Exercises for the lower back at home: for pain and to strengthen muscles

Pain in the lumbar spine often appears at the most unexpected moment and can cause serious trouble. But usually they occur only if a person does not take care of his back or does not care at all about strengthening it. Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the lumbar spine are quite simple and require 20-30 minutes a day to complete. This material will introduce readers to the main ones - and the importance of doing the most basic back workouts.

Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the lumbar spine

Is exercise the key to health?

The lower back is the most vulnerable part of the entire human back. It experiences significant stress during any action - it doesn’t matter whether a person is sitting or walking somewhere. And what can we say about those moments when you have to endure some kind of hardship. Pregnant women experience particular stress on the lower back - it has to support the weight of not only most of the person’s body, but also the unborn child in the womb.

Load on the lower back when lifting weights

The lumbar spine consists of 5 large vertebrae . It is in this part of the back that the connection between the higher part of the spine - the thoracic region - and the sacrum occurs. In normal condition, the spinal column in the lumbar region has a slight bend, but given the fact that a person is now almost always in a sitting position (both at work and at home), this bend is often in the wrong position. Because of this, pain and discomfort often occur in the lumbar region.

Lumbar spine

It is also important to remember that the spine contains the bulk of the human nervous system, and the main support of the body is supplied with a large number of nerve endings. This area contains a large number of complex connective elements, flexible joints, and a complex circulatory system, all of which can be easily damaged. However, back pain can also occur due to weak muscle tone in this area.

Table. The main causes of back pain.

Cause	Characteristic
Low physical activity	In modern conditions, a person practically does not move during the day. The muscles that are located in the area of the back and abdomen weaken and cannot properly perform their function of providing additional support for the back.
Incorrect posture	If you sit on a chair incorrectly or slouch when walking, then the natural curves of the spine are disrupted. Because of this, compression and thinning of the intervertebral discs, the main shock absorbers of the entire spine, occurs.
Weak abdominal and back muscles	The muscular corset formed around the waist holds all the abdominal organs in the correct position, close enough to the spinal column. It also provides additional support for the higher part of the body and reduces the load on the lower back. Undeveloped muscles cannot fully perform their functions and because of this, the load on the spine becomes greater.

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Anatomy of the back muscles

Lower back pain does not pose a threat to human life, so few people seriously think about the need to constantly prevent back conditions. Usually people use some pharmaceutical drugs or traditional methods to relieve pain. But these remedies, as a rule, only relieve pain, but do not improve the condition of the back. And thus, over time, the pain will become more and more intense, and it will be very reluctant to leave.

On a note! There are two ways to cope with back pain that do not involve the use of medications. This is a visit to a chiropractor , as well as performing a series of exercises that will help improve the condition of the lumbar region.

Special exercises will help cope with back pain

Often, a person experiencing lower back pain performs some exercises recommended by a doctor. But then, as soon as the pain syndrome subsides, he simply gives up regular training. But this is a fundamentally wrong decision. If you constantly put stress on your back, you may not encounter discomfort and diseases of the spine at all.

Correct and incorrect posture

How else to take care of your lower back?

Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the lumbar spine are not the only option for the prevention and treatment of various diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Regular visits to the pool and exercise therapy classes will bring benefits. If you are diagnosed with osteochondrosis, you should definitely consult your doctor before training.

How to strengthen the lower back at home for men and women? For this purpose, a special device has been created - the Drevmass simulator. It has established itself as an effective remedy for the prevention and treatment of various diseases of the musculoskeletal system. The main advantages of Drevmass include:

versatility, it is suitable for representatives of both sexes of any age categories;
environmental and structural safety;
quick results; with regular training for 5 minutes a day, you will notice an improvement in your condition within 3 weeks;
ease of use and the ability to change the position of the rollers to work on a specific part of the spine;
affordability; purchasing a massager will cost less than visiting specialized offices, chiropractors, and trainers.

You can learn more about the process of strengthening the lower back with the help of exercises and Woodmass from our specialists.

For what diseases are exercises indicated?

