Exercises to Avoid With Low Back Pain
So you have back pain and you’re trying to figure out what you can and can’t do safely.
The short answer is you need to listen to your body and use pain as your guide.
But the long answer is that it depends. Inside this blog post we'll go over exercises to avoid with low back pain as well as some general things to consider when you have low back pain.
Low back pain and movement: should you just rest?
When someone is experiencing back pain, their first instinct may be simply to rest and move less and in my opinion, that’s the worst thing you can do.
Remember that motion is lotion and that moving your body is always superior to bed rest!
The key is to use pain as your guide and figure out which directions of movement feel good and which directions make it feel bad.
What happens to the spine when you have low back pain?
Two things that will typically flare most folks with back pain are lifting heavy objects and trying any form of high impact exercise.
When the low back is flared up, the muscles called your paraspinals, which run down either side of your spine, go into protective mode and in a lot of cases it will shift the actual position of your spine.
Sometimes spines will shift left or right and some may simply flatten out the natural lumbar curve as everything is more rigid.
Our bodies are very smart and will always put us in a position that makes things hurt less.
This newly adapted positioning is typically not ideal for dispersing load equally through the low back, so when you’re lifting something heavy or trying a high impact movement like jumping or running they will easily exacerbate your symptoms.
Exercises to try when you have low back pain
In my episodes of back pain that have come and gone over the years, the first thing I do is get down on all fours and try some gentle cat cow, arching my back up and then letting it sink down.
I only go into ranges that feel good and if I try a set of 10, typically I can start to go a bit further into each direction with each repetition.
Most of the time in an acute flare, the low back craves positions that will open the joints and provide a bit of traction.
This is because typically the nerves or joints of the low back are being compressed structurally and/or by muscle that is in spasm and they are sending pain signals in response.
Positions such as child's pose or lying on your back and bringing your knees to your chest are excellent ways to provide this traction.
In an acute phase of low back pain, you want to proceed with caution in movements that induce rotation or torsion on the spine.
I will typically try a move called thread the needle in 4 point to test out how my rotation feels and to try and gain some mobility in those directions.
You start in 4 point and rotate your top arm up towards the ceiling then back to neutral. This can be repeated on both sides 5-10 times.
If you have pain that is referring down your leg and that may feel ‘nervy’ (pins and needles, tingling or numbness), extension of the back may be a position to try as it ironically may bring some relief.
Although you should always have an assessment to land on a diagnosis of your pain, disc bulges or herniations can be the cause of pain referral into your lower extremity and they tend to respond well to extension which is essentially a back bend.
You can try something called a sloppy pushup or just gently lean back in a standing position and repeat this 10 times. If it’s helpful at reducing your pain you can try a set of 10 every few hours throughout your day.
Most people report that walking around is something that typically loosens their back and makes it feel good.
When you’re walking try and pretend that someone is pulling an imaginary marionette string out the top of your head to keep you up tall and try to eliminate any side to side sway that your body may default to.
The moral of the story is that when you are in an acute episode of low back pain, just remember that there will always be movements that feel safe and pain-free to do and that continuing to move will generally help with your overall recovery.
These are all exercises and strategies that you can try to help relieve your low back pain initially, but it is always great if you’re able to book in with a skilled physiotherapist who is comfortable treating folks with back pain.
Where to get treatment for your low back pain
Our team has various tools in our toolbox from manual hands on therapy, acupuncture, dry needling, exercise rehabilitation and clinical pilates to help you achieve a full recovery and return you to the activities you love to do!
Book in with one of our very skilled therapists here to start feeling better today!
We are centrally located in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto and very accessible to TTC!
