If you are one of the millions of people that suffer from lower back pain, then you need to know that exercise can do wonders for you. When it comes to relieving lower back pain, exercise provides more long term relief than any back pills that your doctor can give you. The fact is, pills only serve to mask the problem by providing temporary relief of the pain, but the problem that is causing much of the pain is still there. Exercise will strengthen the muscles that support your back and improve flexibility thus greatly reducing the chances of future attacks.
You should be doing a three fold program of exercise which includes aerobics, resistance and stretching exercises. Aerobic exercise like walking and bike riding will begin to get your body conditioned properly because it strengthens your heart and lightly works your muscles. Resistance exercise like weight lifting will strengthen the muscles that support your back. Stretching exercises will increase flexibility giving your back a greater range of motion. Your doctor can guide you as to when and how much of each type of exercise you should be getting.
For people with lower back pain, the best aerobic exercises to do are low impact ones like swimming, walking and bike riding. Jogging, dance aerobics and step aerobics all produce repeated impact on your back and on your knee and hip joints as well. In order to get in good condition, start out with 15 minutes of light aerobic work per day, 2 to 3 times per week, and then gradually build yourself up to 30 to 40 minutes per day, 4 to 5 times per week.
You should be working enough to raise your heart rate to be in between 65% to 85% of your maximal heart rate. You determine your maximal heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Regardless of whether you are walking, bike riding or doing any other aerobic exercise, always maintain good posture. This means sit up strait, stand strait and do not slouch or lean forward. Good posture is essential to any good exercise program.
When it comes to resistance exercising, you always want to concentrate on the abdominal muscles. These muscles play a major part in giving your lower back support and the stronger they are, the more relief for your back. Also important is to do exercises that are designed to specifically strengthen the lower back muscles themselves. You will best benefit from working each muscle group 2 to 3 times per week. You may want to hire a qualified fitness trainer to help get you on your way by designing a resistance program that is right for you.
Remember that while resistance exercise is great for strengthening the targeted muscles being worked, there should never be any pain involved. Some discomfort should be present in the muscles being worked while performing the exercises for them, but should subside very shortly after completion of the exercise. If there is any pain during the exercises or if discomfort persists for some time after, it is a sign that something is wrong and exercising should be discontinued and your doctor should be consulted immediately.
As far as stretching is concerned, 10 to 15 minutes of moderate stretching per day is usually enough to get the job done just fine. Here you really want to concentrate on stretching your hamstrings which are the muscles in the back of your upper legs. The looser your hamstring muscles are, the better range of motion your back will have as flexible hamstring muscles do not put the strain on your lower back that tight ones do.
Stretching the lower back muscles is also a must and sitting on the floor with your legs flat on the floor in front of you while you slowly reach for your toes until you can't go any further, hold for 10 seconds, and sit back up is a great exercise to stretch both your hamstrings and your lower back. Repeat this stretch 2 to 3 times each day.
While there are no miracle cures for lower back pain, you can make living with a lower back condition much easier to deal with by simply incorporating some exercise into your life each day. It is worth the effort in the long run give up 30 to 40 minutes per day, 4 to 5 days per week to exercise away your lower back pain.
Surprisingly, too much rest during an encounter of back pain will often make the condition worse. A day or two of rest should be followed by specific back pain exercise for complete recovery.
How Can Exercise Stop Back Pain?
Careful, thoughtful back pain exercise will help distribute nutrients up and down your spinal column, feeding your muscles, ligaments, nerves, and joints. Specific back pain exercise will stretch you back, making it supple. Other back pain exercise will strengthen your back, and make it strong. Weakness and stiffness, increased by rest, can be overcome by back pain exercise.
Exercises to stop the back pain now will also prevent future back pain, since you will be increasing your back's ability to handle extra stress or injury.
CHOOSE EXERCISE, NOT REST, TO STOP BACK PAIN NOW
Before you begin back pain exercise, check with your health care provider. Not every back pain exercise will be right for you. If your injury is severe, a spine care specialist will recommend specific exercise techniques to meet your need. Your back pain exercise program should work the entire body, even though your primary target is the back.