Not only to prevent back pain, it is recommended to do a number of strengthening exercises. Gymnastics for the lower back can, to some extent, help cope with a number of diseases in this area. For example, it is very effective for spondylosis. This pathology is usually observed in older people due to age-related changes in the structure of the spinal column. Most often, with spondylosis, the vertebrae change their shape quite significantly, becoming overgrown with spines and protrusions.

Symptoms of spinal spondylosis

Gymnastics for the lower back is also indicated for intervertebral hernias. They usually appear during significant physical exertion or due to a sedentary lifestyle, as well as due to sitting in an incorrect position.

Herniated disc

For osteoporosis, which is characterized by bone fragility and porosity, back exercises are also recommended by experts. The disease develops with a lack of calcium.

Attention! With osteoporosis, it is important to pay attention not only to exercises that strengthen the lower back, but also to your diet. You need to include in your diet those foods that are rich in calcium.

Osteoporosis

When the spinal canal, where all the nerve endings pass, is narrowed or stenosis occurs, the nerves are compressed, which causes an inflammatory process to develop. Sometimes this disease can lead to dire consequences. Gymnastics can eliminate the inflammatory process and generally improve the condition of the back.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the lumbar or cervical spinal canal

With lumbago or lumbosacral radiculitis, a change in the shape of the intervertebral discs and joints is noted. A characteristic symptom is a sharp and severe pain in the lower back with any movement when it is necessary to bend over.

Severe lower back pain

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Useful tips for doing physical activity

Exercises for the lower back and strengthening the back muscles are aimed at improving health, and not at preparing for competitions. There is no need to chase quantitative indicators and increased workload. Regular exercise is much more important for health benefits.
It is advisable to devote at least 15-20 minutes to charging, but daily. When performing exercises, especially twisting and bending of the spine, do not make sudden movements.
The movements are performed clearly, with light tension where necessary, arms and legs should be straightened, and fixation at the end of the exercises and at peak points.

If exercises for the lower back are performed correctly, then you will feel the first results within a week, and after three months of daily exercise you will feel fundamental changes for the better. A pleasant bonus to good health will be improved mood and increased resistance to stress.

Treat exercise as a morning prayer of gratitude to nature, which gave you a perfect body, and in return you will receive health and longevity.

Alexandrova Anastasia

Nutrition and healthy lifestyle specialist and author of myfitnesblog.com. For many years, she has successfully helped women and men lose weight and maintain a beautiful figure.

Contraindications

Despite the fact that reasonable physical activity is beneficial for the back, in some cases it may be contraindicated. For example, you should not perform exercises in the first stages of any spinal disease, as this can cause a deterioration in the body’s condition.

Attention! It is important to perform only those exercises that your doctor recommends. Improper physical activity can negatively affect the condition of the back and worsen the situation.

If the load is incorrect, the situation may worsen

Also, you should not perform gymnastics during exacerbations of a number of diseases. This may make the situation worse. It is also prohibited to do exercises if you have an elevated body temperature or a general negative health condition. You should also not exercise if you have ARVI, influenza, or other similar diseases.

A number of oncological diseases can also be an obstacle to back treatment with gymnastics. The thing is that any neoplasms negatively affect the body as a whole, and sometimes it is unknown how the body can react to exercise.

Oncological diseases are one of the contraindications

Rules and recommendations

It is important to remember that before you start performing a set of exercises recommended by your doctor, you need to do a warm-up that will warm up your muscles and prepare them for fruitful work. It will help increase blood flow to muscle tissue, stretch the ligaments and make them more flexible. The developed elements of the musculoskeletal system are much less susceptible to deformation and damage.

Advice! It is recommended to warm up the body and muscles not only before exercise, but also before work. For example, before starting work in the garden or dragging heavy objects.

Warm-up is an essential part of the exercises

It is important to carefully monitor the body's reaction to movements. If pain or severe discomfort occurs, it is better to stop exercising. If you have diseases of the spine, it is contraindicated to make any sudden movements - they can aggravate the condition.

Any load should be increased gradually. You can’t just rush right off the bat and try to complete the program to the maximum. It's better to gradually increase the number of repetitions or introduce more complex exercises over time than to try to do everything at once and end up with additional back problems. It is also worth remembering that you cannot expect instant results from gymnastics . The effectiveness of the exercises will appear fully only after some time.

