♪ Bob and Brad, the two most famous ♪
♪ physical therapists on the internet. ♪
- Howdy folks, I'm Bob Schrupp physical therapist
- Brad Heineck physical therapist
- The most famous physical therapists on the internet.
- In our opinion of course Bob.
- We're going to cover the best abdominal core exercises
to do with low back pain.
And you know it is good to do abdominal exercises
when you have back pain because the abdominal muscles
as you know Brad,
they come around and they actually do attach into the back
through fascia, the heavy fascia.
It's almost like having a weight belt around you
actually, to tighten those up. - Right
Yeah there's even more reason before that,
but before we
- go any further.
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- Three of them?
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All right Brad, so you can speak wisely about this
because you've done these for many years,
and you have spondylolisthesis.
- Yeah, or spondylolisthesis. (laughing)
We're working on
- One of us says it right. - how to pronounce it.
- What one of us says is right.
- So anyways we get this question a lot
from viewers - Yes it is a common one.
- Right. We do read our comments.
We don't answer all them because there's just too many
and we just don't have the time unfortunately,
but for this one, it's been out there enough
I've got the answer for this.
It's a really nice way, but one thing you do need for this
is you need to have an exercise ball.
You really don't, you could just use a beach ball
that's as big because you're not going to sit on it.
We're just going to use it simply for a kind of a prop
as you'll see in just a second.
So we might as well get right to it, huh Bob?
- Yeah, I think this has made a big difference
in your back pain, hasn't it Brad?
- Right.
- I would say it's - Yeah.
- helped you take from a painful life
to one that's manageable.
- Exactly, yeah.
So if you've got spondylolisthesis, or stenosis particularly
I'm almost quite certain you're going to
find these actually feeling very good.
Otherwise, for general back pain,
when you unload the back,
in other words lay down,
that takes stress off the back in itself,
just like here.
I would do these on a carpeted floor, not on a bed.
And if you cannot get down to on the floor
because your back hurts so much,
then this isn't going to work so well.
You could try them in the bed though.
You get a ball,
and the ball should be about the size
when you lay down that this part you'll see
the lines on my pants are parallel to the floor.
- [Bob] It's a little bit high for you Brad.
- Yeah it is.
It's not too bad though, it's a little forgiving.
If my feet were way up here,
you get one of those great big ones too small,
and if your leg wraps around the ball
then it's way too small.
But we're pretty close here.
Now the one thing I find that helps
is I don't like to have pants on,
because the skin actually kind of grips on the ball
and it helps make the exercise easier.
So, I'm going to do this just for...
- [Bob] Can we qualify that? You have shorts on right?
You say you don't like to have pants on?
- Well I am wearing shorts, I got my workout shorts on.
- [Bob] All right, okay.
- Everything is lining up. - [Bob] I'm just picturing you
lying there naked Brad, so... (laughing)
That just kind of ruins it - Well I'm not going to say.
- [Bob] All right
- You can picture whatever you want.
Okay so. We go here...
now typically with people with back pain,
when you go in this 90-90 position we call it as therapists,
typically that feels much better
just being in this position and relaxing.
Then the next thing we're going to do
for the abdominal core strengthening
is in this order the first one you're going to do
is just life your shoulders
and shoulder blades off the floor
with your head in an neutral position.
So we're not doing this
and stressing your neck,
we're going to go up like this
and you don't have to go - [Bob] And look at this
- real high. - He's keeping the back
pretty straight the entire time throughout this.
So you're really not putting a lot of stress on the back
but you're working the abdominal muscles.
- Exactly.
- [Bob] And of course Brad would know,
he's had back pain for a long time and...
it's possible with a disc problem it could bother you,
but if it does stop. - Right, exactly.
- [Bob] Let pain be the guide.
- It should be pain free,
you should feel the abdominal muscles working.
You can start out with 10 repetitions.
I do 50 of them on all these,
but you want to start out at your own level.
The other thing, when the abdominal muscles contract
neurologically it turns off the back muscles
so they actually relax when you're up here
which can be beneficial for that back pain.
So, do these, 10 of them, 10 to 15,
or 20, 30, whatever you'd like to do.
