According to the CDC, nearly 40% of Americans are suffering from lower back pain. Research from the Journal Health Science Reports shows us that 85-95% of low back pain is Musculoskeletal in Nature.
The good news? Musculoskeletal lower back pain can be effectively treated and prevented with the right diagnosis, treatment interventions, and the top 5 exercises to strengthen your core and back muscles.
If that’s true, WHY do so many people still suffer from low back pain despite having access to a plethora of information both virtually and in person?
The reason many people can’t seem to get ahead of their musculoskeletal lower back pain and injury is that they are still chasing the pain and NOT addressing the underlying movement deficits that caused their MSK system to break down in the first place.
To help you understand the importance of this, let’s first talk about the MSK system as a whole. Many people, both in healthcare and in the general population, will readily acknowledge that the “core” muscles are very important to maintaining a strong, healthy lower back—however, most people who talk about “the core” immediately hyperfocus solely on the abdominal muscles.
This is a huge mistake. Here’s why.
Our Abdominal muscles are integrated to the rest of our body through:
- Fascial Connections to the abdominal muscles stem from the deep neck muscles all the way to the muscles that make up the arch of the foot.
- Shared Nerve responsibilities that affect everything from your core muscle activation to your spinal erectors (low back) and leg muscles
- Muscle inhibition occurs often in areas with common muscle attachments. For example, tight Adductor (groin) muscles will often cause an inhibition (limited ability to contract) in the abdominal muscles.
These three important facts make it very clear that our abdominal muscles MUST be trained and exercised in a way that honors the integrated nature of our body’s infrastructure.
The “CORE” is not meant to function in isolation but to support our physique through a symphony of coordinated muscle contractions.
Do crunches make your abs LOOK good? You bet they do. But if you want to train your body to move efficiently, be less likely to compensate, and be resilient to breaking down, You’ll want to incorporate these top 5 exercises into your daily routine. This cocktail of exercises is intentionally designed to address the core in a way that is functional and will make you move better all around, but most importantly, it will keep your back strong, healthy, and pain-free.
Here are my top 5 exercises to arm patients with a body that is resilient against low back pain!
5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Core and Prevent Lower Back Pain
Exercise 1: Plank Scapular Protract Retract
From a plank position, keep your belly lifted (no sag in the lower back), and allow your shoulder blades to squeeze towards each other, keeping elbows completely straight. Then, push the floor away to separate the shoulder blades (the midback will round). Repeat the movement.
Exercise 2: Quadruped Hip Slide
Start from a Quadruped position, with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Be sure your arms are completely straight, and your fingers are spread and engaged. Push the floor away, as you know, and slide one knee towards the same side of the elbow. If possible, continue sliding the leg to allow the foot to land flat next to your hand. Do NOT lift the hands to make room for the leg. Hip mobility must happen with a stable upper trunk for you to make gains.
Exercise 3: Prone Ball Cars
From a prone position, pass an object (small ball or small light object) from hand to hand overhead and then behind your back. When you pass it overhead, your eyes should be looking at it. When you pass it behind your lower back, bring your head to neutral. Do CW, then CCW for this move.
Exercise 4: Frogger Stretch
From quadruped, walk your knees and lower legs out as far as possible while maintaining a 90-degree position of the knees, hips, and ankles. The weight should be on the inner portion of your knees and your inner shins if possible. Now, drop to your elbows and use your arms to push back into the stretch. Be sure to keep your ankles flexed upward towards your head.
Exercise 5: Backwards Bear
From the A-Frame position, with straight arms and legs, slide opposite arms and legs backward a few inches. Avoid bending the knees or elbows; keep the hips high and heels relaxed. The base arm is going to drive the backward momentum, engaging abdominals and shoulder stabilizers.
Real-Life Examples
We’ve seen these very exercises give patients with chronic low back pain the ability to live their lives pain-free again. The bonus is that in addition to feeling better, they are able to move better.
Rather than just stretching the tight area, these exercises and physical therapy techniques will unlock the tight area by focusing on restoring how to move efficiently.
Nearly every day, we have patients whose movements are unlocked by these very same exercises. Many of our patients who see immediate results are the patients who are tight in their hip flexors from sitting long hours for work or because they’re athletes and have developed tight hips over time. But they’ve found (probably like you) that stretching their hips doesn’t even come close to loosening their back. This is because they are missing the link of the entire kinetic chain from the neck and shoulders down to the feet.
Tips for Success
- Start slow and focus on proper form to avoid injuries.
- Gradually increase intensity or resistance as strength improves.
- Focus on the form cues and be honest with yourself.
- Avoid compensating and rushing through the moves as much as possible.
Rediscover Freedom Through Movement
Taking back control of your physical abilities and abolishing your lower back pain is not difficult when you put your efforts in the right areas. Essentially, working smarter, not harder, will give you the outcome you’re looking for.
We’ve given you the tools above to address the core muscles most effectively to extinguish your back pain and give you back the physical ability to do the things you love to do.
Now, here are some tips on how to implement it:
- Pick a time to do these exercises regularly, every day, or at a minimum 3x/week.
- Use “habit stacking” (choosing a time to exercise that is attached to something you already do regularly). This will breed consistency in your routine, as you’re already in the routine of doing “x” habit, and so associating these exercises with a task you already do regularly will give you the best chance of staying consistent.
- Be kind to yourself. These exercises are often challenging because they will retrain your body in a way it has likely not been trained in a long time. The biggest change comes from small, incremental, and consistent work. Stay with it, be patient, be consistent.
If you have any questions along the way, we’re here to help. We can help you make sure you’re getting the most out of the exercise by analyzing your form or helping you integrate it into other routines you’re already doing and enjoying.
Consistently trying the top 5 exercises to strengthen your core and back muscles is a great first step to relieving discomfort. If you don’t notice a change, it might be time for an in-depth movement analysis to uncover any potential issues. Contact us at 267-354-0113 if we can help you in any way.
