EXERCISES TO RELEASE LOWER BACK PAIN

People often have problems with their lower back as compression and weaker core muscles contribute to problems already in existence because of injury or misuse of the back. Many times these conditions are reversible. The exercises below have been used by many people with great results.

One of the most important aspects about lower back health is the idea of straightening your lower back as much of the time as possible. The spine has 4 distinct sections: the neck (cervical vertebrae), the rib cage (thorastic vertebrae), the middle back (the lumbar spine) and the lower back (the sacrum). When you take your hand and place it on the back of your waistband, you are touching the lumbar spine. Go an inch or two lower and you will find a slightly raised bump. That is your sacrum. That is your lower back.

One way to tell whether your lower back is straight comes not from the lower back but from the rib cage. If your rib cage is collapsed with your shoulders rolled forward then your lower back is not straight. Another clue comes from whether the back of your waist touches your chair. If it does, your lower back is not straight. Bring your waist away from the chair and keep your sacrum in an upright position to straighten your lower back.

A straight spine is important to maintain as you do these exercises. When the lower back is straight, it straightens the rest of the spine. As you move through these, keep in mind that your head should remain in line with the rest of your spine.

Lower back exercises: Sit at the front of your chair. Sit with your legs apart, knees over your ankles. Straighten your lower back. 
  1. Bring your knees together and open 4 times to relax your hip joints.
  2. Tilt your torso slowly forward and back 4 times. Focus your eyes straight ahead to avoid getting dizzy. Think of your torso plus your head as one plank that tilts.
  3. Rest with yourself tilted forward, elbows or hands on your knees. Relax your lower back with the back of your head in line with your spine. Do not look down. Instead, look at a spot on the floor 3-5 feet in front of you.
  4. Bring your torso over to one side and push the other leg away to stretch your hip. Change sides.
  5. Sitting upright, circle your straight torso several times in each direction. Focus your eyes forward.
Find a more detailed description in Lower Back Insight.
Abdominals: Core strength is crucial to lower back health, particularly abdominals. A great rule of thumb is to engage your abdominals whenever you feel pain in your lower back. But also pull your belly in when doing something challenging like getting into and out of a car. You can strengthen your abdominals easily while comfortably seated. Simply pull your belly in and release 8 times. Do 3 sets of these each day and before long you will notice an ease in doing things that you do not expect. But the most important part is that you will be helping your lower back while noticeably reducing pain.

All of the DVDs in the Building Better Balance series stress release of lower back tension and core strengthening, but the 3rd one, “Developing Spine Health” focuses on this wonderful and powerful method in part described here.