Back pain exercises are good for everyone regardless of whether you have back pain or not. In my San Diego chiropractic clinic, I see patients with back pain on a regular basis. Over my 25 years of practice, I have yet to find a patient that would not benefit from the right kind of back pain exercises and Stretches.
The Right Timing For Back Pain Exercises
Timing is everything! This saying also applies to back pain exercises. Pain is a great motivator – I know this because when I see back pain patients they always ask me about exercises and stretches that they can do to help them find relief. While as a chiropractor I appreciate this kind of enthusiasm regarding exercise, I have rarely seen exercises do anything but serve to aggravate back pain when they are started too soon after injury.
In my San Diego Chiropractic clinic, I always stress the importance of exercises and stretches in a patient’s treatment plan. That being said, exercises should be started once the injury is stable – not when it is still in an acute stage. In my practice, we use exercises to strengthen and stabilize the back. We never look at exercise as a means to reduce back pain.
Back pain exercises include basic movements such as prone straight leg raising, prone back extensions (Superman’s) stability ball back extensions, bridge exercises and plank positions. This link to webMD shows a variety of exercises and stretches that we also use in my San Diego chiropractic clinic.
Exercises for back pain should be of mild intensity, to begin with, an increase in intensity as your back muscles get stronger. I caution my patients that “working through the pain” is not a good philosophy when it comes to rehab exercises.
When performed properly, specific back pain exercises can help prevent future episodes of back pain, improve your posture and increase your endurance. At my chiropractic clinic, I like to have my patients begin specific exercises and stretch after they have reduced their pain to at least a 2/10 in severity.
Related Articles:
Three Simple Sciatica Stretches
Treating Back Pain