Now the next one is we want to work the oblique muscles
that go cross ways on the muscles,
so you take you right elbow and go to your left knee.
Now that doesn't mean you have to go
all the way up and touch,
that's going to be too much
and it's probably going to stress your back.
And alls you need to do is again,
bring the right shoulder blade off the floor,
left one off the floor.
So we're not really involving the low back.
- [Bob] Yeah again look at the low back
staying pretty flat up against the floor
He's not pulling way up
like he mentioned he doesn't want you to do.
Again, if this hurts don't do it.
We can't emphasize that enough.
- Now and breathe, make sure you relax in your breathing
and you're not getting all tight.
And again head position
not bringing your head up because that's not...
you don't want to create a neck problem.
I'm going to take my glasses off Bob.
- [Bob] Yeah why have you got your glasses on?
- I don't know what's going...
- [Bob] Put them on here.
- No, I got then wrapped around (laughing)
- [Bob] Oh, you got problems.
- They'll be all right.
Okay. Now the next one.
Now, this is a little more advanced
your going to go here
and I call this the double crunch
because now... or actually we're going to do the...
bring the knees up, the single knee to chest.
I'm sorry I jumped ahead of myself.
Now this... - [Bob] That'd be
double knees to chest.
- Yeah, double knee to chest.
Now this does start to move the low back,
so if your low back is too tender to do this,
just do the first two.
but this would be the next one to do
and this works the lower abdominals.
And again start out at 10,
you can build up to whatever repetition
you feel comfortable with.
If that feels good, then it's the double crunch.
So, we're going to combine this one, and this one, okay?
So, here we go, the double crunch.
I just bring my knees until they touch my...
elbows until they touch my knees. (laughing)
I don't know what's wrong with me Bob,
I got my anatomy screwed up,
- [Bob] No, you're doing
fine Brad. - my vocabulary.
- [Bob] You're doing fine.
- And here we go.
Now for you as a spondylolisthesis man, this is...
these have really made a big difference.
- [Bob] And also spinal stenosis.
- Yeah.
- [Bob] This is probably going to feel really good
if you have that also.
So if you're over 50, 55
and you're having pain in your back, there's a...
- Especially with walking.
- [Bob] Especially with walking, standing up straight,
there's a good chance you have spinal stenosis.
- Yeah, if walking hurts and you sit down
and your pain goes away
immediately. - Let me get rid of this Brad.
- Is that bothering you Bob?
- Yeah it's bothering me, I'm afraid
you're going to actually... - Oh, doggone
- Put it right on.
- They're magnetic click glasses, by the way I love them.
Okay, now we go to the final exercise,
it's the oblique double crunch, and you go like this,
and this one really makes my back feel good.
It's a good core, I really am working my core,
and it burns the most out of all of them,
but it makes my back feel better
than any of them as well, so...
- [Bob] Interesting.
- Yeah, plus it kind of scratches my back
a little bit which gives kind of a good feeling Bob.
- [Bob] Little bonus, ah?
(exhales)
So, yeah you're actually working and opening
and closing the facets too and the frame in.
- Yeah.
- [Bob] So - You're getting motion.
- [Bob] You're getting motion in the back
and the back likes to have more motion
and oxygen and blood flow to it.
- Right. Now the other little kid you want to mention
is I really like to do it with my shoes on
because the rubber part of the heel right here
grips under the ball.
- [Bob] Oh sure.
- Makes a big difference,
so that it doesn't slip out and fall,
which is irritating.
- [Bob] So basically you're laying naked
with just shoes on. (laughing)
- If we can... - Well, I didn't want
to bring it up Bob, but you know, yeah.
- [Bob] What a sight that would be.
- You can ask my wife. (laughing)
- [Bob] No, she's probably too traumatized for that, so.
So those are the five exercises.
Give them a shot but remember always
that pain be your guide.
You do not... if this makes your pain worse,
even if it's after it makes the pain worse,
- Right, right.
- You don't want to do it.
You might get a little sore which is fine
but not increased pain.
- Yeah muscle soreness.
- Muscle soreness.
- But I feel pretty confident on making this video
that the majority of people
are going to have good luck with it.
- All right, very good, thanks for watching folks.
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