Lower Back Pain Exercises Including Stretches for Lower Back Pain

Chronic lower back pain is one of the most prevalent health issues in our country.  Your back pain causes and symptoms are wide-ranging, and can be hard to diagnose.  But, as many back pain causes and symptoms there are, there are also many back pain remedies.  Being a prior chronic back pain sufferer, I can tell you that lower back pain exercises are one of the most important things to do to strengthen, stretch and condition your back to reduce pain and possibility of injury or re-injury, but you have to do them right.  I’ll briefly review some of the most beneficial back strengthening exercises and stretches for lower back pain that I’ve found.  You really need to exercise for lower back pain if you want to be proactive in getting rid of it.

Stretches for Lower Back Pain

One of the most important things you can do for your back health is to regularly stretch your back.  This includes stretches for lower back pain.  It helps keep your muscles and ligaments flexible, and reduces strain on joints.  It improves your circulation, pumping the needed nutrients throughout your body.  Without it, you’ll get stiffness, limited movement and pain.  It’s essential to stretch before and after vigorous physical activities or sports to avoid injuries, muscle strain and soreness.  To get the most benefit, you need to do it properly.  Here are some helpful tips when doing stretches for lower back pain:

• If you can, start at the neck and work each muscle group down your body. This way you’re using muscles that are already stretched as you go
• Stretch Gently and Slowly only until you feel Mild tension
• Don’t bounce.  Hold your stretch 10-20 seconds
• Don’t hold your breath.  Inhale deeply before you stretch, and exhale during the stretch
• Stretch for the same amount of time on each body part, doing 3-5 stretches is fine.  You can increase repetition as you progress
• Alternate sides and muscle groups

Stretching first thing in the morning also helps pump blood throughout your system, giving you increased energy for the day.  You should do stretches for lower back pain at least 2-3 times a week up to daily to reduce your lower back pain.

Exercise for Lower Back Pain

Proper stretching and exercise for lower back pain is crucial if you want to get rid of the pain and improve the quality of your life.  Here’s one exercise for lower back pain that is very helpful.  Some exercises that can help reduce or prevent lower back pain are:

• Aerobic exercises
• Back strengthening exercises
• Back stretching exercises

Some exercises can make your back pain worse, so avoid them:

• Straight leg sit ups
• Bent leg sit ups or partial situps when you have acute back pain
• Lifting both legs laying on your back
• Lifting heavy weights above your waist
• Touching your toes while standing

Here are some good resources for lower back pain exercises and stretches for lower back pain.  I can tell you from personal experience that if you want to get rid of your back pain (consult your doctor first*), you really need to exercise and stretch and strengthen your back muscles:

Back Strengthening Exercises

Lower Back Pain Exercises

Stretches for Lower Back Pain

If you’d like a copy of the “Low Back Pain Exercises” pdf, just let me know or sign up for the newsletter and email me.  I’d be happy to send it to you.

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Lower Back Pain Causes: Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are many possible causes of lower back pain, and I’ll review the most common causes and symptoms here, as well as some good lower back pain exercises and lower back pain treatment that helps.  Lower back pain causes usually include over-using or over-straining the back, bad posture or positioning, lifting heavy objects or awkward movement, accidents, falls or other injuries or traumas to the back or spinal column, etc.

Lower back pain causes usually include muscle strain that can lead to overall imbalance of the muscles and spinal column.  This can lead to constant tension on muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and discs, which makes your back more prone to injury.  Many times these are cumulative, or add on to each other, because you’ll move differently to avoid the pain, or use muscles that aren’t sore.  This can cause you to overcompensate, straining these muscles in addition to the ones you’ve already strained or injured.

