Written by: Devin McLaughlin, PTA
Low back pain is one of the most common diagnoses in the US. In addition, low back pain Is caused by various deficits or injuries making it difficult to manage. To help you understand low back pain check out an older blog post we did on the topic.
Some common examples of low back pain include:
- disk injuries
- muscle strains
- muscle imbalance’s
- poor postural awareness
- and much more
In this post we’re going to go over three simple, yet effective, exercises to perform at home. These exercises can often assist in managing that lower back discomfort. Before we get started, please discontinue if pain is provoked or worsened while performing any of these exercises listed.
In addition, if you are having any issues while doing these exercise please stop as further injury could be caused. It’s always recommended to see your favorite physical therapy team here at Robbins Rehabilitation East to assure proper treatment is provided.
1. Prone press up
First we have the Prone Press Ups. Prone press ups are typically most beneficial for individuals dealing with a disk herniation. Low back pain relief is often based on directional preference, meaning either going into a flexed or extended position may assist in reducing discomfort. This exercise can centralize symptoms due to compressing your inner-vertebral disk which, if bulging, may be compressing onto a nerve. As mentioned in the video, this exercise should be performed as a progression in order to assure tolerance to the extended position.
2. Pelvic Tilt
Next, we have the Pelvic Tilt. Many individuals typically have a pelvis that is either tilted into an anterior or posterior direction. In result, this may have an impact on low back pain. When performed correctly, this exercise can assist in not only strengthening the abdominal muscles, but also be progressed into finding a more pelvic neutral position for maintained relief. While performing this exercise you can find a position that provides relief. This happens by either increased or decreased to lumbar curvature.
3. Repeated flexion in the sitting position
Similar to the prone press up, this is a directional preference but this exercises tends to be more beneficial to an individual with either a facet dysfunction or lumbar stenosis rather than a disk herniation. One of the most important things to remember with this exercises is to breath while holding for 10 seconds. A good technique to assure you are not holding your breath is to count out loud to facilitate breathing.
I hope you enjoyed the exercises and blog post provided and were able to assist in decreasing low back discomfort. If pain is provoked or worsened during any of these exercises please discontinue and contact us to be evaluated.
You can SCHEDULE A FREE EVALUATION HERE.
