4 Exercises For Back Pain Relief
The average person will accumulate an average of 50 hours per week of sitting. Driving, sitting at a desk, sitting at home (in front of the TV, smartphone or iPad) all contribute. One of the most common things we see from this is bad posture that leads to back pain.
Estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014 to 15 National Health Survey show about 3.7 million Australians (16% of the population) have current back problems. It is estimated that 70 to 90% of people will suffer from lower back pain during their lifetime. We know that lower back pain describes a range of conditions related to the joints, bones, connective tissue, muscles and nerves.
So what is happening when we sit down too much?
Well, there are a few results, and they include:
- Tightening/overactive hip flexors
- Weakening core and trunk muscles
- Poor posture
- De-activating gluteal (bum) muscles
- Pain
Being proactive with your health to help manage lower back pain is the best way to prevent or eliminate long-term pain. If you’re suffering from back pain, or even just a bit of stiffness, these four exercises will help.
This is Stage 1 of a back relief and strengthening program. The first step is to reduce or eliminate the stiffness and pain, and we do that by stretching.
Exercise 1 - Lumbar rolls
How - Spread your arms out to the side, keeping your knees and feet together, then roll your knees to one side then back again. Stay within your pain-free range of movement, but ideally you should feel a stretching feeling as your knees get closer towards the ground. Repeat 20 times.
Why - This is a great warm-up to stretch and improve blood flow to your lower back muscles. Completing this will allow you to determine how tight your muscles are, which can reduce your risk of any back impingement once you start to exercise.
Exercise 2 - Diagonal glute stretch (aka “knee hug” stretch)
How - Lying flat on the ground with both legs outstretched, raise one knee towards your chest and grab it with both hands, now hug this knee towards your opposite shoulder so you feel a stretch in your buttock muscles. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds each side.
Why - There is a very low chance of you having “tight or overactive” glute muscles, but again this stretch prior to movement will stretch your gluteal and lower back muscles, while flattening your vertebrae and reducing impingement in the lumbar discs.
Exercise 3 - Pelvic tilts
How - Lying flat on the ground with your knees bent. Be prepared that this one can be a bit tricky. Start with your hands on your hips so you can feel their movement. In this position you should feel your lower back slightly off the ground, so we will start the movement by rotating your hips posteriorly/backwards so your lower back flattens into the ground, then rotate your hips anteriorly/forward so your lower back pulls further away from the ground. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Why - There are 2 main forms of lumbo-pelvic imbalance, which are anterior or posterior hip tilt. Through improving lumbo-pelvic mobility and awareness you can reduce your pain while also becoming more in tune with this area of your body.
Exercise 4 - Kneeling hip flexor stretch
How - Kneeling on one knee with the other bent up at 90 degrees in front of you. Keep your hands on your hips and upper body straight. Tuck your hips under your body then gently push forward until you feel a stretch high up in your quadriceps/groin.
Why - Like we discussed in the article, when we sit for too long our hip flexor muscles can become overactive and cause our hips to rotate forward, causing lower back pain. Remember the main hip flexor muscle also inserts into your lumbar vertebrae, so stretching this muscle group will take this pressure from your lower back and make it easier when doing the previous exercise, pelvic tilts.
There you go.
Try these stretches to relieve your back pain.
Andrew Moloney, Exercise Physiologist