Exercise 1: Perfect Posture Heel Slides
1 – 2 sets of 10 reps each side
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your back in a neutral position (halfway between flat back and arched back). Engage your core by recruiting your pelvic floor and transverse abdominis. Maintain a steady abdominal breathing while you slide one foot out until your leg is straight. Return slowly to the initial position and repeat with the other leg. Your back must stay in neutral at all times.
Exercise 2: Hip Twist (Bent Knee Fall Out)
1 – 2 sets of 10 reps each side
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your lower back in neutral position (slightly arched). Engage your core by recruiting your pelvic floor and transverse abdominis. Maintain a steady abdominal breathing while you open one leg to one side, keeping your lower back and the other leg completely still. Return to the middle and repeat with the other leg.
Exercise 3: Glute Bridge On Heels
1-2 sets of 10 reps
Lie on your back with your knees bent. Raise your forefoot and push your heel to the ground to relax the muscles in the back of your thighs. Squeeze your buttocks together and lift them off the ground to make a straight line with your body. Slowly lower your body and repeat.
Exercise 4: Cat and Dog Stretch
1 set of 7 reps
Start on all fours with your back straight, hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips. To do the dog stretch, slowly inhale and let the belly fall toward the floor to arch the back and extend the head at the same time. To do the cat stretch, slowly exhale, round the back and tuck the chin to the chest. Alternate between these two positions slowly.
Exercise 5: Threading The Needle (Thoracic Mobility)
1 set of 6 each side.
In a quadruped position, knees together and hands under the shoulders, reach under with one hand, come back and rotate the trunk to raise the hand toward the ceiling. Increase the range of motion progressively. You can rotate the trunk but do not lift the knees off the floor.
Exercise 6: Modified Bird Dog (Superman)
1-2 sets of 10 reps each side
Put your elbows on a table or a counter top and your feet on the ground-your elbows should be directly under your shoulders. Set your back in a neutral position (slightly arched) and tuck your chin. Slightly tighten your abdominals and lumbar muscles. Then lift one arm and the opposite leg without allowing the trunk or pelvis to move or rotate. Lower your leg and arm and repeat the exercise with the other leg and the opposite arm.
Exercise 7: Side-Bridge on Shoulder
1 -2 sets of 10 reps each side
Lie on your side with your feet on a small step and your head on a towel. Lift your hips up and hold. Be sure to be as straight as possible and parallel to the ground in the top position.
Exercise 8: Mini Squat Broomstick Hip Hinge (Or Stiff Broomstick Leg Hip Hinge)
1 -2 sets of 10 reps each side
Stand with the feet under the hips. Place a stick behind your back with three points of contact which are the back of the head, mid-back and tailbone. Hold the stick with one hand overhead and one hand behind the lower back. Bend the knees to go down into a mini squat, hinging at the hip. Keep the three points of contact at all times. If you have knee problems or for an alternative try hindging at the hip without bending your knees (the “Stiff Leg Broomstick Hip Hinge exercise” shown on the right).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The Images above are reproduced from our software subscription to Physiotec.org. which enables bespoke exercise prescription and video illustrations for our clients, for your bespoke rehab exercise program, get in touch with one of our clinics.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to set out safe industry recognised exercises, designed to improve neck function, help and prevent pain and injury. If however any of these exercise cause pain or exacerbate symptoms you are advised to refrain and seek professional advice. It is impossible for this type of generic advice to be 100% complete, safe and effective in individual cases. Each person’s symptoms, injury and recovery can vary greatly depending on medical history, posture, genetics, motivation and application. Generalised rehabilitative and preventative exercises such as those set out below are NO SUBSTITUTE for personal, one to one consultation with an appropriately qualified health care professional.
Physiotherapy Exercises For Lower Back Pain: The exercise routine shown above has been designed to help rehabilitate patients with back pain and also for anyone seeking a core workout that will improve their core strength, tone up their midsection whilst at the same time helping to decrease their back pain injury risk. Traditional gym style core exercises or ab exercises such as crunches, oblique twists, reverse crunches and side bends, involve movement of the trunk and lower back vertebra. Such repetitive flexion and rotation movements have been shown in some studies (e.g. those of Professor Stuart McGill) to increase wear and tear and injury risk of the lumbar discs. The exercises above mostly involve true core stability exercises that engage the core muscles in such as way as to prevent rather than produce movement of the lower back i.e. to stabilise it. This style of exercise is associated with reduced injury risk, it therefore seems logical that these would be the best ab exercises to perform as part of an ab workout. Of course some articulatory movement of the spine is necessary, to promote symmetry of movement and circulation and this is covered by exercises 4 and 5.
Designed and prepared By Robert Shanks, BSc (Hons) Ost, Director of spineplus.co.uk and injuryfitpro.com and author to the book BACK PAIN DECODED available from inuryfitpro.com and from Amazon.
