Lower Back Pain Exercises

Introduction

From my most recent and first experience of suffering from lower back pain, I have scouted the web to conduct a research on it. Thus, I have decided to write up a short report on my research regarding lower back pain and share it with the world.

Lower back pain is no joke. It is serious and can potentially make you bedridden and immobilized.  Lower back pain is one of the most common causes of job related disability and the reason why some people would miss their work. It is also the most common neurological ailment, second to headache. In a matter of fact, most adults will experience lower back pain at some point of time.

For the fortunate, pain in the lower back may be resolved by itself or with some aid of medication within two to four weeks. Still, there are some cases of lower back pain that last for more than a few weeks. Such cases are referred to as ‘chronic’ and ‘progressive’, meaning it can only grow worse over time.

60-80% of the mentioned cases involving patients who suffer their first experience of lower back pain may experience it again within one year.

Current research shows that there are certain muscles in the back that work to stabilise the spine. When the back or the spine suffers an injury, these muscles are inactively inhibited or shutdown.  What’s worse is that these muscles do not instinctively recover and this is true even if the patients do not feel any more pain and are able to return to normal daily activity levels.

Due to the inhibition of these muscles which are called lumbar multifidi and the transversus abdominus muscles, lower back pain occurs. To counter this, there are steps that you can take to prevent the same thing from recurring.

Steps to Treat and Prevent Lower Back Pain

One of the most common methods of treating lower back pain is Physical Therapy Exercise. A general theory states that if you remain active, you will remain healthy. Due to this theory, many home remedies for lower back pain consist of exercise. This is true for most cases.

Physical Therapy Exercises for Lower Back Pain includes a set of stretching exercises, strengthening exercises and low impact aerobics.

1) Stretching

The composition of the back of a person includes a set of spinal column and adjoining muscles, ligaments and tendons. They are designed to move in harmony with each other so that any limitation within the range of motion or movement in any of these componets of the back will result in back pain.
Specific target motive on stretching treatment for lower back pain is the soft tissue such as the adjoining muscles, ligaments and tendons which are found at the back of a person and around the spine. With stretching, soft tissues and the spine are mobilised. Hence, increasing the motion and relieving the pain.

There are many forms of stretching exercises practised by physical therapists. One of them is called the Hamstring Stretching Exercise which helps to relax tight hamstrings which is a common symptom of lower back pain. This exercise is believed to help decrease the intensity of lower back pain for patients.

2) Strengthening

Two forms of strenghtening and lower back pain relief exercises that are generally used by physical therapist usually depend on the specific condition of the patient. Two forms of such exercises are known as the ‘McKenzie’ and ‘Dynamic lumbar stabilisation’ exercises. On the other hand, these two forms of strengthening exercises may also be combined if the therapist finds it appropriate to do it.

• McKenzie Exercises

It is named after a physical therapist in New Zealand, McKenzie exercises are mainly extension exercises that assist in reducing pain generated from the disc space and also to reduce the symptoms of herniated disc by reducing pressure on the nerve root.

McKenzie exercises should be done frequently for acute lower back pain. At least once every two hours. On top of that, it is recommended that patients are to avoid flexing their spine while doing the exercise.

• Dynamic Lumbar Stabilisation Exercises

For this exercise technique, the first thing that a physical therapist will do is that he/she will look for the patients ‘Neutral Spine’. This refers to the position that the patient feels the most comfortable to be in.

After this is done, the back muscles are then exercised in order to make the spine to stay in the particular position.

By doing these exercises on a regular basis, it can assists in helping to strengthen the back muscles and keep the spine in a well position manner.

3) Low Impact Aerobic Exercises

The objective of low impact aerobic exercises is to assist the back get back into shape. Patients undergoing this through low impact aerobic exercise will have lesser experience of lower back pain.

On top of that, whenever lower back pain occurs, the pain will be less likely intense and will last for a short period.

Other benefit of low impact aerobic exercise is that patients tend to stay functional. They are able to continue with their regular work and move forward with recreational activities. In contrast, patients who do no do low impact aerobics exercises are likely to experience the gradual loss of their functional abilities.

To achieve the desired results from low impact aerobic exercises, it should be done continuously. Heart rate will increase and keep it elevated as well as increasing the production of ‘endorphins’, a pain fighting hormones released by the body.

Below is the list of examples of low impact aerobic exercises that may reduce lower back pain:

• Walking
• Stationary Bicycling
• Water Therapy

And there you have it, the tips to treat and prevent lower back pain.

If you would like a detailed video instruction on how to perform lower back pain exercises, please visit the link below:
secrets to a pain free back