pain is caused by muscle imbalances, core stabilization is a major part of correcting this process. Core stabilization is your body's ability to hold a position without flexing or extending your spine. Allowing your body to handle forces correctly throughout your body. People that lack core stability or have a weakened ability to stabilize their core, allow excessive force to be applied to their spine, which cause injuries and strain on their lower back.Depending on your personal situation, you may require core stabilization exercises to strengthen the muscles that positively affect your spine. At the same time you need to address the muscles that are tight to correct the other half of the muscle balance equation. Practicing core stabilization exercises will allow you to fix the muscle imbalances that are causing your pain.Once you seek the advice of an experienced and qualified back pain professional, you can then start on a personalized program, which combines core stabilization exercises to help strengthen the core muscles of your body while also stretching the areas of your body that are tight.A healthy back program consists of both stretches and exercises for your lower back to help correct muscle imbalances and bring your spine into a natural alignment. Once you have started with exercises and stretches, make sure to keep them up daily in the beginning to help keep your body's ability to handle forces correctly through your core.

Herniated Disk DiagnosisIf you have been diagnosed with a herniated disk a few exercises that can be performed if your sciatica pain is being caused by a herniated disk are called "extension exercises" or "press-ups". Some more advanced exercises are the "upper back extension" which helps strengthen the lower back muscle. Another advanced exercise is "Curl-ups" which helps to strengthen the upper abdominal muscles.Spinal Stenosis DiagnosisWhen your sciatica pain is associated with spinal stenosis "flexion exercises" (bending forward) may be recommended. You should do some stretching and strengthening exercises. Stretching can be accomplished by doing some "back flexion". Strengthening exercises would consist of "Hook-lying march" and "curl-ups".Degenerative Disc Disease DiagnosisDegenerative disk disease exercises generally require someone instructing you personally as the exercises are a little more complicated and need to be done correctly to obtain maximum results. The recommended exercises include: "Hook-lying march","Hook-lying march combination",and "Bridging".Isthmic Spondylolisthesis DiagnosisThe exercises that should be done for Isthmic Spondylolisthesis usually requires some personal instruction as they are more difficult to do properly and you don't get as much benefit from them if they aren't done correctly. The recommended exercises usually include:"Pelvic tilt","Curl-ups",and "Hook-lying march".Piriformis Syndrome Diagnosis

Myofascial pain syndrome of the low back and hips is caused by pain producing "trigger points"(TrP) in the gluteus medius muscle. Some patients will refer this as "a pain in the butt". It is important to stress that myofascial pain syndrome can affect any muscle in the body, and in any area of the body. A common area affected can be in the upper back over the shoulder blade (scapula) area that is caused by trigger points in the trapezius muscle. The myofascial pain syndrome can even affect the side of the face, causing pain in the jaw, commonly affecting the tempero-mandibular joint TMJ).For now we will focus on the low back and hip myofascial pain syndrome. To understand what causes the myofascial pain syndrome, we need to understand what causes it. The pain is caused by nodules (knots) causing areas of irritation in the muscle or fascia associated with the muscle. These trigger points (TrP) are areas of irritation within extremely tight bands of muscle and or fascia.These irritations are caused by various traumas, such as engaging in sports, aerobic exercises, working out with weights and sudden falls. Another cause can be standing on one leg for extended periods of time without changing positions. This causes the muscles of the leg you are standing on to be become tired making them work harder so that they go into spasm. This spasm sets up areas of irritation that become trigger points. Another precipitant can be when the muscle becomes chilled. The chilling of a muscle can cause it to go into spasm, resulting in the same phenonemen that will result in trigger points.One of the muscles that are very often affected in this manor is the gluteus medius. This muscle starts at the top of the ilium (hip bone) and is attached to the outside head of the thigh bone (femur). The function of this muscle is mainly to stabilize and keep the pelvis level while the individual is walking. This prevents the pelvis from dropping when raising the foot on the opposite side.Pains are not always localized at the trigger point area. These trigger points can also cause radiating pain in surrounding tissues, or radiate into areas further from the trigger point site. Pains in the buttock, back of the thigh, the sacral area (the large triangular bone between the hips), and up into the side of the lumbar spine, are commonly affected sites.Structural instability of the lower spine and pelvis is the foremost cause for the myofascial syndrome. When there is a tilt or rotation of the pelvis and/ or a shortness of one of the legs, will set up the weakness that that makes the individual more prone to injuries. Once being prone to this type of situation produces injuries while engaging in sports, aerobic exercise, weight lifting, running, golf, tennis, or even sitting in a slumped position. Even lying on the affected side for a length of time can be a causative factor. This causes the gluteus medius muscle to become shortened and loose it's flexibility. It is the muscles loss of flexibility that makes it more prone to injury, and set up one or more trigger points within that muscle.The pains, once they occur can last for extended periods of time, or there can be remissions that can last from hours to days, or even longer. The patient sustaining a myofascial pain syndrome may be prone to future episodes even after the initial occurrence is resolved, especially if there is a spinal imbalance unless it is properly diagnosed and treated. A spinal imbalance can best be diagnosed and treated by a Chiropractor. The Chiropractor will not only correct the spinal instability, but will treat the primary pain symptoms so as to give the patient the needed relief from pain.The patient must also take an active part in their treatment if they wish to lessen the pain and length of disability. Home health care by the patient will determine how soon they will be pain free and able to get back to their normal daily activities. At first they should curtail any and all strenuous sports, exercise, and the more difficult household chores, such cleaning windows, mopping floors, vacuuming, ironing, etc. Applying heat (preferably moist), 3 or 4 times daily for 20 minutes will soothe and relax the muscles. After the heat, rub in a good analgesic gel.As the symptoms subside, the degree of activities can be increased. If, when they are increased, pain reoccurs or increases, then that particular activity should be stopped. When the individual is pain free, they then can resume their normal daily activities. At this point an exercise should be started. Exercise is the single most important component in the strengthening of the abdominal and low back muscles. Strengthening these muscles will help stabilize the back and prevent future episodes of this debilitating syndrome.

The root cause of lower back pain is actually nowhere near as complicated as people make it out to be. I have read so many different theories about the cause of back pain and it baffles me that people do not understand the simple basic truth of why 90% of Americans are estimated to have low back pain at some point in their life! I mean, that is an alarming fact. And it is not as if that was the case 100 years ago. No, low back pain has become a much more prevalent problem in the last century. Why?Well, think about it like this... how many house a day do you sit in a chair? Do you realize how unnatural that is for the human body? Anatomically, we were not meant to sit in chairs. But, we sit in them for hours and hours a day. Now, how many hours do you stretch, exercise and correct the problems created by sitting in a chair? Obviously, nowhere near enough. Are you beginning to see the problem?Now, let me explain what happens to your low back over time and why you have low back pain. Over time, because we sit too much and do not move enough, certain muscles get very tight, other muscles get very weak and the core becomes unstable. All those things together warp the natural curve of the spine. And when the natural curve of the spine warps, the vertebrae lose their natural spacing. For example, in kyphotic posture (which is extremely common), the vertebrae start to squeeze together and put a lot of pressure on the soft discs in between the vertebrae. And inside those discs are very sensitive nerves. So, guess what happens when nerves get crushed by bone? Yep, really serious back pain.Now, there are all kinds of treatments out there, but I have never seen any of them deal with the simple root cause of back pain. To get relief and reverse back pain, you have to do the following- fix your posture so that the natural curve of the spine becomes health again. How? Simple... you have to strengthen the weak muscles, mobilize the tight muscles and stabilize the core. Remember, muscles are not set in stone. With the right kind of exercise and stretching program, you can regain your natural posture and then your back pain will be eliminated. Obviously, if you have a much more serious low back injury or condition, this may not apply to you, but it is true for the vast majority of back pain sufferers.A few other quick tips- First of all, make sure you have a comfortable chair, especially at work. And make sure you stand up every 30 minutes and move around a little bit. Get the blood moving and do a few stretches. It will give your and mind a nice little break and help your body relieve some of the tension that causes all these problems in the first place. And obviously, another important factor is that you should really try and sit less throughout the day. Don't just sit and veg out. Stand up, move around, go for short walks and try to limit how much you sit. Even on an airplane, you can get up and go stretch by the bathrooms. It is the little things that will add up over time and help you out a lot.