8 Exercises to relieve pain and strengthen your back muscles

About 80% of the world’s population will experience back pain at some point in their lives. And although the problem is associated with aging, it is far from being restricted to older people. In fact, suffering from low back pain in your 20s and 30s is not as rare as most people might think.

O awesome.club prepared a list of the best exercises capable of strengthening the lower back, toning the muscles and relieving pain in this region.

The plank is a great exercise to improve flexibility and strength. It is also helpful in relieving back pain by strengthening the muscles in the area. In its simplest form, the plank requires you to make a straight line from knee to shoulder, which favors alignment. This is particularly useful for those who want to improve the condition of the spine and improve posture, as well as relieve pain.

How to make:

Start in the same position shown in the image above, keeping your feet as close to your body as possible. Support your body on your heels, lifting your back off the floor and creating a straight line from your thighs to your torso. Hold for at least five seconds and return to the starting position before repeating the exercise. Allow your lower back to slowly return to the mat, not all at once. This will increase the intensity of the exercise and challenge your body.

Important: By pressing on the heels and extending the hamstrings, the plank can strengthen and relieve back pain without adding unnecessary weight.

Another light (and very popular) exercise is the snake pose, which relieves lower back pain by working against spinal discomfort. It is able to correct slipped intervertebral discs and bad posture caused by curvature caused by everyday activities.

How to make:

Start by lying on your stomach, with your hands positioned at the base of your rib cage (if you’re not very flexible, try bringing your hands closer to your chest). Guided by your chin and keeping your hips fixed on the mat, arch your back back. Try to keep your eyes on the ceiling. To increase the stretch, bring your hands close to your rib cage and arch your body well. It’s important to relax your glutes to make the movement even more effective.

Important: By focusing on each vertebra, this pose is able to release the pressure built up in the air pockets and realign the spine.

Forehead towards the ground.

Relaxed jaw.

Stomach resting between thighs.

Breathe.

Press your hands into the ground.

The knees should be as far apart as the width of the mat used in the exercise.

The big toes should touch the ground.

Combining the snake pose with the toddler pose creates the perfect compound movement to relieve back pain. By arching and stretching the spine, an exercise works against the tensions that may have been caused by the previous one.

How to make:

Lean back on your hands and knees until you are sitting on your heels. Extend your arms as far as you can in front of your body, pressing your hands out and into the mat. Allow your back to stretch and relax.

Important: this is a great move to strengthen your lower back and thighs. In addition, it stimulates circulation and stretches tense areas.

Another posture that favors the well-being of the back. Similar to the cat pose, this dynamic movement requires you to slowly “turn” your body, either clockwise or counterclockwise.

How to make:

Starting with your hands and knees in a neutral spinal position, “roll” your back in a slow circular motion, focusing on your shoulders and hips. You should perform the cat or cow poses while moving your body clockwise, then counterclockwise. It’s important to do this slowly, to release tension from your back. After five repetitions, change the direction of the movement.

Important: these movements involve the entire torso, including the oblique muscles, which means you can relieve areas of tension and stretch the muscles.

Twisting the spine strengthens the region by stretching and slightly rotating the spine.

How to make:

Lie on your back with your arms extended horizontally. Bend one knee and cross it over the leg that remains straight, keeping your shoulders touching the mat. As you rotate your hips toward your leg, turn your head to look away. This enhances the stretch and works the obliques.

Important: The key to this pose is to allow the shoulders to relax, which causes gravity to “pull” them toward the mat as the hip rolls to one side. Slow, controlled breathing also helps release accumulated tension.

The best exercises for the lower back not only engage the lower back, but also help to stabilize the entire core of the body, boosting your overall strength. Bird Pose is a core-centered stabilization exercise that encourages correct posture and strengthens the body.

How to make:

Starting with your hands and knees, with your legs at right angles and spine in a neutral position, slowly lift your left arm and right leg to form a straight line across your torso. Maintain a steady breathing pattern and core body stability. Alternate arms and legs to enhance the exercise. If lifting both limbs is difficult for you, work with one end at a time.

Important: like most pilates and yoga exercises, this pose requires slow, controlled movement, not impulses. This makes the exercise more challenging by combining balance and strength. Like other exercises on this list, it is ideal for stretching the spine.

The sphinx pose is similar to the snake as it reverses the stooping position we adopt throughout the day (also known as the office position).

How to make:

Start by lying on your stomach, flat, as if you were going to perform the snake pose — which we’ve already shown here. Bring your forearms to the sides of your ribs, forming a right angle. Press up through your arms, creating a slight arch in your back, bringing your chest forward and opening your shoulders.

Important: By requiring you to support your body weight on your forearms rather than your hands, the sphinx pose encourages a slight stretch in your spine, allowing your shoulders to extend. This causes the spine to return to its natural curvature.

The “printed” position combines a slight posterior pelvic tilt with gentle lumbar flexion.

This pose is a basic movement. It serves as a foundation for more intense back exercises, and is an important step in any back exercise.

How to make:

Lie on your back with your feet and shoulders in line (it’s easier to lie down with your legs bent to improve stability). Slowly tilt your pelvis forward, causing your lower back to lift off the mat and widen the space between your hips and the base of your rib cage. Reverse the movement, rotating your hips toward your ribs and pressing your lower back against the mat. Contract your core as this will put more strain on your muscles.

Important: This last step forms the basis of many Pilates-style abdominal exercises. Even if you just do this exercise, you will get relief from lower back pain by exercising your spine (as well as improving your posture).

The downward facing dog is an advanced yoga pose, but if performed correctly, it helps to stretch the lower back and lengthen the spine.

How to make:

Standing with your feet apart and in line with your shoulders, slide your hands along the mat until you form a triangle with your body. Press your fingertips into the mat to encourage the stretch, while keeping your feet as flat as possible. Move your chest toward your knees to deepen the stretch.

Which of the above exercises will you try to do? Leave a comment with your impressions and counting the results obtained!