Lower Back Pain Exercises
Exercise is a great means of preventing lower back pain. This is because with exercise, the muscles of the back get stretched, and are less likely to get strained, torn or experience a spasm. There are three types of muscles in the lower back where some are used everyday. However most of the muscles don’t get sufficient exercise from daily activities and tend to weaken with age unless exercised using lower back pain exercises.
Low back pain exercises comprise of exercises that are a combination of stretching, strengthening and aerobic conditioning of back muscles. It is important to stretch the hamstring as if they are very much stiff and inelastic; the muscle at the lower back tends to do most of the work.
Exercises that involve the cramp are running, short sprints stretching and winding exercises. It is always better to relate weight on lengthening the hamstring, like in bending frontward or to stretch legs in front of you for maximum effect of the exercise. However, avoid bouncing as it may tear the muscles and avoid stretching or meandering too fast as you may form cramps.
There are also back pain exercises that are done using a medicine ball. One exercise is sitting on a ball keeping back erect, and knees at a bend of 90 degrees. After that you have to raise your arm over your head, while alternating left and right. At the same time, the lower heel has to be raised alternatively. These exercises have to be done for not more then five minutes. This exercise resembles swimming; this is why swimming is a great exercise for lower back pain; and why many swimmers don’t have problem of back muscle.
However when there is back pain, it is not advisable to start on lower back pain aerobics immediately. It should be done in a controlled, gradual and progressive manner where the exercise distributes its nutrients to the disc space and soft tissues of the back to keep the muscles, discs, joints and ligaments healthy. With regular back pain exercises, stiffness and weakness are avoided while the recurrence of lower back pain minimized.
However the right lower back pain exercise to be used by the patient is dependant on their specific diagnosis and level of pain. This is why the patient should see a spine specialist before starting on an exercise regimen of lower back pain exercises. For maximum effect from the low back pain exercise, the exercise program has to be comprehensive and work the whole body with a combination of strengthening, stretching and low impact aerobic conditioning.
Two of the most famous lower back pain strengthening exercises is McKenzie exercises and Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization. It is better to learn these exercises with a physical therapist first who will demonstrate the exercise and ensure that the patient is doing it