If you are experiencing back pain, you should be adding some specifically targeted exercises to help strengthen the joints and muscles to reduce pain.
But which ones are the best?
How can we be efficient by wasting less time spent on exercises that aren’t the most helpful?
In this blog post, I’m breaking it down into 3 main categories and showing you one exercise that you can try right now.
Moving the hips, strengthening the glutes, and the core/back are the most important areas to focus on.
Let’s jump in!
Hip Mobility
Our hips need to move through their full range of motion but we spend most of our day doing repetitive actions that prevent this.
Adding internal and external rotation at the hips (aka the femeroacetabular joints) can help decrease back pain. We spend most of our day doing repetitive motions so our hips (generally) have more mobility with flexion and extension – think of the way our hips move (or legs swing) when walking. Adding abduction and adduction (side to side movements) are also important.
Try the hip 90-90 exercise. This is great for internal and external rotation.
Glute Strengthening
Glutes are really part of your core but most people don’t know this so I’ve categorized this separately from core strength.
Your glutes are made of 3 major muscles: gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, and gluteus minimus. But you also have other muscles in that area that are also very important but less talked about, like the piriformis, gemellus, and obturator. The pelvis contains a lot of muscles and ligaments, all of which can play a role in back pain, so it’s important to target this area.
One of my fave exercises for the glutes is the glute bridge. You can do this exercise in a few varieties, some of which I show you in this video below. Many other exercises are important for this area, but this is my fave one to start with.
Core & Back Strengthening
The core includes the back, abdominal wall, pelvic muscles, diaphragm, and glutes (which we already covered above).
Engaging your core is important no matter what exercise or activity you are doing. The easiest way to engage the core is to pretend like someone is about to punch you in the stomach. That reaction you have is kinda what you are going for.
Try it now!
You’ll likely notice a difference in your pain right away, even if you are just sitting or standing.
There are so many exercises that will work to strengthen your core.
One of my faves is the plank. Super simple but even just 15-30 seconds of holding this pose per day can make a huge difference. Work your way up to holding a plank for 2 mins!
Another set of exercises I love, for not only the back, but also just to make doing everyday activities less of a challenge are the squat and deadlift. Please make sure you know how to do a hip hinge before you do a deadlift! (If you want to learn more about these types of exercises and how to properly perform them, I show you how in The Tension Release Method. Click here to learn more.)
Breathing using the diaphragm is also considered a core exercise. Who knew something so simple is doing so much for your back pain?!
Here’s one of my fave posterior muscle group exercises – meaning it works the muscles along the back of your entire body but mainly using the core.
Want more exercises for back pain?
Download my free guide with videos, suggestions, and my top 6 exercises for back pain for any level right here. Doing these daily for 5 minutes a day can improve your back strength and reduce pain. You don’t need any equipment but you can always use weights or bands (or anything else) to make them more challenging.
Send me a DM on Insta here and let me know how you feel after doing these 6 for a week 😉
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/153263193562644617/Disclaimer: This is not specific medical advice for you and is meant to be for educational purposes only. Discontinue any exercises that cause pain or make your symptoms worse. Discomfort is okay but pain is NOT. You need to speak with your healthcare provider to be assessed, diagnosed, and provided with your own treatment plan. You should follow the recommendations made to you by your doctor and/or healthcare provider.