Whether you are picking up groceries or your grandchildren, a strong back is crucial for daily activities and pain prevention. But you might wonder how to strengthen your lower back to help you complete these tasks, avoid injury, and stay active.
“Strength exercises can reduce the risk of getting injuries that you might experience if you were not as strong. Injuries and pain often come from exceeding what the back can handle,” says Cleveland Clinic physical therapist Eric Lehman, PT, DPT.
Lower Back Exercises: A Personalized Plan
A physical therapist can offer an individualized plan that meets your current level of fitness and function. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise, but the exercises presented below are a good fit for many people.
Lehman advises starting with lower back stretches if you are experiencing back pain and then progressing to the exercises performed while lying down and then the standing exercises last.
Back Pain Relief: When to Seek Care
Back pain that wakes you up at night, numbness or tingling that radiates down the legs, or pain going down one or both legs all require medical evaluation. Back pain with unintended weight loss or bowel or bladder problems also needs to be evaluated.
“Back pain is very common. The majority of us will experience it at some point, and overall, it has a very favorable prognosis,” says Lehman.
Moderate Activities, but Keep Moving
For very active people, Lehman advises moderating painful activities and resting rather than adding more exercise. For others, it can be helpful to stay active with guidance from a physical therapist or good fitness trainer. Too much inactivity can make back pain worse, and the right kind of activity can improve recovery.
Exercises to Stretch Your Back
These lower back stretches can help improve flexibility and range of motion in your lower back:
- Supine Knee to Chest: While lying on your back, pull both knees to your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in your lower back. Hold for five seconds.
- Supine Lower Trunk Rotation: While lying on your back, with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent, let your knees fall to one side and then the other while keeping your back and shoulders flat on the ground. Hold for five seconds on each side and repeat 10 times.
Exercises to Strengthen Your Back
Try these exercises to help strengthen your lower back:
- Clamshell: Lie on your side, with your knees bent and your hips and shoulders stacked. Raise your top knee toward the ceiling, and then slowly lower it. Repeat 10 times. You can also do this exercise with a resistance band across your knees.
- Bridge: While lying on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, lift your hips off the floor, keeping your back straight. Hold for five seconds, and repeat 10 times.
- Bird Dog: Begin on your hands and knees. First extend one leg behind you, and then lift the opposite arm in front of you. Hold for five seconds, and repeat using the opposite limbs. Perform 10 repetitions.
- Sit-to-Stand: Begin by sitting in a chair, with your arms crossed. Lean forward and stand up. Then sit back down on the chair. Repeat 10 times.
- Modified Dead Lift: Begin in a standing position, with a kettlebell or other weight in front of you on the floor or a box. Bend at your hips to reach the weight, keeping your back flat. Lift to stand. Replace the weight back on the floor or box. Repeat 10 times.
