How To Exercise If You Experience Back Pain

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Exercise

Back pain is a terrible thing to have. It hurts and makes you feel incapacitated. Sometimes people advise against exercising when suffering from back pain. That is not so great or healthy. Pain or no pain, your back still needs the movement  from exercising. It is not to say that every kind of exercise is excellent for you. There are exercises you should avoid and others you should try out.

This article will educate you on how to exercise when you suffer from back pain by telling you what exercises to avoid and the ones to try out.

Exercising At Home

When people experience back pain, it’s challenging to keep Exercising at the gym. The only option available is to do your exercises at home. It would be best to make your home space conducive for you and your workouts. You can do some additional reading  about using your home for your activities.

Exercises You Should Do At Home And Those You Shouldn’t Try

Due to the nature of your condition, you can’t continue with your regular routines at home. It might be too strenuous for you and might aggravate your situation. Some exercises would suit better in this condition.

Below is a list of activities you should avoid and the ones you should try out.

Exercises To Avoid

1. Leg Lifts

Leg lift is an excellent exercise for strengthening the core or abdominal muscles. However, this is not a recommended exercise when  suffering from back pain. It can be too demanding for you back at that moment.

Instead of doing the traditional leg lift, you should tweak the exercise slightly. It is what you should do:

  • keep your straight leg on the floor while reclining on your back. The other leg at the knee should be bent.
  • Slowly raise the straight leg and keep it there for a while.
  • Repeat the process and  switch legs after a while.

It would be less tedious on your lower back and  help you relieve the pain.

2. Sit-Ups

As great as sit-ups are, they are a no-go area once your lower back is in pain. It can transfer a lot of the pressure to your lower spine, which could cause you excruciating pains. It is not an exercise you want to modify in any way. It is best you just let it be for now. You can get back to it when you are better. For now, you can sit on a chair that would help you with your back pain.

3. Toe Touches

Bending to touch your toe is an exercise that could cause excruciating pain in your lower back if you are already experiencing pains there. So it would help if you avoided it. It causes too much pressure on your lower back muscles and your spine.

Exercises To Try

1. Wall Sits

Wall sit takes the pressure off your back muscles and your spine. Try this exercise when you have back pain to reduce its strain on your back.

To try out this exercise, follow the following steps:

  • Stand close to the wall
  • Slowly go down until your knees are bent.
  • Hold that position for a few minutes
  • Get up slowly and try it a few more times.

2. Bird Dog

The bird dog exercise is another exercise that takes the strain off your back muscles.

To do this exercise, you need to:

  • Go down on all fours
  • Tighten your stomach muscles
  • Extend one of your legs to the hip level and hold it there for a while
  • Repeat the same process with your other leg.

3. Weight Lifting

Weight lifting does not require much strain on your back muscles  if  done correctly. It should not cause you any  pain whatsoever.

Just ensure it’s  being done correctly to avoid injury. Also, if you are not confident it can be done correctly, then don’t do it at all.

4. Aerobic Exercises

Aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, or swimming can help reduce back pain. They do not place any strain on your lower back muscles or your spine. Swimming, in particular, would help as the water supports your body. Try to keep it simple, and do not do any strokes that involve twisting your body.

5. Bridging

Bridging takes the pressure off your back and helps you to relax.

If you need to do this exercise, you can:

  • Lay on your back
  • Push your heels into the floor and tighten your buttocks.
  • Lift  hips off the floor until your shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line.
  • Hold the position for six seconds and  slowly return to the floor and then rest for 10 seconds before you try again.

6. Yoga Exercises

Another kind of exercise you can try is yoga. They have been proven to take proper care of back pain. You can take some yoga classes to help you overcome back pain. These can be less stressful than most exercises while helping you overcome the back pain.

Conclusion

Exercising during back pain could be difficult if you don’t know how to do it right. But with this little guide, you can get started on exercising your way back to total health.

Just make sure you take note of the exercises to avoid the above.

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