Tag Archive for: Back Exercises

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What Can You Do At Home For Back Pain?

Everyone suffers from the occasional bout of back pain… so what can you do at home to decrease the pain?

One way to decrease back pain is to get a good night sleep. Pain is a leading cause of insomnia: approximately two-thirds of people with chronic back pain suffer from some type of sleep disorder.  Make sure to organize your bedroom to help you get a good night sleep. Keep your room dark and cool, make sure you have ample pillows to help support your hips, neck and back as needed.

Another easy way to help reduce back pain is simply applying cold/hot packs.

Cold therapy – It reduces inflammation, acts as a local anesthetic, and keeps the nerves from “spasming” and causing pain.

Heat therapy –It stimulates blood flow, which brings healing nutrients to the affected area and can inhibits the pain messages being sent to the brain.

Not all types of heat will work for every person. Heat therapy can take the form of a hot shower, soaking in a hot tub, a heating pad, hot water bottle, or commercial heat wraps that you place on your body and they provide continuous, low-level heat.

Gentle stretching can also help to relieve back pain. When stretching, make sure that it is pain free and never force a stretch.

  • Move into the stretch slowly and avoid bouncing
  • Hold stretches long enough (20-30 seconds)
  • Repeat the stretch several times

If you suffer from chronic back pain or neck pain, check with your physician or health care practitioner before starting any type of exercise or stretching routine.

 Static back stretch:

  • Lie face-up in front of a sturdy chair, with your legs raised and buttocks close to the chair’s front legs.
  • Bend knees to 90° and place calves on chair seat, with legs relaxed in a comfortable position.
  • Breathe from your stomach and let the lower back muscles relax.

Knee to chest stretch:

  •  Lie on your back with your knees bent.
  • Grab both knees and slowly bring them towards your chest and a stretch is felt in your lower back.
  • Hold this position for 30 seconds before lowering your legs back to the floor again.
  • you can also complete this stretch with one leg at a time: Slowly bend one knee and pull your leg up to your chest. Wrap your arms around your thigh, and gently pull the knee towards your chest. Hold and slowly extend the leg to starting position, and repeat with other side.

Supine Groin Stretch:

  • Begin in Static Back position – lie on your back with one leg resting on a chair, knee bent at 90 degrees, while the other leg is extended straight out and resting on the floor alongside the chair.
  • Make sure both legs are aligned with the hips and shoulders
  • The foot of the extended leg should be propped upright to preventing it from rolling to one side
  • Stretch arms along the floor, straight out from shoulders, palms up. Relax entire body and hold

If you are still suffering from back pain after a day or two, contact your health care practitioner: chiropractor, physiotherapist, massage therapist or acupuncturist and make sure you rule out anything serious.

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Back Exercise for Pain Relief | Chiropractor Victoria BC

One of the keys to recovering from an episode of back pain and to help avoid future recurrences of back pain, is to pursue appropriate rehabilitation and back exercise for pain relief  | Chiropractor Victoria BC .

There are three types of muscles that support the spine:

  • Extensors (back and gluteal muscles), which are used to straighten the back (stand), lift and extend, and move the thighs out away from the body.
  • Flexors (abdominal and iliopsoas muscles), which are used to bend and support the spine from the front; they also control the arch of the lumbar (lower) spine and flex and move the thigh in toward the body.
  • Obliques or Rotators (side muscles), which are used to stabilize the spine when upright; they rotate the spine and help maintain proper posture and spinal curvature.
Back Exercise for Pain Relief | Chiropractor Victoria BC

Photo Credit: fun-physicalfitness.com

While some of these muscles are used in everyday life, most do not get adequate exercise from daily activities and tend to weaken with age unless they are specifically exercised.

For all forms of exercise, it is advisable to see a trained and licensed health practitioner before starting any exercise program.

Stretching

Any form of inactivity, especially if an injured back is involved, is usually associated with some progressive stiffness. Therefore, it is necessary to push the range of motion in a controlled manner. Patients with chronic pain may find it takes weeks or months of stretching to mobilize the spine and soft tissues, but will find that the increase in motion provides meaningful and sustained relief of their back pain.

Stretching exercise should focus on achieving flexibility and elasticity in the disc, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

Strengthening

An episode of back pain that lasts for more than two weeks should be treated with proper strengthening exercise to prevent a recurring cycle of pain and weakness.

There are two primary forms of exercise for strengthening and/or pain relief that tend to be used for specific conditions.

First focus on extending the spine to reduce pain generated from a collapsed disc space. Extension may also help reduce a herniated disc and reduce pressure on a nerve root.  Second focus on finding the patient’s “neutral” spine, that is, the position that allows the patient to feel most comfortable. The back muscles are then exercised to teach the spine how to stay in this position. Performed on an ongoing basis, these exercises can help keep the back strong and well-positioned.

Low-Impact Aerobic Conditioning

Finally, conditioning through low-impact aerobic exercise is very important for both rehabilitation and maintenance of the lower back.

Three low impact aerobic exercise that many people with back pain can tolerate include:

  • Water therapy (aqua fit) provides a gentle form of conditioning as the water counteracts gravity making many stretching movements easier and provides buoyancy as well as mild resistance.
  • Continuous walking at a sustained pace for a minimum of twenty to thirty minutes is required to provide aerobic conditioning.
  • Riding a stationary bicycle provides aerobic conditioning with minimal impact on the spine.

Choosing the most appropriate form of exercise depends upon the nature of the injury and an individual’s exercise preferences. It is advisable to discuss options with your health practitioner to identify the back exercise for pain relief  | Chiropractor Victoria BC that is best to incorporate into your  daily routine.

Article Credit: Spine Health

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