The best exercise routines for a bad lower back must include aerobic exercise, resistance training and stretching. Armed with a cache of different exercises that are safe and beneficial for your back in each of these areas, you can do a different exercise routine everyday. Start your sequence off with low-impact aerobics, followed by strengthening and then stretching.
Aerobic Exercise
According to Dr. Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., of the Spine-Health website, aerobic exercise provides many benefits for a person with a bad lower back. Aerobic exercise keeps you functional and decreases chronic pain. It also keeps your weight under control, which can reduce pain as well. Endorphins are released when you exercise; these reduce pain and improve mood. Choose a low-impact aerobic exercise such as walking, stationary biking, swimming or the elliptical. Participate in aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes each day.
McKenzie Exercises
McKenzie exercises include a series of flexion and extension activities fit into a routine that is designed to help reduce the pain in and improve the functioning of your lower back. The first two exercises in the McKenzie routine involve sitting and standing with erect posture to train the back to sustain good posture which can relieve back pain. Next, move to the floor to lie on your stomach. Position your hands flat on the floor under your chest, and push your upper torso up off the floor. Then roll onto your back. First, lie with your legs extended, then bring your knees into a bent position and hold. Next, grab both legs with your hands and move your knees to your chest and hold for a stretch. Transfer yourself to a chair and spread your legs apart. Lean your whole upper body down between your legs while reaching your arms out, and hold for a stretch. Stand up and bend over, reaching as far down as possible to stretch your lower back and hamstrings. You've just completed the McKenzie routine.
Stability Ball Routine
The stability ball provides a low-impact way to strengthen your back. Before you begin your routine, become comfortable with the stability ball by simply sitting on it. Begin your exercise routine with the prone walkout. Lie on your stomach on the ball. Using your hands, walk yourself out, supporting yourself with your hands on the floor and your shins on the ball. Hold when you get as far out as you can, keeping your glutes lifted and abs contracting, then slowly walk yourself back in and repeat. For the next exercise, a reverse extension, continue lying face down on the ball, but position it so that it is supporting your lower stomach and pelvis with your hands on the floor. Relax your legs but keep them together. Exhale and lift your legs off the floor, using your back glutes and other back muscles, hold for a second, then relax and repeat. Finish your routine with a glute bridge. Lie on the floor, face up, with your legs extended and calves resting on the stability ball. Lift your lower back and buttocks off the floor and hold for five seconds, then lower yourself back down and repeat.
Stretching Routine
Stretching should follow your entire exercise program. It can help reduce pain from exercising and keep your range of motion from reducing. Begin by lying on your back. One at a time, pull your leg up toward your chest and hold it for 30 seconds. Next, stretch out your hamstrings which can affect back pain. Lie near a wall that you can prop your leg up onto. Lift your leg onto the wall, and keep your knee straight. Move as close to the wall as you can to increase the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, then relax and repeat with the other leg.
References
- Spine-Health; Exercise and Back Pain; Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., M.D.; June 2009
- Spine-Health; Low-Impact Aerobic Execise; Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., M.D.; June 2009
- Spine-Health; Pain Relief from McKenzie Treatment; Ted Dreisinger, Ph.D.; March 2007
- American Council on Exercise: Back Exercises
- Spine-Health; Specific Hamstring Stretches for Back Pain Relief; Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., M.D.; June 2009
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