The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Low Back Pain

We’ve all been there before: pain that makes you lean back a little, place a hand on your lower back, and complain about how much it hurts. Did you know with the implementation of some basic exercises you can help reduce and even prevent lower back pain?

Exercise – Regular exercise like walking, biking, or swimming is essential to healing low back pain. Like other pains and conditions, exercising your heart and other muscles helps to maintain good health and provide a faster recovery after an injury. In the case of back pain, swimming or walking just a few minutes a day is an ideal way to alleviate pain.

There are, however, always a few exercises that may possibly aggravate back muscles with extensive repetitions. These can cause even more damage to already injured areas. To provide insight, outlined below are exercises NOT recommended for the lower back:

Sit-ups – Straight and bent leg sit-ups or curl ups are not beneficial to do when having acute back pain. Although some people may think sit-ups can strengthen the core or abdominal muscles, most people tend to use muscles in the hips when doing sit-ups, which applies pressure on the discs in the spine.

Leg lifts – Lifting both legs off of the ground while lying down is not a recommended exercise combination. In fact, the simultaneous lifting motion will cause your lower back pains to worsen. Instead, try to lift one leg at a time while keeping the other leg bent and stable on the ground for support.

Read the full article at painmanagementtrends.com