Flexibility and Strength Exercises Can Help Ease Your Back Pain

If you have ever had a serious backache, you can appreciate just how vital your back is - even for activities you think don't entail the back. For example, squeezing a tennis ball utilizes more muscles than the ones in your hand; the latissimus dorsi and other back muscles are also employed during this movement.

The latissimus dorsi or "lats" for short, are the large muscles on one's side - in men these produce the "triangle shape" when well defined. Try squeezing a tennis ball as an exercise - do you feel it? You will experience a tensing of these muscles on the same side of your body as the arm used to squeeze the ball. If you have back pain, you can't miss this.

Powerful back muscles are critical to participating in any sport. They are used for coordination, balance and speed, as well as providing a strong base for the movement of your limbs.

Following are a few easy exercises which can help you improve the strength and flexibility of these key muscles. You will see the most benefits from these exercises when they are done on a firm - not hard - surface. A hard surface will cause needless discomfort to your bony parts.

Knee to Chest

Lie on your back and clasp your hands behind one thigh. Pull slowly toward the chest, keeping the other leg flat on the ground. Vary the action by flexing the ankle - first pointing the toe, then pulling it back toward the knee - at the same time as you stretch the leg. Hold each position for 5 seconds, then switch legs and repeat. Do 10 reps.

Rotations

Do this one while lying back with your feet flat on the floor, knees together and raised. Extend your arms but keep them close to your body and keep your palms flat on the floor as well. Lift your feet just slightly off the ground and by moving your knee, rotate your torso. Move your knees a little to the left, then right. Alternate the exercise by crossing your arms over your chest, then repeat.

As you continue to practice this exercise, you will build flexibility and will be able to have a wider range of motion with this exercise. Eventually, you'll be able to touch your knee to the floor.

Pelvic Press

Lie down on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of the back into the floor, feel the tension in the lower abdominals. Vary the action by moving your feet together and performing the exercise, then slightly apart and repeat. As you press into the ground, hold for 5 seconds, but continue to breath slowly and normally.

Pelvic Lift

Again, lie on your back with feet flat on the ground, knees raised. Cross your arms over your chest and legs and knees together. Raise your buttocks slightly off the floor and hold this position for five seconds. Lower them slowly back to the floor, count to two and repeat. Breathe slowly and normally while doing this exercise.

Dog Stretches

On all fours, raise your head, eyes forward. Lower your arms and arch your back, hold 2 seconds, then resume the starting position. Slowly extend one leg, as near parallel to the floor as you can. Hold 3 seconds, then put the leg back into starting position. (If this produces back, hip, or leg pain stop immediately.)

Repeat this exercise with the other leg. You can mix it up by extending your leg with toe pointed, then flex your ankle in a perpendicular direction to the leg; hold this position for two seconds, then repeat. You should do ten reps of this exercise for each leg.

Never perform these exercises if they produce back pain. Mild discomfort from inactivity is natural. Pain is a signal that something is wrong. Consult your physician.

About the Author

Kim Archer knows what it's like to suffer from chronic back pain. She is a regular contributor to Cure Your Back Pain, a great information source on causes and treatments of back pain.