Back Pain Exercises

Back Pain - Who Needs It? Who Wants It? Who Has It?

Low back pain is prevalent in society, and not just American society.  One might even say that it's rampant across many different places.  The core muscles are essential in keeping your hips and back in shape and preventing and treating back pain.  Simple exercises can help you deal with some of the more minor back pain occurrences. Swiss Ball required. 

• Pelvic Tilts:
• Sitting tall on a gym ball, hands relaxed at your sides.  Perform a posterior pelvic tilt by sucking stomach in and rocking pelvis forward to flatten the low back. Rock your pelvis backwards to arch the low back. The ball will roll slightly back and forth.

• Supine Bridge:
• Lying on your back with your heels on the ball and knees straight. Keep your arms at 45 degrees at your sides with your palms up for stability. Press your heels into the ball and squeeze your buttocks to raise the pelvis and low back up off the floor (keep your shoulder blades on the floor).  Keep the ball stable and then lower the pelvis to the floor and repeat.

• Crunches:
• Lying on a Swiss Ball with the ball under the small of your back (or slightly higher). Gently cradle your head in your hands (don't pull with arms) and suck in abdominals and sit up towards a seated position, leading with the chest and keeping your head in neutral. Lower with control and repeat. Maintain the abdominal hollow throughout the movement.

Perform these 3-5x/week; 2 sets of 10 repetitions each.