Roughly 80% of Americans suffer some degree of chronic pain in their lower back. In fact, low back pain is the second most common reason for doctor’s office visits, but treatment guidelines have never been firmly established through research. Industry professionals have been praising the benefits of exercise in treating back pain for years, but if you suffer from this chronic syndrome, exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing, and understandably so. However, recent research conducted at the University of Alberta showed that exercising four days per week improves quality of life, reducing pain by 28%. Exercising less than four days per week did not produce the same level of improvement. Though there is no quick fix, using exercise as a means of combating chronic back pain does work.

At Home Treatment Options

1. Simple Stretching
A side effect of spending hours sitting at our desks is that the hip flexors become very tight. It may seem too simple to have an effect, but stretching the hip flexor muscles can reduce the forward pull on the lumbar spine and possibly reduce the associated lordosis that results.

Try this: Hip Flexor Stretch

2. Strength Training
In addition to decreasing body fat percentage, regular strength training improves musculoskeletal fitness and reduces pain. A total body approach works best.
Choose 8-10 exercises that target the entire body and set aside 2-3 days per week to complete 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions of each exercise.

A time saving tip: rather than focusing on one muscle group at a time and completing both sets, alternate between body parts. This reduces the amount of time needed for rest between sets. It also reduces boredom.

3. Strengthen your core!
Strengthening all of the muscles that surround the spine, from the spinal erectors, to the obliques and abdominals, gives the back support, helps you stand taller, and reduces the muscle fatigue that often leads to poor posture and posture-related back pain. Try this terrific core-strengthening routine two times per week:
Intermediate Core Galore
(Click on image to view this workout…)

4. Strengthen your legs.
Weak leg muscles = weak posture and poor body mechanics. Make sure your total body strengthening program involves exercises for the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, and hip abductors/adductors.
Try this:
Kettlebell Squats
Weight Bar Drop Step
Alternating Hamstring Curls
Hip Twist

5. Strengthen lower back muscles by regularly engaging in activities that require strong legs and a strong core, such as cycling, swimming, walking and jogging, stair climbing, Pilates, and Yoga.

More Tips

Reduce the amount of time sitting. A sedentary lifestyle only exacerbates lower back problems. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go for family bike rides. Play tag with your kids. Get up, get moving – you get the picture.


* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.

How many times today did you reach, twist, turn, bend or lunge? I bet you performed these movements more times than you think you did. We don’t often consider the muscles involved in everyday movements, such as reaching for a box on a high shelf, or stooping to pick up a small child, but both of these examples require a strong core, which involves the muscles surrounding and supporting your spine and connecting limbs to your torso. Whether these muscles are strong or weak can mean the difference between picking the child up with ease, or sustaining an injury.

To properly work the core, take your abdominal routine off the floor. Isolated contraction of the abdominal muscles, such as when performing crunches while lying on the floor, are helpful for strengthening and toning abdominal muscles, but crunches really don’t mimic real-life movement all that well.

Engaging all of the muscles that surround and support the spine (the spinal erectors, obliques, and abdominal muscles) by performing exercises in all of the planes of motion and with a variety of equipment will improve posture, help you move more efficiently, and make everyday activity much easier.

The following conditioning workout hits the core from all directions and with a variety of equipment. Try integrating a few of these moves into your regular strength training program, or do them all for a more synergistic routine.

Y
Intermediate Core Galore


* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.