Most of our daily activities force us to have bad posture. Sitting and often hunching over for several hours a day weakens our lower back in the long run.
The chair is part of the problem: to have a straight back, the hip joint must be flexed at a 90º angle and this position is not natural. To compensate for this and achieve a more open flexion, the body tends to slide into the chair and we round our shoulders to be able to reach the desk or computer.
The back muscles suffer a lot in this position, as they are too tense and this weakens them. But even the buttocks, which do nothing during all those hours, atrophy. And without strong buttocks, the rest of the structure collapses. that’s when frightening pains appear in the lower back.
Luckily, there are some exercises that can be done to strengthen the back and relieve discomfort. Next, we’ll look at three lower back exercises with leg and arm elevations.
Lower back exercises
To relieve lower back pain, tension, stiffness, and discomfort, you need to strengthen the muscles in your abs, lower back, and legs. This will help prevent a new back injury.. There are very simple exercises that can be done at home and without the aid of any accessories, machinery, etc.
THE specific strengthening exercises for the lower back, abdomen and legs should be done three times a week to feel the benefits. It is important to do them in the correct posture and regularly to experience relief from the discomfort.
Note: to perform these exercises it is very important to first consult a specialist for an individualized assessment.
Alternating leg and arm lifting exercises
This exercise consists of alternately raising the arm and leg. To begin, we must kneel with our hands resting on the ground at shoulder height and make sure that our back is as straight as possible. Next, we lift one leg and the opposite arm up to the height of the trunk.
For example, if we lift our right leg, we simultaneously raise our left arm, maintaining balance. We need to stretch the leg and arm as much as possible. We hold this position for five seconds and then we repeat the same exercise on the opposite side. We can do three sets of 15 repetitions.
If we have difficulty maintaining balance, we can also do this exercise in parts. We will first raise one arm to horizontal, then the leg on the same side and then we will repeat the exercise with the other side.
Extension exercise for the lower back
This exercise will help us stretch our lower back, relieve discomfort and pain and inflammation. People who suffer from low back pain can do it regularly three times a week, even if they don’t feel any discomfort at the time. This will be a good way to prevent future crises.
To perform lumbar extension, we must lie face down on the floor. His arms should be stretched over his head and his legs stretched back, with his feet slightly apart. Your palms should be flat on the floor.
Next, we need to contract the buttocks and lower back. With the force of the contraction we have to lift the legs and the upper body at the same time. We will hold this raised position for two seconds and return to the starting position. This exercise can be performed in three sets of 15 repetitions.
The cat and the camel
This is one of the most recommended exercises by specialists to relieve pain in the lower back. It is an amplitude exercise of the back-lumbar joints.
To do this exercise we must kneel with our hands resting on the floor and our back straight. The idea is to go from maximum flexion to extension of the lower back.. Because of this, we have to arch our backs up, neck bent down (camel).
next thing will be arch your back downwards by bending your neck upwards (cat). We will hold each position for five seconds and do three sets of fifteen repetitions each.
With these simple routines that we can do at home, our body’s lower back will clearly benefit. And with it, our health in general.
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