Lets face it. We make time for work, family, social life, eating as healthy as we can manage, and sleep. Some of us dont consciously make an effort to make time for proper exercise, or to hit the gym for that matter. Its only after we start getting a sore lower back from sitting at our desk for hours upon hours working our 9-5 job that we start worrying about a little exercise. What if i told you its super easy to take some preventative measures now to avoid possible serious lower back issues in the future. Lets get into the basics.
Here are some very popular exercise programs that most physical therapists will recommend to treat lower back pain. Sometimes only one will suffice, but most other times, there will have to be a combination of the three.
Stretching Exercises.
I know what youre thinking. Duh! More shocking is the fact that a lot of people dont take 5-10 minutes a day to stretch their back muscles. Studies have shown that the proper stretching of your lower back muscles, along with active exercise will tremendously help maintaining normal range of motion and will relieve back pain that we often suffer from lack of use, or in other words disuse atrophy. The muscle groups that should be included in your daily routine include:
· Lower Back Muscles
· Abdominal Muscles
Stabilization Exercises.
These exercises are designed to improve flexibility in your lower backs secondary muscles of the spine. These muscles help support the spine through various ranges of motion. They are often achieved with exercise balls, balancing machines and resistance bans/machines.
Core strengthening Exercises.
These exercises target the specific muscles that create the ring around your entire lower back area. These exercises include, but are not limited to:
· Abdominal strengthening such as crunches, ab machines, leg raising machines, and sit ups.
· Lower back work outs on machines, or simply lying face down and lifting up your chest as far as you can.
Its worth mentioning that another alternative to maintaining healthy lower back muscles is aquatic therapy. This is especially helpful for the elderly, or for patients that dont have the physical strength just yet to get into a daily normal exercise routine. You see, being in the water helps because you wont have the effect of gravity making it a lot easier to get your muscles active and moving freely.
Some final thoughts
Physical therapy exercises like on this site fysiotherapiesuri.nl can also be used to prevent future injuries, and not just for typical rehabilitation. A good balance between daily stretching and exercise will keep those muscles nice and lose, and will prevent loss of muscle mass.