Back pain can be serious. Always consult your doctor first. That said, you may be able to stop and prevent minor back discomfort by doing some basic lower back pain exercises.
That said, in many non-accident related incidences where the pain is minor, physical therapy and stretching exercises are often the first plan of attack.
In fact, regular stretching and back exercises can help prevent future injuries. This is due to the fact that they can help strengthen the surrounding muscles while helping to keep the body flexible and limber.
Keeping that in mind, it can be a good idea for most anyone to incorporate a back exercise routine into their day, especially for people who sit at a desk all day, who drive a lot or who have jobs that require heavy labor. Well, that may include pretty much all of us…
Practice Back Exercises Regularly for Best Results
Keeping up a regular back exercise program may actually be more challenging than getting started. The key is to keep it simple and short, where you don’t need any special equipment, skills and you can complete it fairly quickly – like under 10 minutes. Pick a time of day that you can schedule for back exercises. This will also make it easier to stick to your routine.
The video below lays out 8 back exercises you can do at home without any special gear. You can do it in under 8 minutes. If you are familiar with pilates or yoga, you will probably recognize some of these movements.
You can simply play the video each time you do your exercise routine and follow along with the instructions. In this short program, you can get mild stretching and strengthening at the same time without having to do strenuous movements.
8 Lower Back Pain Exercises:
As you get started, you might find that you are tight or not very flexible. You may not get the range of motion as the woman in the video. This is not uncommon. Over time with practice, you can gain more flexibility and therefore achieve a greater level of stretch (another reason to stick with it!).
Some people might find additional benefit from completing these movements twice a day or even multiple times throughout the day. A back can sometimes become more painful when it remains in one position for long periods of time and therefore becomes stiff.
As you can see, you don’t need any special shoes or clothing, and you can do these movements much anywhere. Many people can perform these exercises in their offices, the backyard, etc.. However, don’t try them while driving. =)
Before Starting a Low Back Exercise Routine:
Keep in mind that results don’t come instantly. Generally, lower back pain results from poor body posture, workload or movements that happen over and over.
Health problems can often take a while to reverse. That is also another reason why you want to practice a regular back strengthening exercises before you get injured or start experiencing pain.
These moves can be used in combination with an inversion table as part of a stretching-strengthening regimen, or they can be done independently.