Exercise is always good, isn’t it? It lets you strengthen your body, lose weight, and more. It’s rarely a bad idea to work out. But, exercises for back pain is somewhat of a different subject. Of course, it’s a solid idea. But, you need to be careful.
Overall, working out with back pain can be beneficial. Naturally, strengthening your back can help. The same goes for stretching your spine. Yet, some exercises can do more harm than good.
In this article, I’ll take you through the good and bad exercises for back pain.
Exercises for back pain you should try
As you might expect, there are plenty of exercises for your back. Lower back pain is a common experience. And, the most common approach to deal with it is prevention. The main goal is to strengthen your back to improve your symptoms.
Several exercises can benefit back pain in many ways. They can help you strengthen and improve muscle flexibility. That means increasing the support in your lower back.
Now, there are too many exercises for a single article. But, I’ll summarize what you should look for below.
Workouts that stretch your lower back
There are many stretches you can try. You can do knee-to-chest, rotational, and cat and cow stretches. Most stretch exercises follow similar patterns. They focus on supporting your back while stretching it gently.
That said, these workouts focus on relieving back pain. Feeling shooting pain means you need to stop. In those cases, make sure to take a break and restart gradually. Also, your goal is to stretch, not strain your back.
Workouts that strengthen your lower back
Strengthening your back can also help you minimize back pain. That’s where pelvic tilts, bridges, and squeezes can work for you. Partial crunches and press-up back extensions can also help you.
Again, the focus here is proper support on your back. You don’t want to force your lower back too much. Instead, do movements that feel comfortable for you. Hold the positions for as long as you can without causing discomfort.
Exercises for back pain you should avoid
Yes, working out is a fantastic way to stay in shape. That said, back pain is a special consideration for many athletes. Some exercises can be too harsh on your back. Thus, they could do more harm than good.
Again, the lists are plentiful. So, I’ll focus on summarizing said workouts below. Luckily, bad exercises for back pain are easy to avoid. In many cases, the signs that something isn’t good for you are obvious.
Too much stress on your back and hips
Your lower body around your back usually works as an entire unit. So, you want to be careful when strengthening your core. Leg lifts and sit-ups may look like great ideas. But, they tend to stress your back considerably.
High-impact aerobics are also a bad idea. Running, jogging, tennis, and similar workouts can hurt your spine. The constant bounces and impact on your back can be detrimental. The same goes for contact sports.
Avoid workouts where you can’t maintain a neutral spine position.
Stretching your back and disks too much
As I mentioned, stretching can be of great help to your spine. But, it’s also possible to overdo it. Then, stretching too much can actually cause more pain. That’s why toe touches and similar workouts should be on your “no” list.
Overall, you want to avoid removing support from your back. So, find variations that let you rest comfortably while doing them. For instance, you can do single-leg lifts instead of the traditional form.
The holistic takeaway
Exercises for back pain are plentiful. You can find almost anything to fit your taste and needs. But, you must be careful not to stress your back too much. Make sure you always listen to your body and pain.
If you want to find great workouts, here’s my recommendation. It’s The Back Pain Breakthrough. It’s a complete guide to fixing your spine alignment, posture, and pain.
If you want to learn more, check out my review!
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