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Common Exercises Your Phsyio May Show You for Low Back Pain

Chiropractor Back Realignment Treatment

Low back pain is typically treated in stages with an initial emphasis placed on non-invasive solutions to the problem. Your physio will likely prescribe a regimen of physical therapy for about four to six weeks as a means to solve persistent discomfort without surgery. These treatments are designed to reduce your pain, improve movement and function, and instill good habits to prevent the problem from returning again down the line.

This plan for therapy won’t just place an emphasis on stretching and exercises, but you could be instructed to include additional components such as the application of heat or ice to the area. The former can be very effective at helping the muscles in the lower back to warm up and become more receptive to the benefits of stretching and exercise, the latter used as a way to sooth the muscles that have been worked out.

Common Exercises

Your physio is focused on treating not just your lower back pain but also the pain that might radiate from the area and move towards other parts of the body, such as down the legs. In order to target both of these issues, you may be instructed to perform some or all of these exercises:

Simple Stretches

Although a regimen of stretching exercises is a common practice, the combination of stretches that your physio will prescribe for you will be unique and exclusive to the type and severity of discomfort that you are experiencing. The goal of stretching the muscles that are located in the lower back is to reduce pain and improve your range of motion. To accomplish this objective, your physio may give you a program of stretching techniques that are centered on the muscles in your lower back, the muscles in your abdomen, as well as those in the legs and hips.
Executing these stretching exercises should always be done slowly and in a fluid manner. You must avoid any bouncing motions or abrupt movements during the exercises that have been prescribed for you.

Lumbar Stabilization

This battery of exercises are designed to keep you upright and active through movement. Some of these may also require the use of a standard exercise ball which will have you lying on the ground and using the ball to perform a bridge motion with your body and neutralize the spinal column. Your physio may also require you to work on other forms of dynamic stabilization to help strengthen the muscles around the spine for greater support.

Abdominal Support

These types of exercises are focused on building your core as a means to fortify the muscles in your abdominal area as well as your lower back. You can expect your physio will have you doing sit-ups, crunches, and leg raises, anything that brings more strength to your core. A successful elimination of your lower back pain and any additional radicular discomfort includes working on the abdominal area to increase the muscular support that is vital to reducing pain.