What are strengthening exercises for low back pain?

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There are many different types of exercise for low back pain. The main categories of exercise are stretching, stabilization, and strengthening. Strengthening exercises are designed to help make a specific group of muscles in the low back stronger. Strengthening exercises for low back pain target the lumbar extensor muscles. These exercises are sometimes called lumbar extensor strengthening exercises.

The lumbar extensor muscles are also called the erector spinae muscle group. These muscles help you to keep your spine straight and to bend backward. If you have low back pain, it’s possible these muscles are weak. Strengthening exercises can help strengthen the muscles, decrease your pain, improve function in daily activities, and prevent back pain from returning.

Strengthening exercises for low back pain are based on the same principles as exercises for regular weight training. You can perform various strengthening exercises. For each exercise, you can perform more than one set, taking a break in between. Each set consists of a certain number of repetitions, also called reps. Over time, you may change the number of sets and reps you do in a workout. Depending on the exercise, you may also change the amount of weight used.

Initially, the number of strengthening sessions can vary from 2 to 4 workouts per week. It’s generally a good idea to rest a day between workouts to let your muscles recover. After many weeks, you may be able to gradually decrease the number of workouts and still maintain your strength. Once your low back is strong, you may be able to do these exercises just once or twice a month.

The important factors for strengthening exercises are sets, reps, weight, and number of workouts. In the beginning, you may only do 1 set of 8 reps of each exercise without a weight, twice a week. As your strength builds, you can slowly increase the number of reps to 12 or 15, then the number of sets to 3 or 4. You can add weight and do 3 or 4 workouts a week.

Building strength is a slow process. It may take a few weeks to increase what you can do, but change will happen naturally if you exercise regularly. When you begin a new physical activity, it’s quite common to feel some soreness the day after exercise. The soreness is just a short-term side effect that will go away as you get stronger. As with any other exercise routine, you must commit yourself to the program. If you don’t keep it up, you won’t get the benefits it offers.

Strengthening exercises for low back pain are a little bit different from stretching and stabilization exercises, which can be done at home without any equipment. Strengthening exercises for low back pain usually require some exercise equipment. The equipment includes weight machines, free weights, stability balls, benches, or Roman chairs. Such equipment is commonly found in fitness centers, but you can also purchase it for home use.

Because the exercises require equipment, it’s often easiest to see a health provider who specializes in exercise. These health providers are usually physical therapists. They can show you how to perform the strengthening exercises correctly. Once you’ve learned the exercises and received supervised instruction, you can usually continue them without supervision.

 
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