The most common causes of chronic lower back pain include what I indicated above:

• Over-use, strain or injury to muscles, ligaments and joints including the sacroiliac joint.
• Pressure on the nerves in the spinal column including the sciatic nerve, which can be caused by a herniated disc
• Fractures to the vertebrae caused by an accident, fall or other trauma to the spine, compressing it
• Osteoarthritis, which is a degeneration of the joints including the hips, usually when we get older
• Vertebra defects that cause vertebrae to slide over each other (Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis)
• Narrowing of the spinal canal which can also develop with age (Spinal Stenosis)
• Spinal deformities that cause a curvature of the spine like Kyphosis or severe Scoliosis
• Compression fractures most commonly found in post-menopausal women with Osteoporosis, which even a sneeze can cause a compression fracture, or after extended use of a “corticosteroid”.
• Kidney or ovary problems, tumors and pregnancy and other less common issues can all contribute to lower back pain

Lower Back Pain Exercises

Lower back pain exercise is VERY helpful in alleviating most types of back pain, including chronic lower back pain and acute back pain.  Lower back pain exercises include stretching and strengthening the muscles of your stomach (abdomen) and back (spine), which help reduce and prevent back problems.  This will also help improve your posture, which is Key, and keep your spine in the correct position.

You should warm your muscle up with a light activity like walking before doing stretching or strengthening exercises.  Wear loose clothes and DON’T do any low back pain exercises that hurt unless you’ve talked with your doctor.  They can also help you develop an exercise program.  NOTE:  If you have a herniated disk or other disk problem, you should also check with them First.

Some good lower back pain exercises can be found at my Back Strengthening Exercises page and here: Lower Back Pain Exercises

Lower Back Pain Treatment

Other lower back pain treatment can include ice and heat, back pain massage therapy, back pain medicine including anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers or injections depending on the lower back pain cause, spinal decompression therapy, physical therapy or alternative back pain therapy like accupuncture for back pain, and other back pain therapies.  Electric muscle stimulators like a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is Great.  I still use mine when I need to.  Muscle strains including lower back muscle strains usually heal with Time (couple days to few weeks).  Resting for a couple of days helps, but no more than that.

Lower Back Pain Massage Therapy

Lower back pain massage therapy like the Homedics back massager, Jeannie Rub massager (hand held massager), a back massage chair, or car back massager are all great back pain massage options, and some include deep tissue massage therapy.

Back Pain Massage Therapy

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Lower Back Pain Remedy

Those of us with chronic lower back pain know how debilitating it can be.  It affects our quality of life, activities, sitting, standing, sleeping, everything we do in our daily lives.  I’m going to briefly review some of the back pain causes, causes of muscle spasms and treating lower back pain with a simple lower back pain remedy.

80% of the population has chronic lower back pain.  The causes of back pain can vary greatly based on the individual, history, genetics, trauma or injuries, etc.  Some of the most prevalent reasons today in our society and the convenience of modern technology is stress, our hectic lives and lack of time to properly take care of our bodies. 

And what’s one thing all of us do the most in our day to day lives?  We sit.  We sit at home watching tv, playing games, eating, etc.  We sit in our cars commuting and traveling, and we sit at work.   This tightens the muscles and causes tension, straining our lower back.  I’ll list some simple things you can do that will alleviate the pain, stretch and strengthen the back, and help get your back on track.

Causes of Muscle Spasms

There are many causes of muscle spasms, from lifting or turning awkwardly to overexertion, weak stomach muscles, lack of activity, being overweight, or an accident or fall.  It may be a herniated disk, sciatica, or a pinched nerve.  You need to take care of your body, and particularly your back, as it supports your entire body and movement.  When you abuse or neglect your back, you jeopardize your future health and lifestyle.  I’ll review some simple things you can do to improve or maintain a strong, stabile back, reduce or eliminate lower back pain and increase your quality of life.

Treating Lower Back Pain

Some simple things you can do in treating lower back pain are:

• Drink a lot of water to help keep your body and muscles hydrated, making them more flexible and preventing them from cramping or constricting

• Lower back stretching exercises so it’s more pliable and ready for activity

• Lower back strengthening exercises to help strengthen your core and back to reduce or eliminate your back pain symptom.  Some will also strengthen your stomach muscles which we all need, because they support our spine

• Breathing during these exercises or breathing techniques help by bringing oxygen to our muscles and relieving stress

• Believe it or not, your Diet affects your lower back health.  The American College of Cardiology did a study that shows a high saturated fat meal causes inflammation and weakens your body’s ability to fight inflammation naturally.  So, try to reduce high fat food items, remove fat and skin from meats and reduce frying.  Bake, broil or grill instead

• Take vitamin and mineral supplements consistently 

• Try some natural alternative herbal remedies that are effective and safe:

