Prevent Lumbar Back Pain with Easy Exercises

Lumbar Back Pain

If you are still wondering  what is causing pain in your lumbar spine, then there are a variety of causes in different structures that may affect your lower back and cause lumbar back pain. The reason may be the discs themselves, it may be the irritation to the nerve roots that exit the spine, or it may even be due to the bones and muscles that are a source of pain.

The lumbar spine conditions are deeply interrelated like the disc degeneration can be the consequence of joint instability which can also lead to massive pressure on the nerve roots. Back pain is one such common issue that is ignored in the hustle and bustle of the fast-living conditions.[1]

If you think that back pain is common and you don't need to worry about the possible causes and consequences, then you are mistaken because back pain is most likely to happen because of the tiny simple things that you never even have dreamt of being harmful. Back pain can even be indicative of one of the most dreaded diseases like cancer.

The lumbar ache is one such issue that is always neglected thinking that it's just the effect of all-day strain and can be corrected with sound sleep or taking rest.

Causes of Lower Back Pain

There can be a multitude of causes for these amongst which some are described below:

Intervertebral discs are those spongy pads that perform the function of shock absorbers between the Lumbar spine vertebrae. Disc degeneration can create extreme pain in the disc space due to the friction between the joints.

If you don’t have any idea about what may be the cause for a herniated disc then there’s one thing that is very clear. A herniated disc occurs due to injury or heavy lifting and can even be the result of slow and gradual wear and tear of the spine.

The most common reason for Lumbar back problems is a muscular strain that mainly occurs due to heavy lifting, bending or other repetitive strenuous processes. Muscle strains aren’t painful for a long time and generally heal within a very short tenure.[2]

This disorder occurs when one vertebrae slip forward over the one below it. Most of the time the slipped vertebrae compresses the nerve root at that level that it can result in leg pain and possibly foot pain. Though the back pain is radiating to the thighs is a common symptom of Sciatica, but Spondylolisthesis can also be the reason behind this.

This can be precisely defined as the low bone density disorder and occurs when the bone production process cannot keep in pace with the bone loss making bones weak and brittle.

This disorder is a degenerative disease that typically affects the fingers, ankles, hands, knees, and spine. Osteoarthritis makes it challenging and painful to perform everyday tasks particularly those that need flexibility, fine motor dexterity or significant movement.

Dislocations usually occur due to a sudden fall or injury in which the blow knocks out the bones out of the joint. During dislocations, the bones that make up the joint shift from their original positions and the individual experiences an immediate pain, which can only decrease after a physician helps to put the joint back in the position where the bones were meant to be.

This is one of the most serious problems that elderly people face. The bone mineral density decreases as people tend to grow older. This more drastically happens in women who have had their menopause. Postmenopausal women face decreased bone mineral levels that make their bones weaker and more brittle. To the aid, elderly people are more likely to have a more unsteady balance and poor eyesight that increases the risk for fractures.

Preventive Measures for Lumbar Back Pain

Well, there is a plethora of option when it comes maintaining a healthy musculoskeletal structure. The first thing you can do is to control your diet and indulge edibles that balance the mixture of low cholesterol, high calcium and rich iron quantity in your diet. The next thing to do is to practice yoga and exercise daily. You need to take some time out for shaping up your body and gaining flexibility.

This isn’t the sole cause though! Working out can increase your metabolism and burn your fats enabling your system to work more efficiently. But make sure that you don't start doing heavy ones all at once because the extra strain can damage your ligaments as well. The next thing to do is to refrain yourself from using smartphones over the day and limit your phone hours to a maximum time of 2-3 hours in which you can reply to messages and check notifications as well.

You can also use a compression brace for preventing your back pain but using the brace too much like while you are sleeping or something can make your body entirely dependent on the brace which isn't a really good thing. So make sure  you take into account how frequently you are using your brace as well! The last one is maintaining proper posture so that you don’t look like a hunchback more often inviting your back pain to ruin you for the rest of your life. 

Exercises to Prevent Lumbar Back Pain

Have you been thinking all through your life that resting would help your back pain? Yes, that might help you and support you providing you temporary comfort but if you want to get out of your lower back pain or you want to refrain yourself from getting a lumbar backache then you better workout. Depending on the intensity and cause of your pain, some exercises won’t be harmful to you and so are highly recommended.

Partial crunches help to strengthen your back and stomach muscles and so won’t aggravate the back pain. Plus you don’t need to go to the gym as this workout isn’t about equipment. You can do it at your home anytime on the floor or on a yoga mat. All you need is time and a bit of dedication.

This is another workout that can help to reduce your lower back pain. All you need to do is to lie on your back and bend one knee. Loop a towel under the knee ball, straighten your knee and slowly pull back the towel. This would result in a gentle stretch down the back of your leg.

For wall sits you need to stand a small distance from the wall and then lean back until your back is flat against the wall. Then react like you are sitting over a chair, pressing your back over the wall. This would support your back and would also let you burn the calories so that you don’t get obese and put more pressure on your poor back.

Press back up extensions:

These are also known as the comforting planks. This is because they are quite similar to the planks, but the difference is that here your back will be supported by your elbows whereas in the traditional planks your elbow doesn’t generally help you this way.

Bird Dog:

This is kind of mountain climber, but here you lie down on your knees with your hands on the floor and lift your hand straight one at a time resting it in that particular position for near about 10-20 seconds. You can do this 10-12 times, and this won’t hurt your back in any way.[3]

One of the easiest yet most effective exercises for lumbar back pain. You can lie on your back and bend your knees with heels on the floor. After you are resting in this position all you need to do is to push your heels into the floor, squeeze your buttocks, lift your hips off until shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line and then after 5-10 seconds you have to restore to the normal sleeping position. Do this for at least 10-12 times, and this will be quite effective for your back pain.

Exercising is quite necessary if you have back pain. Most people believe in the fact that exercising with back pain can make the back pain worse. Yes, it can, but there are only some exercises that can do this like leg lifts, sit-ups, toe crunches, squats, rigorous sports like cycling, hiking, etc.

But most of the exercises require minimal efforts and prevent obesity which is one of the prime reasons for lower back pain. So it’s better to switch to the healthy way of living and following a strict diet while working up regularly, so you don’t need to bother about the later effects of back pain.

References

1..https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/LowBackPain.pdf

2..https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/globalassets/pdfs/2017-rehab_spine.pdf

3..https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/Low_Back_Pain_Exercises_tcm75-575264.pdf

3..http://www.backcare.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Excercises-for-Back-Pain-Excercises.pdf