Effective Back Pain Exercises

by Lesley Lyon

The answer to a healthy back is appropriate exercise. The problems associated with back pain can be minimized with exercises. It is widely known that regular exercises will improve the appearance and health in general, but very few realize the benefits that good physical conditioning can have on their back pain.

The benefit of exercises for the back depends on the following three key principles:

To attain satisfactory aerobic fitness.To focus part of the exercising on the muscle groups that supports the back.To avoid exercises that cause heavy stresses on the back
The right kind of exercise program helps in keeping the back pain under control and can make it easier to continue doing the daily chores. A break from vigorous exercise can be taken if the pain becomes worse. A Doctor or physiotherapist can be consulted before starting an exercise program for deciding on the type of exercises that can be done to relieve back pain and to stay fit.

Warm up is important before exercise and deep inhaling has to be repeated before each exercise. Regular exercise helps a lot and if it is skipped for a day, unavoidably walking can compensate it, to some extent.

Exercises to strengthen the back and hip muscles:
Wall slides exercise helps to strengthen the back and hip muscles. Leg muscles also get relieved. By standing against a wall on the back, try to slide down with knees bent. The bend should be 90 degrees and count till 5. Then come back to standing posture. This has to be continued for five times.

Raising the leg also helps in strengthening back and hip muscles. Lay down on the stomach. Try to tighten the muscles of a leg and bring it up. Count till 10 and bring it down. Continue this for 5 times each for both the legs.

Sitting up partially strengthens the abdomen muscles. Lie on the back and keep the knees bent. Raise the head and shoulder above the floor and try to reach the knees with hands. Leg rising also benefits stomach and hip muscles.

Exercises to minimize the back pain:
An aerobic conditioning program for 30 minutes, thrice a week is ideal for overall fitness. Recommended aerobic exercise includes Bicycling, swimming and brisk walking. Aggravation of low back pain can happen if step aerobics and exercises like jumping and running are practiced. Aerobic exercises make the heart and other muscles consume oxygen more efficiently.

Swinging back legs could strengthen the muscles of hip and back. Stand in the back of a chair and raise a leg up and down without bending the knee. Repeat this for each leg.Posture training for sitting, standing, sleeping and even during motion is needed if posture is a factor. The type of shoes viz. High Heels that are worn can also affect the posture by adding more stress on the lower back by changing the posture. Stretching exercises can be done for keeping the muscles flexible and less prone to injury.

Physical therapy:
There are different forms of physical therapy viz. Passive Physical therapy and Active Physical therapy. Passive physical therapy includes Heat/Ice packs, TENS units and Iontophoresis. Active Physical therapy is the exercises like Stretching for back pain exercise, Low-impact aerobic conditioning and strengthening for back pain exercise.

While there are merits if a pattern of good conditioning is followed the wrong type of exercise may actually worsen the low back pain. Activities that pass on too much stress on the back like lifting heavy weights, jumping, running, step aerobics and climbing are not advised. Slow Cycling on a recumbent stationary bike can also relieve back stress. To sum up, exercise will decrease the severity and frequency of lower back pain and can be prevented when a comprehensive exercise program is followed.

Source: Allure magazine