• Bryonia is useful for back pain for injury or backaches

• Arnica helps relieve pain in soft tissue and muscles

• Nux Vomica helps muscles cramps in the back

• Rhus Toxic helps pain in shoulder, neck and lower back

• Calcarea Carbonica helps if you’re overweight, or in poor physical condition and easily tire

• Cut a 2 inch ginger root into slices and add 1 quarter cup boiling water.  Put on low heat for half an hour, strain, cool and drink.  You can add honey or other natural sweetener to it for taste

• Massage therapy, yoga or pilates is very helpful

• Other alternative treatments or techniques include chiropractic care or accupuncture among others explained at my Back Pain Remedy page and other posts

• Take an epsom salt bath

There are many things you can do to help treat lower back pain and the causes of muscle spasms.  The best lower back pain remedy is to take care of your body and back by doing some of the basic things above.  Of course, there are many back pain relief products that will help relieve lower back pain, stretch and strengthen your back, and improve it’s health to help get you back to living without these restrictions.

If you’re involved in activities that strain your back, you need to be well conditioned and have tools to support it including back supports and braces, massage and heat devices, etc.  If you have problems sitting, laying or traveling because of your back pain, or you need help to strengthen and stabilize your back, there are educational and back fitness products that will help improve your quality of life.

There are two back pain relief product providers I would recommend that are high quality and reasonably priced.  One focuses on back specific products, is a leader in the industry, and has great guarantees and customer service.  The other also has good guarantees and customer service, and focuses on natural organic and eco-friendly products.  They both have a full range of support products that help eliminate back pain including wellness and fitness above and media products.

Contour Living:  Back specific. Also has “as seen on tv ads” back pain products

Gaiam for green living, yoga, fitness and organic products

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Back Pain Relief Products:  Choosing a Back Pain Product That’s Right For You

There are so many back pain relief products to choose from, it’s hard to narrow down exactly what you need to alleviate your specific back pain. There are also many different kinds, such as topical back pain relievers and massage treatments, chiropractic and holistic treatment methods, electrical stimulation (TENS), ergonomic, massage and heat chairs, inversion tables, back supports and braces, etc.  The list goes on…  I won’t go into all of them here, but you can learn more about them at my Back Pain Relief Products page.

Back Pain Product: Gaiam BalanceBall Chair

One back pain product I’ve recently learned about that I wanted to share some information with you on is the Gaiam BalanceBall Chair. It’s a unique alternative seating product featured in the Wall Street Journal on June 12, 2009. I’m going to briefly outline how this chair came to be, what it’s about, and it’s purpose as a tool for treating lower back pain.

Gaiam BalanceBall Chair as a Treatment for Chronic Back Pain:  How It Came To Be and What It’s About

This chair was developed by Gaiam, a company that specializes in organic, yoga and fitness products,  and Dr. Randy Weinzoff, a 1990 graduate of Palmer College Chiropractic and chiropractic pioneer.  They say Dr. Weinzoff has been providing a full spectrum approach to health and well-being for over 14 years.  He’s a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and specializes in exercise and sports rehabilitation, alleviation of chronic pain and nutritional analysis.

The Gaiam BalanceBall Chair is a revolution in alternative seating at home and in the office, and apparently continues to be a customer favorite.  It’s patented design combines fitness with comfort and ergonomic back support at an affordable price.  Gaiam developed this chair with Dr. Weinzoff as an effective tool for strengthening core muscles and improving spinal alignment.  The removable BalanceBall can be used for exercises on or off the chair, which is a handy aspect.

How the BalanceBall Chair Helps Alleviate Chronic Lower Back Pain:

• Provides core strengthening, ergonomic back support and comfort
• Helps improve spinal alignment and reduce nerve compression

BalanceBall Chair Features, Details and What Comes With It:

• It’s designed for people 5’-5’11″ weighing up to 300 lbs.
• It has rolling, lockable castor wheels and an adjustable support bar
• It comes with an air pump and desktop workout guide for an effective low-impact workout and stretching routine
• It uses a removable professional grade 20.5” anti-burst exercise ball (vinyl-no latex)
• It’s stable but lightweight (13 lbs), and the base is made from molded PVC
• Easy 1-tool assembly
• It helps strengthen your core muscles and improve your posture just by sitting on it versus a regular chair, which I think is pretty neat.
• It’s very reasonably priced, particularly with the private special offer Gaiam has through the end of this month

Gaiam BalanceBall Chair Reviews and Ratings

I haven’t personally used this product, but have added some reviews of the Gaiam BalanceBall Chair, which include customer’s positive and negative aspects of it.

