Exercises To Save Your Back

Most people, when they were younger, were told to lift with their bended knees instead of putting stress on the back. For those who listened to this sage advice, they were able to save their backs. For those who didn't, the years of accumulated stress has progressed to pain later on in life. However, there is hope that you can still go through life without back pain. All you have to do is do some simple exercises to strengthen your back, stomach and leg muscles.

Doing exercises for core muscles does not need to be complicated and can generally be done in the comfort and privacy of your own home without any expensive gym equipment. Here are a few examples:

Basic Floor Twist

Lie flat on your back with your arms outstretched to the sides.
Bring your knees together close to your chest.
Lower the knees to the right side by gently twisting
Bring back your knees to your chest.
Gently twist to the left side and lowering the knees.
Return knees to the chest position.
Repeat 5 times all the while inhaling when knees are at the chest position and exhaling when the knees are at the sides.

This is a great warm up stretch exercise.

Leg Lifts

Lying on the floor, bend one knee at a 90 degree angle with foot on the ground. With the other straight leg, slowly lift it to the height of the bended leg and hold for 3 seconds. Lower the straight leg and lift again. Do this for a total of 10 times before switching legs. This works your lower abdomen muscles.

Abdominal Crunches

Lying on the floor, bend both knees but do not anchor the feet. The small of your back should be touching the floor. Put your hands beside your ears with the elbows jutting out. With your chin tucked, gently lift your shoulders and head off the floor. To avoid straining back muscles, do not lift all the way up. For a beginner, doing 10 repetitions is enough and the number of crunches can be increased as the muscles strengthen.

Rotational Crunches

These types of crunches are the same as the basic abdominal crunch (see above) but the direction of the head lift is off diagonally to the side. You rotate your body so that the weight rests on one shoulder. Next, with your chin tucked in, you raise the other shoulder higher than the other one. While the basic crunch works on the upper abdominal muscles, this works the side oblique muscles.

These are just some examples of the exercise that you can do to strengthen your back. Remember, you don't have to live with your back pain when you can do something about it!

Before following a back exercise program, it is always a good idea to consult with your doctor. If required, he might prescribe a lumbar support belt or a back support girdle.