Lower Back Pain Stretches, More Exercises for Back Pain

Lower Back Pain Stretches and Exercises
Dr Barry L Marks, DC
Orange, CA

Lower Back Arch

The lower back arch is good to stretch out and elongate your entire spine. This may relieve pain and tension from back strains, disc herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease and arthritis.

• Assume a hands and knees position
• Arch your back up 
• Tuck your tail and head downward and squeeze lightly while exhaling
• Take a breath in and straighten your back then repeat

For more information on lower back pain exercsies and treatment go to http://orangespinaldecompression.com

Cure for Lower Back Pain… in only 5 weeks!

Orange, CA
Back pain diagnosis and treatment for lower back pain

Dr Barry L Marks, DC’s latest book, “Cure for Lower Back Pain” is now available.

Who needs this book?

• If you are suffering from severe back pain and leg pain from back muscle strain, herniated disc, bulging disc, sciatica, stenosis, facet syndrome or arthritis…YOU need this book.
• If you continue to suffer from back pain, leg pain and diminished physical activity….YOU need this book.
• If your life is hampered in any way by your back pain…YOU need this book.

“Cure for Lower Back Pain” will teach you:

• How to know if you have been accurately diagnosed
• What treatments are best for your particular condition
• Plus…special free bonuses including Free direct access to the author for a second opinion

For more details go to www.CureForLowerBackPain.com

Severe Back pain in 22 year old mother

Severe back pain treatment information by back pain specialist Dr Barry Marks, DC, Orange, CA 

This is in response to a question posted by Carmen…

 Hello,
My name is Alicia, but you may call me Carmen.

I am 22 years old, I have had back pain on and off ever since I had my son who is now 6. I recently went to the doctor for it and I was told it was a muscle spasm. I went through therapy which did seem to help but I don’t know if they diagnosed the pain correctly.

I don’t know what could be causing it but I am in pain again only this time there is a new pain with it.

In the past the lower back pain has been so severe that I had to walk at a right degree angle. this was when I was pregnant a second time.

Aside from then the pain has come unexpectedly, I could be getting up or walking when a sharp pain almost puts me on my knees. It felt like my spine was about to collapse.

Sometimes it was just instant and went away just as fast as it came and then sometimes, like when I went to the doctor, it last for weeks.

I am more concerned now because for the past couple of days the back of my leg has been aching along with my back. The pain is a little different than usual but not substantially.

All the pain is on the left side of my lower back/hip and the back of my thigh.

If there is anyone who can shed some light, I would appreciate it.

 

Hi Carmen,

Sorry to hear about your back pain. Back pain during and after preganacy are very common no matter what age.

Recurring severe back pain in a 22 year old is not though. The symptoms  you describe could easily be severe muscle spasm, and/or spinal misalignment as diagnosed by your other doctor, but there is always an underlying cause for this. Spasm is always secondary to something else. It is not a primary condition.

Common causes of severe spasm:

• Joint sprain and/or muscle strain which would require a physical action or injury preceding the spasm by hours or a few days
• Congenital (born with it) anomaly such as a short leg, malshaped vertebra or other structural defect of the spine or pelvis
• Disc disease such as degenerative disc disease,  a bulging disc or a herniated disc which commonly occur during pregancy and/or on delivery

Here’s what you need to do:

1. A thorough examination by a low back specialist who deals with disc disease such as a chirorpactor, not just your family MD
2. X-rays to rule out any structural anomalies of the bones and to look for tell-tale signs of disc disease
3. MRI lumbar spine to rule out disc bulge, herniation, etc which cannot be detected on x-ray

Once this evaluation is completed, your specialist should have enough information to render a “working diagnosis” and commence some type of care. After a period of time a re-eval should be done to assess whether the treatment is working or not.

Carmen, once the evaluation is done, please feel free to send me the results and I will review them and give you my opinion on what your next steps should be.

Warmest regards,

Dr Barry L Marks, DC
http://www.orangespinaldecompression.com

“Help For Pain of Bulging Discs”

If you are sufferingg from back pain or sciatica due to disk herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease or a slipped disc, here are a few tips to help ease the pain. These tips may not be a cure for lower back pain, but they will provide back pain relief while you are pursuing a lower back pain treatment program.

What causes the back pain from a bulging disc?

The pain comes from two main sources:

1. The disc itself has nerves in its outer fibers. When a disc has been injured and is bulging and swollen, these nerves become irritated and send out pain messages to your brain. Your brain interprets the pain messages and you feel the characteristic pain. The pain is usually deep and achey and is located in the central area of the spine or just slightly off to one side or the other of the spine.
2. If the bulging disc or disk herniation is large enough, the spinal nerves will be irritated which causes referred pain down to the buttocks, thigh, leg or foot. This is called “sciatica.” How far down the leg the pain travels depends on which nerves are involved.