Barbara Brady from Woman’s Day had picked it up, and gave her opinion:

The Pros:  “…more comfortable than I expected, and it made me more conscious about sitting up straight and engaging my core muscles.  As office furniture/exercise equipment goes, it’s also… reasonable…  It makes a great conversation starter, too—everyone who enters my office since it’s arrival wants to try it.”

The Cons:  “Thanks to the chair base and back, it’s still possible to get lazy and slump forward or back if you have the urge… I found the ball a little too low considering the length of my legs and the height of my very ergonomically-incorrect desk.  So my stomach and back might get stronger, but I could end up with carpal tunnel. Hmmm…”

What this tells you is that you need to consider your desk height, the chair height, etc., which you should always do with furniture and seating to avoid back injury.

Some Other BalanceBall Chair Reviews:

Lot of Time at the Computer?! You will love this!
I used one of these at my last job. This is a wonderful chair. The first time that I sat on it I fell off, but then once I learned how to sit on it, it was amazing. It kept my back straight, and kept me sitting upright, and I didn’t feel so sleepy after 8 hours at the computer. I love this chair. It’s worth the price.

surprisingly comfortable

The chair is surprisingly comfortable. I’m not sure how *much* it helps me with balance or toning, but I do actually feel like I’m using my muscles a little more than usual while sitting all day at the office, so I feel pretty good about it. And it looks really nice, too.

Overall I like the chair a lot, just one real complaint. There is no height adjustment. For me it’s not much of an issue because my desk happens to be at around the right height. But this might be a problem for someone else. I suppose you could let some air out of the ball to make it a little lower, but that doesn’t strike me as an ideal solution…

Great Chair, Great Price

I have peristent lower back pain when I spend too much time sititng at my desk, which is a bad thing for a writer! I’ve been using it a few days, and I’ve noticed I don’t wake up in the morning with back pain any more. My one fear is that the cats may try to jump on it and puncture it at some point (we lost one exercise ball that way), so this might not be the best chair depending on your household inhabitants. You might want to note that its suitability will depend greatly on your height as well. I’m 5’9″. (the ball is professional grade anti-burst)

Great office chair

I really like using this chair. I spend a ton of time at the computer and this has helped my posture and the tension in my neck and back.

I do have to say that it took some time to get used to. I get motion sickness and for the first few weeks I felt like I was on a boat! Once my body figured out what was going on, it was smooth sailing from there.

The wheeled contraption holding the ball is a good idea in an office environment if you don’t want to humor your co-workers by rolling off.

There are mixed reviews on this back pain product, which there should be, and you can see there are variables you need to consider.  There are more reviews about it around the web.  I always recommend researching a product before you decide whether it’s for you.  It sounds like a great product, and has apparently helped a lot of people as a treatment for chronic back pain, but you do need to pay attention to individual height recommendations, desk and chair height, etc.  It’s rated 4.4 out of 5, which is a good rating.

It’s reasonably priced, and I would suggest that if you want to learn more about it and/or purchase it, Gaiam guarantees the lowest price.  Right now through a special private offer at the link below, you get free shipping and 20% off through the end of June, 2009.  So if you’re thinking about getting it, I’d take advantage of this offer.  If you decide to get it later, I’m sure they’ll provide other incentives down the road.

Please let me know if you’ve found this article helpful.  And, if you purchase the Gaiam BalanceBall Chair, I would like your feedback good or bad.  We can’t evaluate back pain products fairly if we only get positive feedback.  However, that doesn’t mean you need to make up something negative to say about it if you love it.  I’d obviously love to hear that, too, since I try to provide information on the best quality back pain relief products on my site.  Thanks, and let me hear from you!

Gaiam BalanceBall Chair

You can see the video about this chair at various pages of my blog, Stop Back Pain Cause Now.  Another related video about exercising with the balance ball is below.

 

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