Lower Back Exercises Guide

My dad actually asked me, last time I was home, if I had any recommendations for good lower back stretching exercises. “Sure,” I said, “I can show you a few things. But what you really need to do is work on strengthening your core.”

For someone like my dad, who doesn’t strength train as part of his everyday life, the idea of stretching to alleviate pain is straightforward. If you go for a hike and your legs are sore, you should stretch out. If you play baseball on the weekend and your arm and shoulder hurt, stretch them. It makes sense. However low back pain, as a chronic condition, is more complicated than these other examples.

True: the pain is most immediately caused by stress, overexertion, or tightening of the lower back muscles. Performing lower back stretching exercises that target this area, such as lying on your back and slowly pulling one knee at a time in to your chest can reduce the pain for a time. But to really resolve the problem we have to determine and target the real cause of lower back pain.

For most adults who suffer from chronic back pain, the real problem is weak abdominal muscles. The group of muscles that hold our bodies upright are generally referred to as the core muscles. Within this group it is very common for those muscles in front of the abdomen to weaken from too little use, due to a lifestyle dominated by sitting. We sit in the car, in front of the computer, at the office, and on the couch at home. All of this sitting does nothing to strengthen our abdominal muscles; yet still we expect them to hold us up whenever we decide to stand, or to sit without slouching. Because the abs are unable to do what we expect of them, it falls to the postural muscles in the back (which are much smaller than the true core muscles) to pick up the slack.

So to really alleviate low back pain, it is essential to begin a routine that will strengthen our core muscles; especially the abdominals. To someone like my dad, the idea of stretching to relieve muscle discomfort is much more acceptable than the idea of exercising the complete opposite side of the body. But the fact of the matter is that no amount of time spent on lower back stretching exercises will prove as effective a long term solution as overall core strengthening. Now that you know, what steps will you take to prevent future back pain?

You’ve probably heard by now that the majority of chronic low back pain actually results from weakness in those muscles at the front of the abdomen. The group of muscles that fitness experts refer to as the “core” includes the abdominals and some mid-to lower back muscles. Together, the core muscles wrap around the abdomen to form a natural girdle of sorts, for the purpose of holding the upper body upright. Good posture is a direct result of strong core muscles; and poor posture is a reflection of core weakness. Not surprisingly, so is lower back pain.

Now that we’re clear on the cause of lower back pain, we will move onto what can be done about it. If you’re already suffering from chronic lower back pain, it’s too late to know that it’s actually a preventable condition. But if you have not yet reached a point in your life where back pain is an issue, read on, and hopefully you never have to.

Lower Back Strengthening Exercises: Abdominal Training

Just because it’s easy to lose abdominal strength (sitting, sitting, and more sitting… sound familiar?) doesn’t mean it has to be difficult to gain it. Making an effort to incorporate abdominal exercises into your everyday life can be as simple as setting aside 5 minutes in the morning and at night for bicycle crunches and balance exercises.

Whenever you think of it during the day, tighten your abdominals by pulling in your belly button and standing (or sitting) tall. As we discussed earlier, posture is both a cause and effect of abdominal strength, or the lack thereof.

If you know you’ll be more successful with a structured ab strengthening routine, join a gym or studio that offers core strengthening classes, and go as many days a week as you can. Core strengthening exercises and lower back strengthening exercise are one and the same. So to reduce chronic low back pain and increase your body’s overall functionality, incorporate both into your daily life. It’s easier than you might think, and time will show that the choice was a good one.

Have you ever gone to the gym an seen someone bent over an exercise ball or padded seat, hands clasped behind their heads, swinging up and down as if their upper body is some kind of yo-yo? I have, and I would be lying if I said that I understood this particular “low back” exercise.

The lower back is made up of a number of relatively small muscles whose job is to provide postural support to the abdomen. The nature of these muscles is to provide consistent support for long periods of time: they are endurance muscles. I’m a big advocate for functional training, which means that I like for the exercises I perform during resistance training to reflect movements I might actually make in my every day life. In my mind, exercises for the lower back, specifically, would include holding postural-specific positions; forcing these small muscles to engage. I can’t remember the last time I flexed and extended repeatedly from the back of the pelvis. Perhaps if I were a gymnast…

I stand, sit, and lie down on a daily basis. With each of these positions, and in transitioning from one to another, my lower back muscles are working: tirelessly supporting my upper body for hours at a stretch. They work with the other core muscles (in large part, the abs) to keep me upright; and if the rest of the group isn’t as strong as it needs to be, then the lower back picks up the slack. This extra strain, caused by weak core muscles, is the cause of most chronic low back pain.

If we want to discuss exercises for the lower back, it is important to consider workout that targets all of the core muscles. Weakness in the abdominals results from a lack of use, and translates in many people to lower back pain. Therefore any exercise designed to strengthen the core muscles- crunches, balance exercises, or simply maintaining good posture while performing other movements—qualifies as a low back pain-reducing exercise.

Sometimes taking your cues from someone else’s workout can be a great way to add variety to your own. But it’s always a good idea to understand an exercise before adding it to your routine. If it’s exercises for the lower back you’re looking for, look no further than any basic core strengthening routine. After all, training functionally lets us live functionally. And isn’t that what we’re all really after?