In this video, I'm going to show the absolute best exercises for a lower
lumbar disc herniation, including L4 L5 and S1. Stay tuned!
So first, let's focus on an L4 L5 herniated disc with an ELDOA exercise.
ELDOA exercises are very good for decompressing bulging discs that might be going off to
the side, pinching a nerve -- causing things like sciatica. So with this one, just to
start off with, you're going to want to wear some very loose-fitting clothes. The
more flexibility and mobility you have to do this, the better -- so gym clothes,
something like that, perfect. Next, you're just going to sit on a flat surface.
Put the feet close together. You're going to want to position them in line with
the pelvis, and make sure the heels are directly on the floor.
Do not wear shoes with this exercise. You can have socks on, barefoot, whatever
but it's easier to do without shoes. From there, what we're going to do is build a
90 degree angle into our ankles. So we're going to then just point the toes
outwards like that until we get a nice 90 degree angle. From there, we're going
to focus on the knees. We also want a nice 90 degree angle into the knees.
We'll position them just about there. Also, the hips at this point should be in
90 degrees. So 90 degrees at the ankle, the knees, and the hip. The knees -- we want
to drive them down as much as we can towards the floor. You should already
start to feel a nice stretch (probably into the hip at this point). So the heels
are flat, knees are going down towards the floor to our comfort level. From
there, let's focus on the back and the neck -- getting a nice good upright
position. When we're in a nice good upright posture, tuck the chin down just
a little bit to get it into a good spot. From there, we're going to take our hands
(about shoulder width apart) and then bring the elbows back. I'm sorry, not the
elbows, the wrists back -- just like this, and then we're going to reach overhead
as much as we're able to. You should already start to feel a very good
stretch into that L4 L5 spot. We're going to then externally rotate the shoulders,
so taking them out just like this, as much as we're able to.
The key with ELDOA exercises is controlled breathing. So you just want to
breathe in and then out, and when you're doing this really just try to build a
very good stretch into that L4 L5 spot as much as you can and just let the
tension ease with your breathing. So just breathe in and then out. You want to hold
this position for about 60 seconds. If you're unable to, just build into it very
slowly. 30 seconds, 45 seconds... whatever you're able to do until you're able to
get that 60 second mark. Again, nice controlled breathing and it should help
release a lot of tension into that disc that might be bulging off and causing a
lot of sciatic like pain. Give it a try. Next let's focus on an L5 S1 herniated
disc with another ELDOA stretch. This one again is going to help decompress
that L5 S1 disc that might be bulging out, pinching a nerve, causing things like
sciatica. This one might be a little bit trickier to get into position so I'm
going to walk through it very slowly. All you need is a wall. You're going to want
to place one side directly against a wall. Make sure that your hip is flush
against it. From there, you're going to slowly roll up just like this while
keeping contact against the wall with your butt. That is very important, your
butt has to be touching flat against the wall. Next you're going to want your legs
to be hip length apart. The toes, bring them in just very slightly and then
bring them down towards you. You should already start to feel a very good
stretch in the calves, back, and leg (the hamstrings), the glutes (buttocks), and the
low back. From there, just bring your head backwards and then tuck your chin very
slightly, so it's like you're looking in between your feet. Next, what you're going
to want to do is focus on the L5 spot by taking the sacrum (or the tailbone area)
and driving it downwards towards the floor. That should really target that L5
S1 disc. From there, take your arms like this,
bring the wrist back just like that (so extending the wrist), and then they should
be shoulder width apart, bring them towards the floor. That right there is
going to put a very good stretch into that L5 S1 area. Again, make sure that
your toes are coming back towards you. You're driving that sacrum downwards and
then you're bringing your arms down to get that stretch. The big thing with this
exercise is you want to focus on your breathing, so just nice deep breaths in
and then out. From there, you just want that tension to release from that
targeted L5 S1 disc. Do this for about one minute. If you're not able to do that,
just build into it as much as you can until you're able to do it for one
complete minute -- and then when you're done, you just simply roll back down,
and there you go a very good L5 S1 exercise for herniated disc. So let's
finish with a very good spine lengthening exercise. This is going to
focus on decompressing the lower lumbar discs. All you need is a large bath towel.
Just throw it over the edge of a door. You're going to grab both ends like this,
get right up to the edge of the door, and then from there put your weight on your
heels. Stick your butt out a little bit. I know it seems strange, but it definitely
does work, and then from there use your leg strength to lower downwards until
you feel a very good stretch into the spot that you need. From there, hold that
for about 30 to 60 seconds. Come back up, and then repeat it three to five
times. You can also experiment with the distance from the door. If you feel like
going out a little bit more, like this, and going down hits that spot a little
bit better -- do a trial-and-error. Find the spot, and then again, just 30 to
60 second holds. Repeat three to five times. I hope this helps! So if you liked
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If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below I'll get back to
you as soon as I can, and thank you for watching!