So now you know where the pain comes from and that’s just great, but…

What can you do for back pain relief?

This article is going to assume that you are already under the care of a doctor and you are trying to solve your problem with some sort of medical/chiropractic/acupuncture/physical therapy treatment. Although you may be in the middle of a back pain relief program, you may still be experiencing pain. So what to do while you’re waiting for this treatment to “kick in” and make you feel better?

Here’s what I recommend to my spinal decompression patients:
(Do these in order, one immediately after the other.)

1. Hot shower, hot wet towels or moist heating pad for 15 minutes

2. Knee to chest stretch

3. Disc & sciatica relief position while lying on ice
(remove ice after 12 minutes, keep laying in this position for 1 hour total)

Perform this routine 1-3 times a day to get relief from back pain due to disk herniation or bulging discs.

If you are suffering from back pain or sciatica due to disk herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease or a slipped disc and you’ve tried drugs, shots, chiropractic, acupuncture and/or physical therapy without success, you owe it to yourself to at least look into spinal decompression. Get a Free Guide to Severe Back, Disc and Sciatica Pain written by a former Associate Clinical Professor and a noted OC Spinal Decompression specialist and author with over 22 years experience here:
http://www.orangespinaldecompression.com/

“Do 100 Sit-ups Part 2″

This is Part 2 in a quest to do 100 sit ups a day to aid your lower back pain treatment or just for general fitness.  

Warning:
If you are having more than just mild back pain from disk herniation, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, stenosis or other cause of back pain, go back to this article (Do 100 sit-ups per day) and stick with those abdominal core exercises for back pain.

If, however, you are not in severe pain and are in fairly good shape and ready to advance your ab workout to the next level, then try these variations on Pilates, Yoga and rehab abdominal strengthening exercises.

Swiss Ball Crunch A
Lie on floor with legs resting on therapy ball. Reach arms out at a 45-degree angle, lift torso off floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Swiss Ball Crunch B
Sit on your therapy ball with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Roll with ball until you are on your back. Assume crunch position and lift your torso up until your abs tighten. Hold for a second, lower and repeat until fatigued.

Jack Knife
Lie on floor on your back with feet together and hands together, simultaneously lift your leg and arms up towards each other until only back is on the floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Swiss Ball Side Lifts
Lie on the floor with a therapy ball between your ankles. Lift your shoulders and legs off the floor hold for a second, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Bicycle Crunch
Lie on your back in crunch position, lift your left elbow and right knee up towards each other, lower then repeat until fatigued.

Variations:

• Basic:
  Do the exercises as described above, 1 set of each exercise until fatigue

• Advanced:
  Quickly do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds then move to the next exercise until all exercises have been done. That would be 1 set. Rest for 30-60 seconds between each set. Do 1-3 sets.

Try adding these advanced core muscle exercises into your lower back pain treatment program to tighten up your abs and stabilize your back.

“Back Pain Remedies: Get Orthotics”

Among back pain remedies you should try if you are suffering from chronic low back pain despite acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy and medications is a set of orthotics or shoe inserts.

The feet play a very important role in spinal health. The entire weight of your body and the forces of gravity end up down there. Even small imbalances in your feet can cause large amounts of stress on the knees, hips and lower back. This increased stress will aggravate back pain caused by disk herniation, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease and facet syndrome.

Types of Orthotics

• Generic arch supports are the type you’d find at a shoe store, grocer or drug store. These are designed to cushion shock and support your arch. These are inexpensive ($7-$20) and easy to get.
• Semi-Custom Orthotics are supports designed for improved foot support and stability as well as arch support. These are “stock” off the shelf orthotics of various sizes and configurations. The closest match to your foot and needs are then fitted. These are moderately priced ($150-200) and can be found at special retail outlets.
• Custom Orhtotics are created specifically for your foot by a doctor. A plaster mold is made of your foot and then the device is sent to a lab for fabrication. These are designed to correct foot imbalances and support the arch. They can also be created to correct for leg length discrepancies or for special athletic needs. This type of insert has the widest variety of materials and uses and is totally custom made, therefore they are more expensive than other types ($250-$500 for orthotic + $200-$300 for doctor’s visits). These orthotics are usually covered by health insurance.

