Exercises for Lower Back Pain: Dos and Don’ts
Exercises for lower back pain can help you feel better, but improper movements could make your pain worse and perhaps necessitate a trip to the emergency room. You’ll start along the road to recovery by following these 10 professional suggestions…
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According to the American Physical Therapy Association, symptoms of lower back pain will affect two-thirds of Americans at some point in their lives. According to Ted Dreisinger, Ph.D., an associate editor of The Spine Journal and trustee of McKenzie Institute International, an organization that advocates for persons with musculoskeletal disorders, “most back pain is mechanical, meaning daily life stresses lead to overload.”
Less than 1% of cases, he continues, are brought on by more serious conditions including fractures, spine tumors, or systemic diseases. These need to be treated medically.
Consult a physician if the pain is ongoing, keeps you up at night, includes leg pain, or develops after an injury. Staying active is the greatest approach to managing less severe back pain problems, according to Dreisinger. “The natural response to pain is to do less,” he asserts, “but the opposite holds true” with regard to the symptoms of back pain. Exercise causes muscles to relax and boosts local blood flow, which explains why. Here is professional guidance on what could and won’t help your back pain issues.
1. Avoid simply lying there.
It may be tempting to stay in bed for a few days to wait for the pain to go away, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) warns that doing so could make your back pain symptoms worse.
Dreisinger suggests choosing easy activities when you’re just beginning to feel better after being in discomfort. He thinks that a great first activity is walking. “Walk for 10 to 15 minutes twice a day at a moderate pace.”
2. Extend your body.
The appropriate stretches can reduce low-back spasms, according to Dreisinger. He suggests performing these back-friendly stretches 8 to 10 times each in the morning and evening.
Stretch your back by standing up, putting both hands behind you as if you were putting them in the back pockets of your jeans, looking up, and arching your back. Press-ups: Lie on your stomach and start a push-up by placing your hands on the ground. By maintaining your hips near to the ground, lift only your upper body while allowing your lower back to sag. Hold for a short while.
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3. Discover the exercises that aggravate lower back pain.
According to physical therapist Rick Olderman, author of Fixing You:
Back Pain (Boone Publishing), the most typical form of back pain is “extension syndrome,” which typically hurts while standing. According to him, causes include frequently standing with locked-out knees (where they are bent to the point of being hyperextended rearward, placing pressure on the joint) and sitting for long periods of time without using your chair’s back support. The following symptoms indicate extension syndrome: Spend 30 seconds on your back with your legs straight. Next, wait 30 seconds while bending your knees so your feet are resting close to your behind. According to Olderman, if your back feels better with your knees bent, you likely have extension syndrome.
Olderman’s advice is to keep your knees slightly bent while standing. Put your feet next to your behind or on a chair or bench when lying on your back. The flexion and rotation syndromes are two additional important subtypes of back pain. Extension syndrome is the reverse of flexion syndrome, which causes pain while seated, according to him. It frequently happens as a result of pressing too hard against the back of your chair, which makes it easier for your spine to bend forward. This results in lengthened, weak, and tight hamstrings and back muscles. Try lying on your back with your knees bent and then straightening them to see if you experience any relief to test for it.
Tip: If you experience lower-back pain from extension syndrome, avoid using a bench and instead lie flat on the floor with your knees bent when performing exercises like chest presses that require reclining on your back. According to Olderman, rotation syndrome happens when the spine is essentially permanently turned in one way. If you twist to one or both sides, it can hurt. It frequently happens as a result of repeatedly spinning in one direction, such as when reaching for a desk drawer, a computer monitor, or any regularly used device that is kept off to the side. Avoid making too many turns either way. Tennis and golf are two games that might exacerbate the imbalance, so use caution when playing them. Additionally, get advice from a biomechanics-savvy specialist (like a golf pro) who can advise you on how to change your movements. Additionally, make an effort to align the spine with core-strengthening activities.
4. Avoid pushing through discomfort.
Chiropractic expert: “If bending backward hurts, don’t do it.” “Pressing into a painful position can cause further tissue damage and aggravate [existing] damage,” he cautions.
Tinsley’s advice is to concentrate on stabilizing exercises like planks if your workouts hurt. Perform three to five repetitions of 10- to 20-second holds.
5. Stand up straight.
A physical therapist and senior fitness specialist at a women’s weight-loss clinic say that slouching and slumping are frequently to blame for back pain symptoms, especially in overweight or obese women. These postures can tilt to stabilize excess weight on the skeletal system, which tightens the muscles in the lower back.
Advice: If you slouch, work on your posture. By standing straight and lining up your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and feet several times every day, you can align your spine. When you experience lower back pain, this helps reduce stress. And put on shoes with lower heels.Additionally, wearing high heels could make your posture unsteady.
6. Don’t forget to warm up.
Many back pain concerns arise when we suddenly exert pressure on the spine without warming up. Perform some easy stretches before engaging in activities like resistance workouts or working in the yard.
“Tip: The cat-cow yoga pose is a fantastic pre-activity stretch: With your back straight and your head and neck in line, begin on your hands and knees. During an inhalation, adopt the cow pose by lowering your belly toward the floor and focusing your gaze upward. As you exhale, assume the cat stance by tucking your tummy in, arching your back, and bringing your head to your chest. If you experience any pain, cease doing it immediately. Additionally, warm up for 5 to 10 minutes with a low-intensity cardio exercise (like strolling) before to any exercise. This increases blood flow and may prevent damage or long-term deterioration of your back problems.
7. Avoid performing high-impact exercises or lifting large objects.
Stay away from painful activities during or right after exercise, It’s normal to experience mild muscular pain 24 to 48 hours after working out; it should subside on its own.
Use proper form when lifting weights, and only use weights you can manage. (If you’re novice, using weight machines could be easier than using free weights.) Running, leaping, step aerobics, basketball, and any other high-impact exercise might exacerbate the symptoms of back discomfort. Avoid them till the ache goes away.
8. Avoid slinging weights over your shoulders or overhead.
When you have back pain, avoid doing shoulder presses and other overhead weightlifting movements since they put stress on your spine. Avoid workouts where a weight rests on your shoulders, like weighted squats, as they put pressure on the spinal discs. Another thing to avoid is using weights overhead.
9. Don’t restrict yourself to exercises on land.
According to a 2014 study, swimming exercises like water aerobics may make it easier for you to stand up quickly.49 inactive patients with chronic low back pain who either completed aquatic exercise or did nothing improved more in the pool program.
Advice: Swimming can reduce pain. It’s a good, low-impact cardiovascular workout, he explains, and it doesn’t strain the spine.
10. Pay attention to the pain.
The majority of back pain symptoms are self-limiting; if you don’t aggravate them, they should go away in a few days or weeks. “But if it doesn’t go away on its own, don’t ignore the pain and continue to work out,” he advises. This might lead to more harm. Furthermore, according to Olderman, overexertion can only serve to reinforce the movement patterns that contributed to the initial onset of your back discomfort.
So give the back workout you’re performing another look. Is it too strong? Could the motions be making your back problems worse?
Once these problems are resolved, chronic pain should vanish, according to Olderman. Visit a doctor if it doesn’t. The physician will ensure that you receive medications like Asmanol 100mg and Tapaday 100mg, which are excellent painkillers, in accordance with your situation.
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