Is your back bothering you?
If yes, then we got a good medicine.
But first of all, we should take a look on how lower back pain is caused.
Besides a herniated disc which is another topic,
a lot of problems occur with three issues.
1) Shortened and 2) weak muscles around the hip area,
and 3) a wrong coordination and control of these muscles to put the body parts in the right alignment.
The muscles that tend to weakness are the Abs, the Hamstrings and the Glutes.
And on the other side the Erector Spinae and the Hip Flexors tend to a shortening.
These conditions leads to an anterior pelvic tilt
which causes a lumbar lordosis and an uneven load of the inter-vertebral discs.
Either this causes the pain itself
or the body contracts all the muscles around that area to prevent it from damage
which causes muscle tenseness and pain.
To help you with these problems we got three tips that you can follow easily.
1) Coordination The first tip is really simple.
Just do the opposite of the movement which causes your lower back pain.
Instead of an anterior pelvic tilt, go for a posterior pelvic tilt.
Try to align your spine in a neutral position to get the right feeling for that movement.
Imagine your pelvis is a bucket and move it to pour the water out of your back.
You can do this in different positions.
In some positions, it's harder to adjust your posture. And some it's easier.
But all positions will help you to get the right coordination for that movement.
2) Stretching The second tip is to stretch the shortened muscles which are responsible for the excessive anterior pelvic tilt.
We can do this with the knee to chest stretch in different positions.
As you can see, the tucked position will eliminate the arch in the lower back and will stretch your erector Spinae.
Another good exercise is the lunge stretch.
With that you try to eliminate the arch in your lower back and aim for a neutral spine.
With this movement you will stretch your hip flexors.
Of course you have to stretch both sides equally to avoid imbalances.
To release the tension of these muscles you can also use a Blackroll or massage balls.
The concept behind that method is simple.
Add pressure to these muscles and with that you can release the tension.
The pressure will also increase the blood flow in that area,
and metabolic waste products can be evacuated better
3) Strengthening The last tip is about the strengthening of the weak muscles.
A good exercise to strengthening the hamstrings and the glutes is the Glute Bridge.
You can do different progressions of this exercise.
But always keep in mind to not arch your back, and keep your pelvis posterior tilted.
One of the best overall exercises for strengthening all those muscles is the Plank. When it's done correctly!
You can also do different variations if you're strong enough to hold the posterior pelvic tilt.
The last exercise is to step up.
Alternate both sides and aim for a clean and smooth movement without forgetting to tilt your pelvis backwards when coming up.
Most of the time lower back pain can be reduced by simply doing the right exercises with the right execution.
The exercises from this video are some of the most effective for that.
But if you do a comprehensive full body workout you can strengthen your whole body and prevent injuries like that.
If you want to know how to train your whole body like that,
check out our website and try our workout programs,
which are available for different levels.
If you have further questions on this or other topics just leave a comment.
Thanks! Alex!