Good Exercises for Lower Back Pain : Strengthen and Relieve

Do you suffer from a sore back? Lumbago, or pain in the lower back, can turn an ordinary day into a long one. KIROCLINIQUE provides a back pain and chiropractic diagnosis that looks at where that strain starts. Health Canada reports that 1 in 5 Canadians live with chronic pain (2019), and the lower back is its most common site. Exercises for lower back pain are where most people start.

The balance of your back shapes how you feel day to day. To prevent or relieve your pain, we suggest six back exercises to practise from home, for about 10 minutes, 2 to 3 times a week.

What Causes Lower Back Pain?

Most pain in the lower back comes from everyday mechanical strain on the muscles, ligaments and joints, not from one dramatic injury. The spine, the pillar of our physical structure, is made up of 5 vertebral regions. The lumbar region sits in the lower back, just above the sacrum, and its nerve roots drive movement in the lower limbs. Pain shows up as tension and stiffness in the lumbar vertebrae, and can affect your mobility. The World Health Organization reports that about 90% of low back pain cases are non-specific, meaning no single identifiable cause (2023).

Multiple Causes

Several ordinary habits can cause back pain, and the source is rarely a single one:

• Poor posture
• Past trauma such as injuries and accidents
• Too little or too much physical activity
• Job demands such as lifting heavy loads or repetitive movements

Exercises to Relieve Lower Back Pain

Protecting your back is a reflex you build week after week, not a matter of luck. The Government of Canada publishes guidance to protect your back at work, and the same habits carry over at home. The lower back exercises below mix stretching and strengthening exercises, and they can help ease back pain between appointments.

Muscle Strengthening Exercises

Strengthening your back muscles is the first step to preventing new flare-ups. Exercise helps you build strength in the muscles that support your spine, and may reduce pain over time. Regularity counts more than intensity. Adapt each exercise to your own needs and ability, because every body is different.

1. Plank

Source : Ooreka Santé

from all fours on your mat, extend your legs back with your arms straight. Make sure your shoulders stay directly above your hands. Squeeze your buttocks and abdominal muscles while you keep your back straight. Hold 10 to 15 seconds, 1 to 2 times. It works the abdominals and the muscles in the lower back.

2.Bridge with pelvic tilt

Source : Ooreka Santé

lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, parallel to each other. Tilt your pelvis, then lift it while your shoulders and arms stay on the floor. Do sets of 10, holding 5 to 10 seconds, rest as needed, then gradually increase the hold.

3.Bird-dog

Source : Ooreka Santé

on all fours with your hands and knees in line, tighten your stomach muscles. Raise one leg and the opposite arm together, and hold 3 to 5 seconds on each side. Alternate 10 to 15 times.

4.Hamstring stretch

Source : Ooreka Santé

sit up straight on your mat, hands on either side of your hips. Push through your hands and reposition yourself so your legs are straight. Stretch your back and hips while you breathe, and hold 20 to 30 seconds.

5.Cat-cow stretch

Source : Ooreka Santé

on all fours, keep your knees and hands in line, hands under your shoulders. Arch your back, then round it one vertebra at a time from the tailbone to the head. Breathe deeply and repeat 2 to 3 times for 5 to 10 seconds.

6.Child’s pose

kneel on your mat with your hips resting on your feet, then extend your back over your thighs. Place your forehead on the mat, breathe deeply, and relax. It calms you while it stretches the muscles along your back.

Contact our Clinic if Your Back Pain Gets Worse

See a healthcare professional for posture correction when your back pain lasts more than a few days, keeps returning, or gets worse instead of settling. This pain can be acute (under 7 days), chronic (lasting 3 months) or recurrent. Pain that lasts, keeps coming back, or changes in intensity is worth having assessed so the follow-up can be adapted to your situation. Learn about herniated discs if pain travels down your leg.

These exercises are general information and do not replace a personalized assessment at the clinic. A Canadian chiropractic guideline on back pain found exercise and self-management advice effective for acute and chronic cases (Bussieres et al., 2018).

Ready to take the next step toward back pain relief? Book a massage or chiropractic consultation with KIROCLINIQUE today. Visit us at one of our three locations, Montreal downtown near McGill metro station, Beloeil on the South Shore, or Laval in Sainte-Dorothée. Book your appointment online or contact KIROCLINIQUE to get started.