Lower Back Exercises, looking for ideas.

[LisaAC]

I got up this morning to my lower back bugging me. After I did hip stretches and then set ups I found that the discomfort had left. Anyone know of some good exercises to strengthen the lower back area?

I've had trouble with my back since highschool and can usually get my spine back into alignment with the exercises my physical therapist gave me, but I'm looking for exercises to help that muscle area.

[Kate113]

What has helped me with my own lower back is Pilates. I have the Leslie Sansone DVD. It's very easy to do, but if you do it right, you'll be sore as heck after the first few times. It's so worth it though.

[LisaAC]

Thanks.
Actually, I found it just the opposite. I would wake up sore and in pain from doing nothing, but when I started a Winsor Pilates DVD with the bands I wasn't as sore the next day. Kinda worked reverse for me. Go figure. lol.

[not2late]

Any exercise that strengthens your core muscles will help with back pain. I have a weak back due to a car accident. Pilates is too painful for me to do, but yoga isn't and it's been very helpful.

[LisaAC]

Originally Posted by not2late

Any exercise that strengthens your core muscles will help with back pain. I have a weak back due to a car accident. Pilates is too painful for me to do, but yoga isn't and it's been very helpful.

Thanks.
I'm not flexible enough for yoga, unfortunately, but I did ok with the Pilates so far as long as I don't push it.


There were some specific exercises that a Dr. had given me once though,but that was like 20 some years ago. I was relooking for those.

[not2late]

I wasn't very flexible when I started either. But if you ease into the poses and go only as far as your body will allow you, over time the flexibility comes. I think alot of people get intimidated by yoga because they see advanced yoga-ers throwing their legs over their heads and scratching their ears with their toes or tapping their backsides with the crown of the heads and all sorts of stuff.

When I started I could barely hold certain postures---I had to have a stool or chair within reach just to prevent from tipping over. But as I got stronger and more flexible, I was able to loose the supports. I still can't do certain poses 'picture perfect', but I get the benefits from the positioning nonetheless.

[LisaAC]

Actually, I've never been that flexible. As a kid I'd watch Hatha Yoga And You on PBS, especially when sick from school. I did the movements, but I've never been flexible. Even in gradeschool when they'd have you sit cross legged, that was always uncomfortable for me and feet and legs always fell asleep.

[sweetgirl2]

I have found that doing abdominal crunches and sit-ups have also strengthened my lower back so much - a double bonus reward

[julirama723]

Yoga is one of those great things that the more you do it, the better it feels and the more you WANT to do it. It's amazing how much more flexible you become in a month, let alone in ONE SESSION! Even during one class period, I notice an increase of flexibility, simply because the movements, coordinated with breathing, allow you to gently stretch and gently deepen the stretch gradually. Repetition of these movements also helps.

And you can always take the degree of difficulty up or down and modify the pose to suit your needs.

The same is true for pilates--you can lessen the degree of difficulty. When first starting out, I have back pain. To combat this, I keep my knees bent for any moves that call for legs to be straight out--this takes pressure off the lower back.

[not2late]

I've seen that PBS show---believe me, it's way too intimidating for a newbie no matter what!

I started with a very tame program called "Yoga for the Rest of Us". It was also on PBS during Pledge week and what appealed to me is that it showed a bunch of senior citizens doing it. I figured if a senior citizen could do that yoga program, an out of shape 30-something like me should be able to too! Not to mention that it also included modifications of the poses so it wasn't very intimidating.

So I tried it and just by doing those 6 poses daily (mountain, warrior 1, warrior 2, warrior 3, triangle and tree) 5 days a week, I experienced a great improvement with my back and with my flexibility within a month. Those poses target the entire body: neck, arms, back, chest, abs, thighs, knees, ankles. And the best parts about it are that I didn't need special equipment (because I already have chairs and stools at home), it only requires a 5 x 3 foot space (so I could even do it at my office) and it only takes about 15 minutes.