Good Exercises for Back Pain

In the last post, we discussed that one of the main reasons that back pain comes back is because your muscles are too weak.  So, you went to your local chiropractor and got adjusted.  This helped your back pain, but it seems to be coming back.  What do you do now?  Well, the best thing for you is to get off the couch and get moving!  The discs of your back need movement to undergo a process called imbibition.  This is how the discs move nutrition in and out of the joints of the spine.  Movement allows for this nutrition to move in and out of the joint and start the healing process,

So what exercises are good for your back to move and gain strength?  Below, we will cover some of the best exercises for your back as well as a good plan for how often to do those exercises:

Exercise 1: The Pelvic Bridge
The pelvic bridge is an exercise done in the supine position (on your back).  You next need to bend at your knees and put your feet flat on the ground.  Next you need to initiate your core.  To do this, you need to lightly contract your abs as if you were bracing for someone to punch you in the stomach.  At the same time during your ab contraction, you need to lightly arch your back.  A good way to tell that you are doing it correctly is to place one hand behind the small of your back.  If you feel like you are crushing your hand, you are contracting the abs too much and not arching the back enough.

After initiating the core you need to hold that contraction and raise your pelvis up off the ground as if someone was pulling on a string attached to your belly button to lift you up.  If you are putting a lot of pressure on your shoulders, you are not doing it correctly.  You need to concentrate more on lifting your pelvis and less on trying to force it up.

The pelvis is held in it's lifted position for 3-5 seconds, before you lowered it down in a controlled fashion.  Then, wait for 3-5 seconds and repeat the exercise.  The exercise is to be performed for a minimum of 10 repetitions per set for 3 sets to be repeated twice daily (10 reps/3 sets/2x daily).  More reps may be added once a strength has been built.  For best results, this exercise should be done 3-5 times per week.

(For an advanced version of this workout, this exercise can be performed with your back pressing against an exercise ball for added balance difficulty, thus increasing the difficulty of this exercise).

Exercise 2: The Push-Up
One of the best exercises for the core is a push-up.  The push-up is just a modified version of a Pilate's exercise called a plank.  The only difference is with a push-up you raise and lower your body toward the ground thus increasing your arm strength.  If you feel you are not strong enough or if you have shoulder of wrist problems, the plank exercise can be performed in place of the push-up to the same benefit.

How do you perform a correct push-up?  This exercise is done in the prone position (laying face down on the floor).  You then must place your palms flat on the floor with your arms about shoulder width apart.  Your elbows should be bent at about a 45 degree angle with the elbows tucked in beside your body.  You then must initiate the core by contracting it as described in the exercise above.

Upon contracting the core, you then will use your arms to push on the floor raising your body up off the floor until your arms have fully straightened (extension).  Upon reaching extension of your arms, you will then lower your body back to the ground in a controlled fashion.  While keeping the core contracted the entire time, you repeat the process of raising and lowering your body.  The exercise should be done a minimum of 10 reps/3 sets/2x daily.  More reps may be added once strength is built.

( For those who suffer from arm injuries or weaknesses that cannot perform a full push-up, a plank may be performed.  To perform a correct plank, follow the description above with the exception of placing your elbows and forearms flat on the ground instead of the palms of your hands.  When the exercise is performed and you hold your body off the ground the pressure is placed on the forearm and elbow and the contraction is done once.  Instead of repeated raising and lowering of the body the raised position is held for 15 seconds with 3-5 seconds in between reps.  This exercise is also to be performed at 10 reps/2 sets/3x daily for best results).

Exercise 3: Aerobic Exercises
A good aerobic exercise such as going for a walk or jog is great for the core muscles when performed with the core contracted as described above.  Adding this exercise to your aerobic workout not only helps to strengthen the core but also to help the heart, and help the body lose/maintain weight.


Disclaimer - As with any exercise regime, it is very important that you consult with your physician prior to beginning your regime to make sure you are physically fit and healthy enough to begin.  Only a trained physician can determine if you are healthy enough to handle the new exercises.

Why Does My Back Pain Come Back?

This is one of the most common questions I get from new patients that come into my office.  They tell me that they have had back pain in the past, they have received physical therapy, chiropractic, medicine and or many other of the wonderful treatments that helped their back at the time but, now the pain is back.  Invariably, the question comes out "Why?"

The answer to this question can be a difficult one as no two patients are the same and there can be many different reasons why the pain came back; you started working out again and re-injured the area, you "over-did-it" at your job or at play, you are getting old, or you are out of shape.  These are all valid answers to the question but they all typically tie into one reason: YOUR BACK MUSCLES ARE TOO WEAK!

I know, I know.  You go to the gym 3-5 times a week and workout, right?  Well, if you are like most of us the answer to that question is; "Um, No."  Even for those of you who can answer yes to that question you typically have the same problem.  When we do workout, we typically do not workout the core muscles.  When we do workout, most of us workout what I like to call the "Show" muscles.  For men, we want to workout our biceps or, work on our pecs to give us a tone chest.  We want the big broad shoulders and they six pack abs.  We work out the big bulk muscles that we think make us look appealing.  Women always want to tone.  They do exercises to give them tone arms and legs and a flat stomach.  While, there is nothing wrong with this, we are always forgetting some of the most important muscles in our body.  The core muscles are what are called deep muscles of the body.  Our body is made up of layers.  When we workout the way we are used to, we typically only work the big bulky muscles that are in the outermost layer but we neglect the deep muscle layers that are important to our posture and balance.

First lets talk about what a muscle is and what is its main function.  Muscle is a specialized tissue in the body and there are actually several kinds of muscle tissue.  One of the jobs of muscle is to help make our body move as well as provide a place for storage of some essential nutrients such as proteins, calcium, iron, and many other vitamins and minerals.  Most skeletal muscles (these are the kind of muscles we use to make our body move) go across a point where two bones come together, called a joint.  When a muscle contracts, it shortens its length and moves the insertion (the bone that the muscle is attached to) towards towards the origin (the bone that the muscle came from.  This movement happens at the joint the muscle crosses over and lets us do many things from very simple movements like bending your elbow to very complex ones like running and jumping.  When a muscle is weakened, it cannot create enough force needed to move the insertion bone and movement is limited.  This is especially important when we are talking about weakness to our core muscles.

The main job of the core muscles is to move the very important joints in our spine.  They allow us to stand up without swaying back and forth.  When these muscles are weak, they must work harder so that we can keep doing all the same motions we are accustomed to doing.  When the muscles struggle to work, they will not only affect the muscle tissue itself but also the tissues that make up the joint it is in charge of moving.  When tissues do not work properly they begin a process called inflammation.  The tissue gets injured, and becomes swollen, red, hot, and painful.  When this happens in the back, we get back pain.

This brings us back to why your previous treatments didn't help the pain to stay away.  Most of the above mentioned treatments only treat one component of the injury: the muscle or the joint.  The key is to treat them both.  You need to make sure your joints are moving properly and not getting stuck in place.  One of the best ways to ensure your joints are moving properly is to have them adjusted.  This will ensure you are having proper motion.  The second thing you need to do is to make sure you are strengthening the muscles that cross that joint as they control the movement of the joint.  These two things must be done in combination to ensure your core is strong enough to prevent the injury from coming back.  So what are some good exercises to strengthen these core muscles?  You will have to check back and read my next post where we will talk about some of the best exercises to strengthen the core.  See you then!