I get asked all the time what exercises should be done while there is low back pain present. I’m very cautious of this question simply because I’m usually asked by people over 70 who don’t exercise to begin with.

I’m all for strengthening once you have gotten some pain relief and are “ready” to strengthen. But typically when you have extreme pain, I don’t let my patients do any exercises. People tend to not do them correctly or over-do them and re-injure the area we are already working on.

Reasons for Strengthening

Exercise has been proven to slow down the aging process and improves your core strength, improves your stamina, stability, coordination, posture, and protects you from injury.

• Injury prevention. Healing from an injury is much more difficult than avoiding one altogether.
• Improve body strength. Studies found that core strengthening exercises can improve body strength of older adults by an average of 30%. Stronger muscles allows for an increased range of motion, too.
• Manage and reduce pain. Strengthening helps reduce pain from chronic conditions.
• Balance and stablility. Your core helps support your spine, which aids in balance and stability.
• Makes daily tasks easier. A strong core provides you better reaction time and helps ordinary activities, like climbing stairs.

Best Exercises

There are many exercises out there that deal with core stability. Some are great, others are not. For instance I don’t recommend my patients to do the traditional crunch. More often than not, you are doing it wrong and it puts undue pressure on your lower back. Try some of these exercises or you can modify them to be able to do them.

• Seated side bends. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor, keeping one hand behind your head and the other reaching towards the floor. Lean over as though you’re going to touch the floor, tightening the oblique muscles running along the side of your body in the process. Return to your initial position and repeat on the opposite side.

• Pelvic Tilts. Lie flat on your back, keeping your knees bent and feet flat against the ground. Tighten your core, raising your hips until a straight line is formed between your knees and chest- do not arch your back. Hold for three breaths, then lower back down.

• The Superman. This movement strengthens your lower back and improves stability. Lie face down on the floor with arms outstretched in front of you. Raise your head, right arm and left leg in tandem about two inches, then lower and repeat on the opposite side.

• Leg lifts. Work your lower abdominal muscles by lying flat on the floor with legs and feet relaxed. Contract your abs while raising one leg about 5 inches off the floor, holding for 3 counts. Repeat with the other leg.

Chiropractic Care

Talk with your chiropractor to see what exercises they suggest for your unique condition. Chiropractic can help you not only with back pain, but with helping you understand why you keep injuring yourself. X-rays are very helpful when a patient continues to injure the same area over time. There could be an underlying condition like scoliosis, disc degeneration, or even a reduced cervical curve.

Chiropractors main focus is to help the body function better without pain. Then it’s a great idea to help strengthen muscles (much like in physical therapy) to help protect the spine from re-injury.

If you have questions about your low back pain (or any pain) and what can be done to help you from reinsuring yourself all the time, give us or a chiropractor near you a call! Prevention care is much easier (and cheaper) than pain care!

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, INC
El Reno, OK 73036