What Are the Exercises to Stop Back Pain Now?
Once you decide that back pain exercise is essential, you will want to choose appropriate exercises. We recommend a doctor's advice, and suggest that you show your doctor these possibilities.
1. Back Pain Exercises - Stretching
Stretching muscles, ligaments and tendons is essential for back health. Whether or not you are currently experiencing back pain, regular stretching of the back will give strength to overcome or prevent injury and trauma to the back. If yours is chronic back pain, plan on regular, daily stretching for as much as six months to give your back the flexibility and strength it needs. You may want to schedule more than one stretching session per day, but work carefully. Eventually, you will find that back pain exercise keeps back pain from recurring.
Set goals (expectations with due dates) for each muscle group. Decide a date by which you want each of these muscle groups to be strong. Write down each date, and determine to meet it.
Warm Up First for Safe, Efficient Back Pain Exercise!! If there is any pain, stop or take it more slowly. Cool down after your back pain exercise.
* Gluteus muscles. The muscles in your buttocks support flexibility in your hips as well as your pelvis. Back pain exercise should include these muscles daily.
The gluteus stretch. Sit in a straight back or folding chair. Move your bottom only forward several inches from the chair back. In that position, lightly press your feet against the floor. Now squeeze your gluteus muscles together, and hold for 5 minutes. This stretch allows you to get back pain exercise while watching TV.
* Hamstrings. Located in the back of each leg, your hamstrings help give you correct posture.
The hamstring stretch. Place one foot on a chair, keeping the other leg straight. Bend over until your chest touches the knee of the foot on the chair. Keep your chest on the elevated leg as you slowly back the other leg away from the chair. Hold your stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. This stretch gives good back pain exercise without equipment.
* Piriformis. The piriformis syndrome is caused by the piriformis muscle irritating the sciatic nerve. You feel pain in the buttocks, and referred pain from the back of your thigh to the base of the spine. Many people call this lower back pain "sciatica".
The piriformis stretch. Lie on your back, right hip and knee flexed. Grasp your right knee with your left hand, and pull the knee towards your left shoulder. In this position, grasp just above the right ankle with the right hand, and rotate the ankle outwards. Repeat with your left side. You might want to do this back pain exercise with gentle music.
* Psoas Major. Lower back mobility can be greatly limited by a tight Psoas Major. This muscle often causes back pain that makes it difficult to kneel on both knees, or to stand for extended periods.
The Psoas Major stretch. Kneel on your right knee, left foot flat on the floor, left knee bent. Rotate the right leg outward. Place your hand on the right gluteus muscle and tighten the muscle. Lean forward through your hip, careful not to bend the lower spine. You should feel the stretch in the front of your right hip. Hold for about 30 seconds. Repeat with your left leg. If you have young children, include them in your back pain exercise.
2. Back Pain Exercises - Strengthening
Back pain can be stopped now, and greatly avoided in the future, by decreasing lower back stress. These exercises develop critical muscles in the abdomen, lower back, and gluteus. Both of these back pain exercises are learned better when working with a trained physical therapist, but if you are careful, you can learn them alone. Although you may do daily stretching back pain exercises, it is important to take a few days off each week from strengthening back pain exercises.
Lower Back strengthening. Begin by lying flat on your back on the floor. Do not push your back down on the floor. Bend both knees. Pull your navel (belly button) in toward your back while keeping your back relaxed. As you breathe out, stretch your arms upward as though you are reaching for an overhead chandelier. Gradually raise head and shoulders from the floor until your shoulder blades are barely touching the floor. Hold the position one to two seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. If you feel pain with this back pain exercise, stop or try to do it more gently and slowly.
3. Back and Leg strengthening. This is one of the McKenzie Exercises, named after a New Zealand physical therapist. Lie on your stomach, and push up off the floor with both hands, raising only your chest. Keep your pelvis flat on the floor. Raise your back to a comfortable stretch and hold for 8 to 10 seconds. Repeat 8 to 12 times. You should feel no pain with this back pain exercise, only a pulling up of the spine.
It is strongly suggested that any back pain exercise be done only after seeking professional medical advice.