Water-based lower-back exercises can help strengthen the muscles in your back and provide relief for muscle and joint pain. Water provides natural resistance needed to tone muscles in the back. In addition, because your movements and weight are supported by the water, you are less likely to experience pain or injury during your exercise routine.
Back Bend
Stand in neck-deep water with your feet shoulder-width apart. Position your hands on your lower back at waist level. Contract the muscles in your abdomen and bend back slightly in the water until you feel the muscles in your lower back stretch. Hold the exercise for about 10 seconds, and then relax back into starting position. Repeat as many times as desired.
Otter Roll
Hug a beach ball to your chest and float on your back in the water. Extend your legs out in front of you, keeping your feet close together. Use the muscles in your back, shoulders and legs to roll to the left over the ball. Take a deep breath and then roll to the right over the beach ball. Continue alternating directions of your roll for about 30 seconds.
Hip Roll
Stand about 8 inches from the pool wall in shoulder-deep water. Keep your knees straight and your feet close together. Slowly press just your buttocks and upper back into the pool wall. Suck in your stomach and rotate your hips back and down until you feel your lower back press against the wall of the pool. Hold for as long as 30 seconds and then return to starting position. Repeat as many times as desired.
Ball Tread
Hold onto a beach ball with your arms extended straight out in front of you in the water. Lie chest-down in the water, with your legs extended out behind you. Keep your arms rigid, and pull the ball beneath the water toward your thighs. When you touch the ball to your legs, bend your elbows to bring it back into the starting position on top of the water. Continue arcing the ball beneath your body for about 30 seconds.
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