The following exercises for the treatment of back pain are mainly related to movement, strengthening and stretching. In particular, they should be easy to perform and can be incorporated into everyday life without the need for aids, because anyone who wants to combat back pain in the long term must take regular exercise. Various simple movement exercises are, for example, the smooth change of movement between round and flat backs in a four-footed position or the rotating bend in the seat.
1.) For this exercise, place yourself on your hands and knees, the tips of your feet are positioned. First push your head and pelvis as far apart as possible to stretch your spine.
Now the entire spine is unrolled bit by bit from the pelvis towards the head, kept short and rolled up again bit by bit and stretched out with a large hump. This change is performed a few times slowly and in a controlled manner. 2.)
For the rotation bend, sit upright on the front edge of a chair, feet hip-wide, arms crossed in front of the chest and grasping your own shoulders. Now the upper body is slowly bent forward and turned to the side until the right shoulder touches the left knee, slowly straighten up again and move the left shoulder towards the right knee. Each side is performed 10 times.
3.) In order to counteract the sunken sitting posture, the back of the torso, especially the muscles between the shoulder blades, must be strengthened and the front stretched like the strong chest muscles. For strengthening, sit upright on a chair.
The upper arms rest against the upper body, the forearms are stretched forward at right angles parallel to each other, the palms of the hands point towards each other. A theraband is tied tightly around the back of the hands. Against the tension of the band, the arms are now slowly turned outwards, the palms of the hands move away from each other, the upper arms remain on the body.
The breastbone straightens up towards the front. Slowly the palms of the hands are brought together again, but the tension is maintained. This is done in 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
4.) To stretch the front of the chest, stand to the side of a wall. The arm pointing to the wall is stretched out along the wall, the palm of the hand lies against the wall.
The rest of the body now turns further away from the wall. The height of the arm can be varied to reach all parts of the large pectoral muscle. More exercises for BWS can be found in the articles:
- Back pain – not with a strong back
- Exercises against a hunchback
- Exercises against back pain
The physiological form of the lumbar spine is a lordosis, i.e. a slight bulge.
Due to frequent weakness of the abdominal muscles or to compensate for excessive curvature in the thoracic spine, the well-known hollow back is often seen. The problem here is that the lumbar spine bears the entire weight of the trunk. If the vertebral bodies are now standing in the hollow back, i.e. the vertebrae are always bent forward, the rear part of the intervertebral discs is subjected to much more strain.
After a long period of incorrect posture, one wrong movement is often enough to cause a slipped disc. In this area, controlled movement, straightening and strengthening of the opposing abdominal muscles is of great importance. 1.)
Put yourself in a supine position, the feet are upright. Place your hand flat under your lower back and try to press it flat by tensing the abdominal muscles, i.e. to press the lumbar spine down on the floor against its protrusion. You can also press a small soft ball or pillow under your back.
Now remove your hand from under your back and lift your feet off the floor so that your hips and knees are bent at right angles and your lower legs are held parallel to the floor. By tensing your abdominal muscles strongly, you now try to lift your buttocks slightly off the floor without pulling your knees towards your body, i.e. to lift your shins a few millimeters further, parallel to the ceiling. Lower the pelvis again without releasing the abdominal tension.
Try to do 10 repetitions first and then increase continuously. Alternatively, the legs can be stretched upwards instead of keeping them angled. Make sure that the lower back is firmly on the floor at all times.
2.) Stand with both heels against a wall with your knees slightly bent and your hips wide.They press their lower back against the wall and tense their stomachs. In your arms you hold a weight of about 1 kg each (dumbbell, water bottle) or you stand on a Theraband and hold both ends tightly in one hand each.
Now bring both arms stretched out in front of your body up to shoulder height. This will significantly increase the tension in your abdomen. However, your back must not come away from the wall.
Slowly lower your arms again and repeat the exercise 10 times in 2 sets. Further exercises can be found in the articles
- Physiotherapy for a LWS syndrome
- Exercises against back pain
- And for the removal of glued tissue the article Fascia Training
The following exercises should train the neck extension (Entlordosierung): 1.) Sit upright.
Now try to loll for a long time by imagining the highest point of your head and push it towards the sky, your gaze is straight forward, shoulders remain down. The chin is lowered slightly towards the chest and pushed back as if you were making a slight double chin. Feel how the neck becomes long at the back and straightens up.
Alternately push the chin back and forth 15 times. You can use a mirror to check your posture at the beginning. To increase the strengthening aspect, stretch a Thera band across the back of the head and push it back against the resistance.
Alternatively you can also place a resistance with your hands on the back of your head. 2.) You lie comfortably on your back on a mat, etc.
Make a double chin and then lift your head about 5 mm and hold this position for 15 seconds. Perform this exercise 2 times. 3.)
You lie comfortably in supine position on a mat etc. and do a double chin. Then rotate your head to one side without pointing your head/chin towards your shoulder.
The neck remains stretched. From this position the head is lifted 5 mm and held for 15 seconds. Perform this exercise twice on both sides.
Further exercises for the cervical spine can be found in the article Exercises against back pain. The majority of all pregnant women suffer from back pain, which is simply due to the same causes described above plus a large additional load. You can tell this by the fact that the pain increases during the day when the structures overload.
So don’t forget to exercise and keep your muscles fit, especially during pregnancy. 1.) Again, for example, return to the four-footed position and try to make your back as long and straight as possible.
In order to strengthen the back muscles, one arm and the opposite leg are now stretched out straight, held in line with the back for 10 seconds, lowered and changed sides. This exercise can be done a few times, alternatively with a slight rocking motion at the end, which goes further into the stretching. 2.)
To relax the overstrained back, lie on your back and rest your lower legs on a Pezzi ball, the sofa backrest or simply a chair. Breathe deeply and release all tension. You can find more exercises in the articles Physiotherapy during pregnancy and Pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy.
Practice tilting your pelvis while brushing your teeth, stand sideways in front of a mirror, pull your pelvic bones towards your navel and back again, alternating smoothly, the same at the kitchen counter or while ironing. Practice keeping your torso stable, making your back long and your shoulders lowered loosely to the back. When you are lying in bed in the evening, take a few minutes to bring your body into a rotating-stretching position: knees bent to one side, arms and upper body to the other.
Stretching of the front of the body, static strengthening of the back of the body and relaxing stretching exercises can be practiced in the evening while watching the news. Especially suitable for home isometric exercises and for relaxation are autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation. 1.)
Fight your back pain right at your workplace. Train your straight posture at your desk by pressing your parallel feet firmly into the floor, pressing your forearms flat into the desk and feeling them getting longer. Hold the tension for 10 seconds, let go, tilt the pelvis back and forth a few times and rebuild the tension.
2. )Stand up more often and circle your arms against a tense shoulder-neck area. If possible, sit on a Pezzi ball or even do some of the work standing up.
In this way the whole working day will be equally varied and your body will thank you for it. Further exercises for the workplace are described in the article Exercises at the workplace. 1.)
If you have back pain due to tension, just let it hang. From a straight position, lower your back vertebrae for vertebrae forward until it hangs down, let your arms hang too, all tension drops and then slowly straighten up vertebrae by vertebrae. 2.)
Stretches for neck and back can be performed. Warm up your muscles a little at first to avoid strains. Another effective method, especially for the long back stretchers, is to roll out with a fascial roll or a tennis ball in a supine position or against a wall. More exercises can be found in the articles:
- Exercises against shoulder and neck pain
- Lumbago
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