Back exercises

If you want to learn in more detail, the complex, instructions and tips on how to do back exercises at home, you can read an article about this on our portal.

General rules

To strengthen your back muscles and not aggravate the situation further, you need to start with small physical activities, gradually increasing their intensity. Even when performing light exercises, you should not try too hard. If you experience severe pain during exercise that does not go away for a long time, stop exercising and consult a doctor. Perhaps diseases of the internal organs or spine have made themselves known, requiring immediate treatment. Sports are also contraindicated if dizziness and nausea occur.

In case of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system in the acute stage, physical exercise can cause serious damage to health. Therefore, always listen to your body and be able to distinguish fatigue from pain caused by pathology. Pregnant women and people who have previously had spinal injuries should be especially attentive to their health.

Remember that all movements in exercises to strengthen the lower back should be smooth. Do not forget about proper breathing, which will ease the load on the body. To create a comfortable atmosphere in the room where classes will be held, it is necessary to pre-ventilate. Take care of comfortable clothing that does not restrict movement.

An important point: you need to perform a set of exercises for the lower back regularly. Only then will the body get used to the load and the exercises will begin to be beneficial. If you often forget about training and their frequency does not reach two or three sessions a week, you should not count on a positive result. It is also important to follow the correct exercise technique, which should be performed by a specialist.

A set of exercises for the back

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Step 1. After the general warm-up has been completed, it is recommended to do several pelvic tilts while lying on your back. They strengthen the muscles of the back, buttocks, and abdominal cavity well. To perform this exercise, you need to lie on your back on a gymnastics mat and place your feet on the floor closer to your buttocks, hip-width apart. Next, you need to raise your lower back along with your hips up, stay in this position for 5-10 seconds, and then lower to the floor. Approximately 10 repetitions are performed.

Pelvic tilt while lying down

Step 2. The next exercise is a reverse bridge. It works well on the lower back and is recommended for preventing pain in this area. To do it, you need to lie on your stomach, stretch your arms forward and legs back, slightly bending your knees. Next, you need to lift your limbs up, lifting them off the floor. In the top position you need to linger for 5-10 seconds, and then relax and lower your limbs to the floor. You need to do 10 repetitions.

Reverse bridge

Step 3. To do the next exercise, you need to lie on your back and place your feet on your feet. After this, you need to strain your hips and lower back so that a small gap appears between the floor and your lower back. 10-20 repetitions are performed.

This is where the hips and lower back become tense.

Step 4. The following exercise will help not only strengthen your lower back, but also stretch it and develop balance. To perform, you need to get down on all fours and alternately stretch one of your arms forward along with the opposite leg back. Perform up to 20 repetitions.

Exercise with stretching legs and arms

Step 5. Next, lunges are made. You need to stand up and put your feet shoulder-width apart, take a step forward with one of your legs, while the knee of this leg bends, your back remains straight - you cannot bend at the waist. The leg is placed in front of the body, a right angle is formed between the lower leg and the thigh, the thigh is parallel to the floor. You need to stand in this position for a few seconds, then return to the starting position and change legs.

Lunges

Step 6. The side plank will help pump up the abdominal muscles, lateral abs, and lower back. You need to do it like this - you need to lie on your side with emphasis on the elbow of your lower arm. Next, raise your lower back and fix it on the weight so as to form an even line with your body. You can also do a regular plank - to do this, you should turn your face to the floor and lean on your elbows and toes, and then raise your body to form a straight line.

Regular and side plank

Step 7. You can use a fitball to train your lower back. You should lie on it with your back, rest your feet on the floor and try to make a bridge.

Using a fitball

Fitballs and medicine balls for fitness

Video – Exercises for the lower back

A set of exercises for the lower back will help strengthen and improve its condition and prevent the occurrence of a number of diseases in this part of the body. However, it must be performed regularly, after consulting with a doctor, if you already have any back problems.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the most effective methods of strengthening the lower back muscles. In the warm season you can exercise in a pond, in the cold season you can visit the pool. To avoid heavy stress on the body, beginners are advised to swim no more than 20-30 minutes several times a week. Gradually, as the muscles strengthen, the duration of classes can be increased to one hour.

In the pool you can not only swim, but also perform the following types of exercises: