If you suffer from back pain, always check with a healthcare provider prior to beginning any new exercises or stretches. Also if any red flags, such as numbness or weakness in your legs appear, notify medical personnel immediately.
Poor abdominal muscles are frequently the source of back discomfort. To strengthen them, try the plank exercise: roll onto your stomach with elbows directly under shoulders and hands flat on the floor.
Stretches
Stretching exercises are intended to relax and strengthen tightened muscles from exercise or injury. Stretching should only reach a point of tension without pain; repeat this stretching session at least two or three times weekly for optimal results. Failing to perform stretching regularly could decrease flexibility and increase risk for injury.
One of the most frequent back injuries is pulled muscles, and improper or inadequate stretching prior to exercise and sports activities can contribute to this pain. When stretching, be sure to perform it slowly until the point of tension. When working out, stretching should occur both before and after each set of weightlifting or other intensive exercises as well as between sets for best results.
Some of the most useful and fundamental back stretching exercises include shoulder rolls and lower back twists. While the shoulder roll stretches the muscles in your upper chest and back, while twisting helps lengthening piriformis muscle in buttocks over time – often responsible for sciatica leg pain radiating down legs. To perform either stretch, sit comfortably on a chair with arms relaxed by sides then gently roll shoulders forwards and backwards several times; focus on areas that cause tension or discomfort as you repeat this movement several times until complete relief occurs.
Trunk rotation stretches both chest and back muscles. To do this, lie on your back on either a bed or the floor with bent knees so they are flat on the floor; bring one knee up toward your chest, hugging it there with arms; hold this position for 30 seconds then repeat on other side.
Crunches
Crunches are an invaluable exercise to strengthen and tone your abdominals, which can help alleviate back pain. Unfortunately, crunches can also be dangerous for people with lower-back injuries as the traditional crunch puts a great deal of strain on both the lower back and neck region – this may lead to muscle tension or injury; so for these reasons alternative exercises should be tried instead of crunches.
As an alternative, try the Toe Tap Crunch instead – this variation of crunches provides greater safety by supporting your lower back while relieving stress from shoulders and neck muscles. To perform it safely, lie on the floor with knees bent to plant them on floor surface. Place hands under lower back. Extend one leg while contracting abdominal muscles on that leg then try touching elbow to knee on alternate side alternating reps until complete – you could try out one toe tap crunch before switching legs if you find this challenging enough.
Core rotational exercises provide another alternative to crunches by strengthening both your whole trunk and obliques – which in turn may help relieve flank pain. You can try wood chops, Russian twists or reverse bicycles for optimal oblique and flank strengthening.
Crunches can help improve posture, trim the waistline and help with weight loss. But, it is crucial that they are done correctly so as to avoid making them harder or leading to any pain or injury.
Common mistakes include failing to brace the abs, holding your breath during crunches or placing too much strain on neck and shoulders. Another mistake involves performing too many crunches at once or lowering your head too quickly between each repetition.
To avoid these errors, it is best to maintain a neutral position for your neck when lifting and lowering your upper body, breathing out as you do so, then breathing in when returning it down again. Also be careful not to place too much strain on your shoulder blades by letting them droop down towards your hips.
Abdominal Exercises
Many people do not exercise enough to strengthen the abdominal and back muscles, also known as the “spinal girdle.” Although these core muscles play an integral part in posture and movement, over time they weaken with age unless strengthened regularly through regular exercises. Strengthening these muscles may reduce back pain as well as future issues associated with it.
Strengthen your abdominal muscles through simple abdominal exercises that don’t require much equipment – they can even be performed while watching TV or waiting in line at the grocery store! One study discovered that simply sitting and performing such ab exercises helped decrease love handles (the extra fat around your belly).
These simple exercises include trunk curls, the superman, and prone abdominal crunches. Trunk curls and supermans can help reduce love handles while strengthening core muscles; while prone abdominal crunches may prove more challenging but are equally effective at strengthening lower ab muscles.
As with all exercises, when conducting core exercises it is vital not to arch or move your spine in ways that cause pain. An exercise ball may help avoid this mistake. Furthermore, performing some exercises that emphasize elongation rather than contraction could provide greater flexibility than standard ab crunches with their contraction motions.
Finally, to target these muscles effectively is through trunk rotations. To perform this exercise, lie on your back with fingers just inside of your pelvic bones. Breathe in and tighten the abdominal wall as you breathe out while rotating your upper body by moving your right elbow and leg closer together while simultaneously extending your left leg – repeat this as desired.
Leg Lifts
A traditional leg lift exercises the core muscles, including those found around your abdomen (including six-pack abs and those running down your back). When done properly, this exercise also strengthens hip flexors and can reduce lower-back pain; however it may cause pain in the kidneys; especially with certain movements like laughing, sneezing or lifting heavy weights which places more strain on them than others. If this happens often it could be a result of muscle strain putting pressure on organs.
Begin the exercise lying flat on your back on an exercise mat. Slowly raise both legs to an acute 90-degree angle while keeping them straight and together, holding this position for one second before slowly lowering them back down into their resting position and repeating for desired number of repetitions.
If you can’t lift your leg to its starting point, try raising it just above the floor and then lowering it again to strengthen leg muscles even more without straining back or kidneys. This method works the muscles more effectively without risking harm to them or others in your body.
Add resistance to make this move more challenging by holding a dumbbell between your feet or strapping on ankle weights – this additional contraction works both your abs and legs in new ways, increasing its difficulty and creating additional challenges for you to face during exercise.
As another variation on the leg lift exercise, performing it prone can target your upper abs and hip flexors. Begin by lying on your back with hands at your sides; lift one leg toward the ceiling until it forms a 45-degree angle with your calf muscle before holding for one second before returning it back down again for 10 repetitions.
Toe-Touches
Toe touches are an integral part of abdominal exercises and should be included as part of any effective fitness regime. They’re straightforward and don’t pose too many risks, though if you already suffer from preexisting back pain they may aggravate it further. Furthermore, reaching down to touch your toes may exert too much strain on vertebrae which could worsen an existing condition like herniated discs or spinal issues resulting in worsening symptoms.
For toe-touching exercises, you extend your arms down toward the floor while your legs push outward in an effort to reach for your toes. This movement stretches both upper and lower bodies while working your abs, obliques, hip flexors, quadriceps, as well as training your erector spinae muscles that open gaps in your spine to allow lumbar discs to “breathe” and absorb shock more effectively.
However, to perform proper toe touches you must use your core muscles and keep the torso straight. In addition if you suffer from lumbar spine issues this type of exercise could add extra strain onto it and potentially result in injury if performed improperly.
Importantly, if you suffer from low back problems, having flexible hamstrings and calves may actually be better than having a flexible lower back, as this reduces the need for bending to touch toes – which requires you to round your lower back inward.
Strengthening your core can make you less vulnerable to back pain and injuries while giving your midsection tone. Incorporate these back-friendly exercises into your weekly schedule in order to keep yourself feeling healthy and strong.
