6 Exercises for Lower Back Pain - AARP

Lie on your back with both legs bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your feet, pull both knees toward your chest and hug them with your ... Skiptocontent Emergency:HelpseniorsaffectedbyHurricaneIanandHurricaneFionaandyourgiftwillbematcheduptoatotalof$1million.Findoutmore. Sharewithfacebook Sharewithtwitter Sharewithlinkedin Shareusingemail Print   StevicaMrdja/EyeEm Enespañol Whetherit’schronic,acuteorepisodic,lowbackpainisacommonproblemamongadults,causingmoredisabilityaroundtheworldthananyothercondition. Atleastone-fourthofU.S.adultsreporthavinglowbackpaininthelastthreemonths,nationalsurveydatashows.Andresearchsuggeststhatasmanyas80percentofadultswillexperiencelowbackpainatsomepointintheirlives,meaningifyouhaven’thadityetandyoudon’thaveitnow,there’sagoodchancethatyouwillinthefuture—especiallysincebackpainbecomesmorefrequentwithadvancingage. Commoncausesoflowerbackpainincludeoveruseinjuries(fromdoingthesameformofexerciseoverandoveragain),muscleorligamentstrainsorsprains,trauma(fromfallingdown,forexample),degenerativediscs,spinalstenosis,osteoarthritis,andosteoporosis,expertssay.Anotherprimeculprit:sedentarybehavior.A2019studyinthejournalAppliedErgonomicsfoundanassociationbetweenstaticsittingbehaviorandchroniclowbackpainamongpeoplewhoworkedatacallcenter. AARPMembership -JoinAARPforjust$12foryourfirstyearwhenyouenrollinautomaticrenewal Jointodayandsave25%offthestandardannualrate.Getinstantaccesstodiscounts,programs,services,andtheinformationyouneedtobenefiteveryareaofyourlife.  Lowerbackpainis“usuallyduetoacombinationofdeconditioningandpoorbodymechanics,”explainsRobertGillanders,aphysicaltherapistintheCharlottesville,Virginia,area.What’smore,ahistoryofbackpainlikelymeansthere’smoretocome.“Ifyou’vehadaninjuryinthepast,you’reprobablygoingtogetitagain,”headds. Remediesforrelief Whenlowerbackpainstrikes,youdon’tneedtotakeitlyingdown.Onthecontrary,youshouldkeepmovingby walkingregularly.“Walkingisoneofthemosttherapeuticthingsyoucandoforyourback,”Gillanderssays.“Yet,it’slowhangingfruitthat’snotusedthatoften.” Studieshavefound thatwalkingimprovespainlevels,disability,qualityoflifeandfearavoidanceamongpeoplewithchroniclowbackpain.  Torelievelowbackpain—whethershort-termorchronic—youcanapplyanicepackorheat(whicheveryou’dprefer)anduseafoamrollertoreleasetensioninthelowerback,Gillandersrecommends.Itcanalsohelptoengageindiaphragmaticbreathing,saysAlexGarreau,aphysicaltherapistatRushUniversityMedicalCenterinChicago.Asyouinhaleslowly,letyourbellyexpandwithair,thenexhaleslowly,allowingyourbellytodeflate.“Thisslowsdownyourbreathing,whichcanslowdownpainsignalsandhaveacalmingeffect,”Garreauexplains. Someredflagswithlowerbackpain:Ifthepainradiatesdownoneofyourlegs,ifyouhavenumbness,orweaknessortinglinginone(orboth)ofyourlegs,orifyouexperiencechangesinyourbowelorbladderfunction,callyourdoctorrightaway,advisesStaceyCladis,aphysicaltherapistatNorthwesternMedicineinChicago,becausethesesymptomscouldbecausedbycompressioninthespinalcordornervecompression.Also,ifthepainpersistsformorethanaweekorispreventingyoufromdoingtheactivitiesyouneedtodo,it’sagoodideatoseeadoctor. 6exercisestohelpwithpain Topreventandeaselessseriouslowerbackpain,physicaltherapistsrecommenddoingthefollowingexerciseseveryday,uptotwiceaday. CyrusMcCrimmon/GettyImages 1.Supinebridge  Lieonyourbackwithyourarmsontheflooratyoursides,yourlegsbentatthekneesandyourfeetflatonthefloor.Tightenyourabdomenandglutesandslowlyliftyourhipsoffthefloor,whilekeepingyourbackstraight.Then,slowlyloweryourbuttandhipsbackdowntothefloor.Do10repetitions. martin-dm/GettyImages 2.BirdDog  Getdownonallfours,withyourhandsonthefloordirectlyunderbothshouldersandyourkneesdirectlyunderyourhips.Keepyourheadinlinewithyourspineandliftyourrightarmforwardandyourleftlegstraightbehindyouuntiltheyarebothparalleltothefloor.Pause,thenreturntothestartingposition.Repeatwiththeleftarmandtherightleg.Besuretokeepyourabdominalmusclestight,yourbackflatandyourhipslevelthroughouttheexercise.Do10repetitionsoneachside. Prasitphoto/GettyImages 3.CatCamel  