At RC Fitness in Houston, TX, we help people reach their weight loss goals, transform themselves and look their best, but we also provide guidance to help keep you healthier and feeling good. One o the leading causes of work disability claims is back pain. In our sedentary society, it’s easy to understand why. You need to keep muscles strong and flexible in order to avoid injury. There are exercises for lower back pain that bring relief and help prevent future injury.
If you’ve had back pain in the past, do this to help prevent it in the future.
Exercises for lower back pain can bring relief immediately. Doing them on a regular basis can prevent future injury, too. Do you sit all day? That can be part of the problem. People no longer move a lot in their job or do anything physical, so learning some stretches and doing them at least once an hour can help. Get out of that chair and stand, putting your hands on your hips, with fingertips touching the small of the back. Lean forward, then backward, arching your back as you do. When you feel the stretch, hold and return to starting position. Repeat several times.
This quick exercise on the floor will get you up and walking with ease.
You might have to do it several times, but you’ll get more and more relief the more you do it. You need a towel for this one. Roll the towel, holding one end in each hand. Lay on your back. Bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor. Create a sling with the towel, lift one foot and loop the towel around the foot, with the sole pressing on it. Gently pull the towel toward you as you straighten your leg, lifting your foot at the same time. Attempt to straighten it completely and make it perpendicular to the body. Go as high up as you can without pain, then lower and do the other side.
Relax the muscles while you’re down on the floor, do the cat/cow poses from Yoga.
Some yoga poses are excellent for relaxing the back. The combination of the cat pose and cow pose can ease pain almost immediately. You do both on hands and knees. Start with the cat pose, arching your back and lowering your head. Hold it and go back to neutral then drop your tummy down and lift your head as you go into the cow pose. While it might be called a cow, it has the appearance of being a sway back horse with its head lifted high.
- Other yoga poses that are also good are the standing forward fold, the downward facing dog and the plank pose. These are better to start when your back doesn’t hurt to help prevent future problems.
- The extended puppy pose is also good for back pain. Stay in the same neutral position for the cat/cow combination, but then walk your hands forward, raising your hips and lowering your upper body. Relax as you rest your forehead on the floor. Breathe deeply and hold for seven breaths.
- You can follow up the extended puppy pose with a child pose. Just lower your bottom down to rest on your thighs, keeping hands outstretched and forehead on the floor.
- One more traditional exercise that also helps relieve back pain starts with you laying on your back. Pull your knees to your chest put your arms around your lower legs and hold. You can also drop your knees from one side to another to help relieve the stress.
For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness