Exercises to help with back pain - NHS inform

Place your knees on the floor or on your bed with a little space between them. Keeping your back straight, place your hands on the floor in front. Your hands ... Home Illnessesandconditions Symptomsandself-help Testsandtreatments Healthyliving Care,supportandrights Scotland'sServiceDirectory Home Illnessesandconditions Muscle,boneandjoints Exercises Exercises Exercisesforbackpain Seeallpartsofthisguide Hideguideparts 1. Introduction 2. Kneerolls 3. Pelvictilts 4. Singlekneehug 5. Doublekneehug 6. Catcamel Introduction Afteranybackproblem,it'simportanttogetmovementandstrengthback.Thissupportstissuehealingandwillhelpyougetmovingagain. Youmaynotbeabletoreturntoyourusualexerciselevelsimmediatelyandimprovementsmaybeslowtostartwith.However,agradualreturntonormalactivitiesisthebestwaytogetgoodshortandlongtermresultsafterabackproblem. Whendoingexerciseyoushouldlistentoyourpainlevels,especiallyintheearlystages.Youmayfindthattheseexercisesincreaseyoursymptomsslightlyinthebeginning.However,theyshouldgeteasierovertimeand,withregularpractice,canhelptoimprovemovementintheback. IftheexercisesdocausesomediscomfortthentakingprescribedmedicationfromyourGPorpharmacistmayhelptokeepyouexercising. Howtotellifyou'reexercisingattherightlevel Thisguidecanhelpyoutounderstandifyou'reexercisingattherightlevel.It'llalsoletyouseehowmuchpainordiscomfortisacceptable. Itcanbehelpfultorateyourpainoutof10(0beingnopain10beingtheworstpainyouhaveeverhad),forexample: 0to3-minimalpain 4to5-acceptablepain 6to10-excessivepain Painduringexercise Aimtokeepyourpainwithinaratingof0to5.Ifyourpaingetsabovethislevel,youcanchangetheexercisesby: reducingthenumberoftimesyoudoamovement reducingthespeedofamovement increasingresttimebetweenmovements Painafterexercise Exerciseshouldnotmakeyourexistingbackpainworseoverall.However,practicingnewexercisescansometimescauseshorttermmusclepainasthebodygetsusedtomovinginnewways.Thiskindofpainshouldeasequicklyandyourpainshouldbenoworsethemorningafteryou’veexercised. Howmanyandhowoften Youshouldaddexercisesintoyourroutinegraduallytohelpyourbackpain.  Movementexercises Repetitionsarehowoftenyoudoasinglemovement.Whenstartingnewexercises,itcanbehelpfultodo2to3repetitionsatatime. It’sbettertodosmallamountsthroughouttheday.Forexample,practiseyourrepetitionseveryhour. Asthisgetseasier,andifyoufeelableto,add1or2repetitionstoyourmovementseveryfewdays. Asyoubecomeabletodomorerepetitions,itcanbehelpfultobreakthingsupintosets.Thismeansyoucoulddomorerepetitionsatatimebutyou'lldothemlessoftenthroughouttheday.Forexample: Do8repetitions. Restforaminute. Repeatanothersetof8repetitions. Repeat this2to3timesaday. Overtimeyoucantrytoincreasethenumberofrepetitionsyoudo.Youshouldaimforamaximumof2setsof15. Stretchingexercises Theaimofastretchistoholdapositionforalongerperiodoftime.Overtimethiscanhelptoimproveyourrangeofmovement.  Whendoingtheexerciseyoushouldbeabletofeelagentlestretch.Thisshouldn'tbesoreoruncomfortable. Youshouldtrytoholdstretchesfor20to30secondsifpossible. Trytofocusondoingsetsofexercises.Forexample,do2to3setsofstretches.Aimtodothis2to3timesaday. Asyoudomorestretchingyoushouldfeelyourrangeofmovementimproveandyou’llbeabletostretchfurther. Whentostop Stoptheseexercisesiftheymakeyoursymptomsworse,oriftheycausenewpain. Ifyour backpain worsenswhilefollowingthisadvice,it’sagoodideatotalktoahealthcareprofessionalaboutyoursymptoms. Helpandsupport Ifyour backpainhasn’timprovedwithin6weeksoffollowingthisadvice,it’sagoodideatotalktoahealthcareprofessionalaboutyoursymptoms. Kneerolls Beforestartingthisexercise,findout: howmanymovementstodo howoftentodothem whentostopexercising Youshoulddothisexerciselyingdown. Agoodplacetodothisexerciseisonyourbed. Rollingthekneesfromonesideandtotheotherisonerepetition. Instruction Keymovement Beginlyingdownwithyourkneespointingtowardstheceiling.Slowlyrollyourkneestotheright. Holdforafewsecondsandthenraisethekneessothattheyarepointingtowardstheceilingagain. Repeatontheoppositeside. Ifyouprefer,youcan printtheseexercises torefertowhiledoingthem. Pelvictilts Beforestartingthisexercise,findout: howmanymovementstodo howoftentodothem whentostopexercising Youshoulddothisexercise lyingdown. Agoodplacetodothisexerciseisonyourbed. Tiltingthehipsupanddownisonerepetition. Instruction Keymovement Lyingonyourback,placebothhandsonyourhips.Slowlytiltyourhipstowardsthebedtoflattenyourbackintothebed. Holdfor2secondsandthentiltyourhipsintheoppositedirection.Thisshouldincreasethespacebetweenyourlowerbackandthebed.Relaxbeforerepeatingagain. Ifyouprefer,youcan printtheseexercises torefertowhiledoingthem. Singlekneehug Beforestartingthisexercise,findout: howmanymovementstodo howoftentodothem whentostopexercising Youshoulddothisexerciselyingdown. Agoodplacetodothisexerciseisonyourbed. Bringingtheleguptothechestandbackdownagainisonerepetition. Instruction Keymovement Lyingonyourback,bringonekneeuptowardsyourchest.Theotherkneeshouldbepointingtowardstheceiling. Holdforafewsecondsthenslowlyrelease. Repeatontheoppositeside. Ifyouprefer,youcan printtheseexercises torefertowhiledoingthem. Doublekneehug Beforestartingthisexercise,findout: howmanymovementstodo howoftentodothem whentostopexercising Youshoulddothisexerciselyingdown. Agoodplacetodothisexerciseisonyourbed. Bringingthekneesuptothechestandbackdownagainisonerepetition. Instruction Keymovement Lyingonyourback,slowlybringyourkneesintowardsyourchest.Youcanplaceyourhandsoveryourkneestofeelthestretchalittledeeper. Slowlyreleasethekneehug. Ifyouprefer,youcan printtheseexercises torefertowhiledoingthem. Catcamel Beforestartingthisexercise,findout: howmanymovementstodo howoftentodothem whentostopexercising Youshouldbeginthisexerciseonyourhandsandknees. Curlingthebackinandoutagainisonerepetition. Instruction Keymovement Placeyourkneesonthefloororonyourbedwithalittlespacebetweenthem.Keepingyourbackstraight,placeyourhandsonthefloorinfront.Yourhandsshouldbeinlinewithyourshoulders. Gentlypullthespineupwards.Tiltyourchinintowardsthechestatthesametime. Slowlyuncurlyourback.Nowpushyourchesttowardsthefloorandtiltyourheadgentlytowardstheceiling.Holdandthenrelease. Ifyouprefer,youcan printtheseexercises torefertowhiledoingthem. Source: MSKExpertPanel-Opensinnewbrowserwindow Lastupdated: 19September2022 Home Illnessesandconditions Muscle,boneandjoints Exercises Exercises Howcanweimprovethispage? HelpusimproveNHSinform FeedbackAlertTitle Feedbackdisplaymessage,thisandthetitlewillbeoveridedbyJavascript Don’tincludepersonalinformatione.g.name,locationoranypersonalhealthconditions. EmailAddress [email protected] Message Maximumof500characters Sendfeedback AddthispagetoInfoForMe AlsoonNHSinform Self-helpguide:Lowerbackpain Backproblems HowtoaccessMSKservices