Startonallfours,withyourhandsonthefloordirectlyunderyourshouldersandyourkneesdirectlyunderyourhips.Tuckyourchintowardyourchestandslowlyroundyourbackuptowardtheceiling;pauseforacoupleofseconds,thenslowlydrawyourshouldersawayfromyourears,relaxyourbackandarchitslightlywhilegazingaheadofyou.Returntothestartingposition.Do10repetitions. CavanImages/GettyImages 4.Child’sPose  Whileyou’restillonyourhandsandknees,pushyourbuttbackontoyourheels,withyourkneesapart.Loweryourupperbodybetweenyourknees,stretchyourarmsalongtheflooraboveyourheadandplaceyourforeheadonornearthefloor.Holdthispositionfor20to30seconds. CaiaImage/GettyImages 5.DoubleKnee-to-ChestStretch  Lieonyourbackwithbothlegsbentandyourfeetflatonthefloor.Liftyourfeet,pullbothkneestowardyourchestandhugthemwithyourarms.Holdthispositionfor20to30seconds,whilekeepingyourbackrelaxedagainstthefloor.Then,release.Repeatthisstretchafewtimes. fizkes/GettyImages 6.LowerBackRotationStretch  Lieonyourbackwithyourkneesbentandyourfeetflatonthefloor.Keepyourshouldersflatonthefloorandyourkneestogetherasyouletthemslowlyrolltotherightsideofyourbody.Pauseforfiveseconds,thenslowlyreturnyourkneestothestartingposition.Then,slowlyletyourkneesrolltotheleftsideofyourbody;pauseforfivesecondsthenreturntothestartingposition.Repeatthisseveraltimesoneachside. Awordofwarning:Asyoudotheseexercises,besuretolistentoyourbodyandheeditsmessages.“Ifsomethingishurting,don’tdoit,”Cladissays.“Youcanaggravateyoursymptomsifyou’retryingtopushthroughthepain.” PreventingBackPain Sometypesofreoccurringbackpaincanbeprevented.Hereare10waystohelpkeepyourbackhealthy: Exerciseregularlytokeepmusclesstrongandflexible. Maintainahealthyweight. Eatahealthydietandmakesureyougetenoughcalcium,phosphorusandvitaminD. Useergonomicallydesignedfurnitureandequipmentathomeandatwork.  Ifyousitalotatwork,switchsittingpositionsoften.Also,getupeverynowandthenandwalkaroundtheofficeorstretchtorelievemuscletension.  Wearcomfortable,low-heeledshoes.  Sleeponafirmsurface.Sleepingonyoursideinafetalpositioncanhelprelievepressureonthespine. Don’ttrytoliftobjectsthataretooheavy. Whenyoudoliftsomething,liftfromthekneesanddonottwistwhenlifting.Pullstomachmusclesinandkeepyourheaddownandinlinewithastraightback. Quitsmoking.Smokingreducesbloodflowtothelowerspine,whichcancontributetospinaldiscdegeneration.Smokingalsodisruptshealing. Source:NationalInstituteofNeurologicalDisordersandStroke EaseBackPainByStretching-AARP StaceyColinoisanaward-winningwriter,specializinginhealth,psychologyandscience.Herworkhasappearedin TheWashingtonPost,U.S.News&WorldReport,Prevention,Newsweek,Parade andmanyothernationalmagazines.​​ MoreonBackPain 5surprisingcausesofbackpainafter50 Understandingthecomplexissueofpain Shakingoffbackpainwithbellydance { "articlePagePath":"/content/aarpe/en/home/health/conditions-treatments/info-2022/exercises-for-lower-back-pain", "aarpId":"48fb10b5e97d4afab3933e1ac1915ee7" "customContainerId":"" "limit":"5" "paginationLimit":"5" "replyLimit":"2" "paginationReplyLimit":"5" "sort":"" "featuredTabActiveThreshold":"5" } Close LeavingAARP.orgWebsite Cancel YouareleavingAARP.organdgoingtothewebsiteofourtrustedprovider.Theprovider’sterms,conditionsandpoliciesapply.PleasereturntoAARP.orgtolearnmoreaboutotherbenefits. Gotit!Pleasedon'tshowmethisagainfor90days. Cancel Continue ThankYou Youremailaddressisnowconfirmed. You'llstartreceivingthelatestnews,benefits,events,andprogramsrelatedtoAARP'smissiontoempowerpeopletochoosehowtheyliveastheyage. Youcanalsomanageyourcommunicationpreferencesbyupdatingyouraccountatanytime.Youwillbeaskedtoregisterorlogin. ContinuetoAARP.org LeavingAARP.orgWebsite Cancel Gotit!Pleasedon'tshowmethisagainfor90days. Cancel Continue OfferDetails Disclosures Thankyouforyourinterest involunteering! Close Inthenext24hours,youwillreceiveanemailtoconfirmyoursubscriptiontoreceiveemails relatedtoAARPvolunteering.Onceyouconfirmthatsubscription,youwillregularly receivecommunicationsrelatedtoAARPvolunteering.Inthemeantime,pleasefeelfree tosearchforwaystomakeadifferenceinyourcommunityat www.aarp.org/volunteer Close