HOW: Start this exercise on your back in a 90/90 position of your knees and hips. Keep the small of your back pushed into the floor by activating your core. While maintaining core activation extend your legs out one at a time towards the ceiling. The more you straighten your knees as you kick out, the more challenging this exercise will be on your core.

 

FEEL: You should feel the abdominal muscles engaging while you perform this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not arch the back as you perform this exercise.

HOW: Begin by laying on your back for this exercise, knees over hips and hands over shoulders- with a swiss ball in between both. Then bring your hands and knees together by squeezing the swiss ball. Slowly drop one leg and the opposite arm to the floor. FEEL: You will be feeling this in your core especially as you squeeze the arms and legs together.
Compensation: Avoid allowing the low back to arch as you perform this exercise.

HOW: While placing both hands up against the wall for support, begin by sagging your hips to arch the back. Then push back into a child’s pose against the wall, the goal is to stretch the back into a rounding position. Repeat this movement back and forth with control.

 

FEEL: When you drop your hips you will feel the abs and the low back stretching into the arched position. When you bring your body down towards the floor you will feel the low back muscles being stretched.

“Approximately 34% of people who experience acute low back pain (LBP) will have recurrent episodes. It remains unclear why some people experience recurrences and others do not, but one possible causes is a loss of normal control of the back muscles (1).”

When it comes to the literature investigating acute and chronic low back pain, there is a handful of evidence supporting altered muscle function and recruitment. The muscles that are typically affected are the deep back and core muscles including the lumbar multifidus and the transverse abdominus. The function of these muscles and other core muscles including the obliques, erector spinae, and rectus abdominus is to provide stability by creating a stiffening effect on the spine (2).

Doing everyday tasks such as squatting, picking objects up off the ground, and lifting things overhead can be very difficult for individuals with LBP. Ultimately the body needs to keep MOVING and people should not be AFRAID to move their back!

Check out this drill designed to promote controlled movement at the low back and pelvis and decrease muscle guarding. A swiss ball is a great object to start as it is light, and it decreases the depth of a squat limiting any excessive posterior pelvic tilt and lumbar flexion, which may be sensitive to some.

Citations:

(1) MacDonald D et al. 2009. “Why do some patients keep hurting their back? Evidence of ongoing back muscle dysfunction during remission from recurrent back pain”

(2) O’Sullivan P et al. 1997. “Altered abdominal muscle recruitment in back pain patients following specific exercise intervention.”

HOW: Get a band or cable anchored somewhere between waist and shoulder height. While standing perpendicular to the anchor and holding the handle with both hands, press your arms forward away from your chest until your elbows are fully straight. Hold this position as you step out and away from the anchor while keeping your hips and shoulders square facing forward, then step back in, and repeat.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and back muscles working as well as your arm muscles to maintain optimal position and form. You may also feel your hip and thigh muscles working as well to maintain position.

 

COMPENSATION: You should step away from the anchor until there is enough resistance that is challenging, but not too hard where you can’t maintain optimal form. Do not let the band rotate your upper body, keep your arms straight and hips facing forward. Try to avoid twisting your back. 

HOW: Begin with your elbow and forearm supported on an elevated surface. Get set-up in a side plank position with your legs straight and feet stacked. Lift your pelvis and hips up as high as you can and hold this position. When you are elevated your feet, hip and shoulder should all be in one line. You should feel strong through your shoulder and shoulder blade, do not let your shoulder sag.

 

FEEL: You should feel the side towards the floor working, from your outer hips to outer core and shoulder that is against the floor.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid sagging your pelvis, hips, or shoulder as you side bridge up into this position.

HOW: Perform this exercise with your foot supported on the ground for a regressed version of the exercise, this will decrease the demand placed on the core. I progress this exercise by elevating my entire leg to allow myself to ONLY make contact to the floor with my hips! FEEL: You should will the core muscles working here.

HOW: Lay face down with your arms overhead. Elevate both arms and legs off of the floor into a superman position. Lift one arm up and the opposite leg towards the ceiling and repeat back and forth. Your shoulder blade should drive the arm movement, your glutes should drive the leg movement.

 

FEEL: You will feel the muscles on the back of the arm and the leg that are lifting up towards the ceiling. You will also feel the lower back work with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid arching the lower back as you elevate the arms and the legs.