Which orthotic you choose depends on your needs and budget. If you do not have a specific foot problem detected by a doctor like a flat (pronated) foot or other problem, then an inexpensive arch support that absorbs shock and gives you more support will be fine. On the other hand if you do have a pronated or flat foot or other foot problem, then semi or full custom orthotics are what you need.

Your 3 Action Steps:

1. The first step is to have your feet looked at. A Podiatrist or Chiropractor who works with orthotics will be able to tell you what type of insert or orthotic is best for you.
2. Next, you need to choose the type of orthotic you will use.
3. And lastly, you actually need to wear them…all the time. It takes a while for your feet to adapt and even longer for your back to adapt to the changes.

Shoe inserts or orthotics can be an effective home remedy for back pain that you can use to help your other doctors as part of your lower back pain treatment or spinal decompression program.

“Back Stretches for Bulging Discs: Side Stretch”

Back muscle pain and back pain from strain, subluxation, stenosis, disk herniation, bulging disc and degenerative disc disease can be relieved by this simple side stretch exercise.

This stretch can be used as part of a spinal decompression rehabilitative program or for general fitness. The goal of the side stretch exercise is to elongate and relax the lateral muscles of the back and abdomen. Muscles such as the latisimus dorsi, the quadratus lumborum, erector spinae and abdominal obliques are effectively stretched with this core muscle exercise.

 

Side Stretch

Begin by sitting on the floor as shown. Lift one arm up and lean to the side. Make sure you feel the muscles stretch all along your side from your lower back up to your shoulder. Hold for a count of 5 then release and repeat 10-20 times.

 

Switch sitting position and stretch to the other side.

 

Alternate version often seen in Pilates and Yoga workouts is to use a therapy ball (Swiss ball). Stand holding therapy ball over your head with both hands. Slowly bend to the side while reaching out with the ball. Hold then repeat 10-20 times each direction.

Add this stretch to your lower back pain treatment plan to help get back pain relief.

 

Core Strengthening Exercises for Lower Back Pain: Butt 2

This is the second buttocks/pelvis exercise for core conditioning to help cure back pain from strain, subluxation, herniated disk, bulging disc, degenerative disc disease, facet syndrome, stenosis, chronic back pain and failed back surgery. Patients undergoing spinal decompression will benefit from these exercises when they make the transition back to active exercise. The goal is to strengthen and stabilize the pelvis and lower back.

Donkey kick
Assume a hands and knees position on floor. Lift one leg up and extend up and out. Hold for a few seconds then lower and lift the other leg. Repeat 10-20 times each leg.

Alternate #1: When lifting the leg, bend the knee at a 90 degree angle and push your foot towards the ceiling.

Alternate #2: For advanced users, perform the kicks in rapid succession for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds then repeat for 2-4 sets.

Try this exercise to strengthen your buttocks. It will increase your core strength and assist in stabilizing your lower back.

More core exercises coming soon!…

Core Strengthening Exercises for Lower Back Pain…Butt 1

Buttocks and Pelvis
The buttocks and pelvis muscles are an important part of core conditioning and should be a part of every back pain therapy program. These muscles are often overlooked in favor of their abdominal and back muscle counterparts. The following exercises are common among Pilates, Yoga, Chiropractic and physical therapy practitioners to strengthen and stabilize the pelvis.

Bridge

Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on floor. Push down with your feet while lifting the buttocks off the floor. Hold the pose while tightening your buttocks for a few seconds then lower. Repeat 10-20 times.

Alternate #1 for more advanced users: After you lift your buttocks of the floor, gently oscillate your pelvis up and down a few inches several times before lowering.

Alternate #2: Swiss ball version. Place feet on therapy ball and push buttocks off of floor.

 

 

 

 

 

More core strengthening in the next post…

 

“Back Pain Remedies: Bounce on a Therapy Ball”

Spinal decompression causes water to move in and out of the discs to nourish and re-hydrate them.

After spinal decompression has been completed with a DRX9000 machine, home therapies are recommended. One therapy to keep water moving in and out of the disc is a therapy or Swiss ball exercise.

Therapy ball exercises (Swiss ball)
Simply sit on the ball with feet flat on ground. Now gently bounce up and down. You don not want to bounce vigorously. All you need to do is create a small, gentle oscillations up and down. This causes the disc to compress and decompress over and over to help with water exchange (imbibition).
Perform this exercise for 5-10 minutes as part of your regular daily exercises for lower back pain.

Therapy balls are often used in Pilates and Yoga for back pain and other exercises for core muscles. They are widely available at sporting goods stores and large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. Be sure to find the ball that is right for you. You should be able to sit on it and comfortably have your feet on the ground to control and balance the ball.