How Exercise Can Help With Lower Back Pain

Americans are no strangers to lower back pain as 80% of adults report having some experience with the problem during their lives. More alarming is the fact that 20% of those who have acute lower back pain go on to struggle with chronic lower back pain. To avoid becoming part of this statistic, we strongly suggest that you add targeted exercises to your regimen that help alleviate the pain and prevent ongoing problems with debilitating lower back issues.

At Texas Spine Consultants, as our name suggests, our expert team, led by Dr. Michael Hennessey, specializes in the many conditions that can affect your spine, and lower back pain is among the most common.

Here’s a look at how exercise can help with your lower back pain, as well as a few suggestions to get you started.

All hands on deck

There are many conditions that can lead to lower back pain, chief among them:

• Sciatica
• Herniated disc
• Muscle strain
• Spinal stenosis
• Degenerative disc disease
• Scoliosis
• Arthritis

While each of these has their own set of concerns, they all share one thing in common — compromised areas along your spine.

Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, which are separated by 23 discs. Helping to support these structures are a host of connective tissues, such as:

• Ligaments
• Tendons
• Muscles

Through exercise, our goal is to target each of these items on the list by promoting strength, flexibility, and range of motion. In other words, rather than simply relying on your spine alone for support, you can spread out the workload by strengthening the supportive players.

Getting you exercise-ready

We understand that exercise may seem out of the question when you’re in pain, which is where we come in. Through our advanced treatments, we can provide you with relief long enough to get started on strengthening your lower back. To do this, we may turn to:

• Medications
• Nerve blocks
• Steroid injections

Once you’re comfortable, we suggest you start slowly and gradually strengthen your core muscles, which include your abdominal muscles, as well.

Getting started

The following exercise suggestions are designed to get you started, but to err on the safe side, we urge you to come to us so that we can design a program that’s targeted to your unique situation.

Glute bridges

Lay down on the floor with both feet planted as close to your buttocks as possible. Keeping your lower back neutral, push your hips up into a bridge, keeping your shoulders on the floor. Hold this position for a moment and then lower back down. Repeat this exercise 10-15 times.

Engaging your abs

While you’re still on the floor with your feet planted hip-width apart, breathe in deeply and then exhale, pulling your abdomen in toward your spine and then hold for five seconds. It’s important that you concentrate on your abdominal muscles only, keeping everything else still.

Superman

One of the most effective exercises for strengthening your lower back is called the superman. To get started, roll over onto your stomach and stretch your arms forward. Lift both your arms and legs until they’re about six inches off of the floor and hold for several seconds. Repeat this exercise 10 times.

If you’d like to learn more about how exercise can help improve your lower back pain, please contact our office in Addison, Texas, to set up an appointment.