Lumbar Stabilisation Exercises

For many people, the key to a healthy back is proper exercise. Some exercises are designed to strengthen your back and stomach muscles, other exercises are designed to improve your posture. These exercises are designed to help you gain flexibility, co-ordination, endurance and strength needed to be able to maintain your spine in the positions that will tolerate mechanical forces best during daily activities. Exercise alone will not do enough to improve your functional ability. You need to control actively the forces that go towards your spine as you do things during the day. If you still have spine pain after trying the exercises, then discontinue the exercises and see your doctor.

Exercises

Abdominal Brace

With lumbar spine in neutral position, tighten stomach and sides without moving spine. Use fingers to feel stomach and sides tighten. Keep breathing. Hold for 20 seconds. Practice when sitting, standing and lying.

Tiny Steps

Lie on back, knees bent. Place fingers on pelvis, with lumbar spine in neutral brace abdominals. Raise one foot up and down 2-3 inches, repeat with other foot. Do not let the pelvis move. Continue for 2 minutes. This exercise can be progressed as follows:

Bent knee raises. Left foot up (lower leg parallel to the ground) & hold, right foot up and hold, left foot down, right foot down, reverse.
Heel taps. Lift each foot up about 1 inch and slowly tap each heel down one at a time.

Hamstring Stretch

Lie on back, left leg straight and right leg bent with foot on floor. Loop belt or cord over left foot. Pull leg back towards you keeping knee straight until you feel the stretch behind your thigh and knee. Keep breathing. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with the right leg.

Bridge

Lie on back, knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Maintain neutral with abdominal brace. Raise buttocks and trunk slowly up. Lower and touch down lightly without losing neutral. Repeat 10 times. This exercise can be progressed as follows:

Leg raises. Hold up bridge position - slowly raise and lower one foot at a time (straighten knee without moving thigh)
Leg raise with 5 lb ankle weights.

Cross leg Stretch

Lie on back Pull knee and shin towards opposite shoulder until you feel stretch in buttock. Keep breathing. Hold 20 seconds. Repeat with other leg.

Partial sit-ups

Lie on back knees bent, feet on the ground.

Centre: Place hands at side of head without letting low back extend (rise up). Raise head and shoulders by leading from chest. Keep low back still. Repeat 10 times

Diagonal: Put left hand on pelvis when doing left diagonal. Do not let pelvis or elbow move. Repeat 10 times. This exercise can be progressed as follows:

Hips and knees bent to 90 degrees.
Hips at 60 degrees, knees straight.

Groin Stretch

Lie on back, knees bent and feet close together. Pull knees apart, keeping feet apart until you feel stretching in the inner thighs. Hold for 20 seconds.

Prone

Lie face down, arms above head. Look straight down with head lifted off the floor. Reach arms out. Tighten abdominals and buttocks to prevent low back extension (sway back). Pinch shoulder blades until arms rise up 1/2 inch. Hold 20 seconds. Lower arms. Reach feet out until knees just come off the ground. Hold 20 seconds. Alternate arms, then legs.

Progression. Hold arms and legs up at the same time. Hold for 20 seconds.

Hip flexor stretch

Lie on right side. Pull right knee up towards chest with right hand. Pull left lower shin (not foot) behind you with left hand until you feel stretch in front of left hip and thigh. Hold for 20 seconds.

Lie on left side. Pull left knee up towards chest with left hand. Pull right lower shin (not foot) behind you with right hand until you feel stretch in front of right hip and thigh. Hold for 20 seconds.

Dying bug

Lie on your back. Bring left knee to left hand while reaching right hand and right leg out. Do not let your low back come out of neutral. Alternate arms and legs. Repeat 20 times. This exercise can be progressed as follows:

Bring knee to elbow
Add 3 lb wrist weights and 5 lb ankle weights

Squats

Standing. Hinge forward at hips with abdominal brace while bending knees until hands reach knees. Return to the upright position by squeezing buttocks and pushing feet into the floor. Maintain neutral lumbar alignment and abdominal brace throughout. Try to maintain perfect form while increasing speed to one squat per second. Repeat 20 times

Reciprocal arm raises

Standing. Hinge at the hips with abdominal brace. Bend knees. Raise and lower arms alternately to the front. Keep elbows straight and shoulders back. Repeat 20 times. This exercise can be progressed as follows:

Add 3 lb weights at wrists
Raise and lower both wrists at the same time

The Stretching Handbook

Here is a simple, effective, and fool-proof way to do away with stiff, aching muscles & joints with just a few easy stretches. The Stretching Handbook is one of the only books available on the market today to contain photographs (not diagrams, cartoons or illustrations) of over 100 unique, individual stretches. Each stretch targets a specific muscle group, and comes with clear, high quality photographs, as well as a step-by-step description of exactly how the stretch is performed.

Select this link for more information on "The Stretching Handbook".

Core Stability

Core stability is an essential determinant of success for all sports people, be they cyclists, runners or swimmers, football or rugby players, golfers or rowers. That is because the body's core training muscles are the foundation for all other movement.

Select this link for more information on "Core Stability".

Click here for details of other available Books

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

Associated Books

The following books provide more information related to this topic:

Mobility Training, N. Brook
Strength and Conditioning for Games Players, C. Brewer
Circuit Training for all sports, M. Scholich
Medicine Ball Training, Z. Tenke et al.
Strength Conditioning with Medicine Balls, M. Jones
Advanced Studies in Physical Education and Sport, P Beashel et al.
Physical Education and the Study of Sport, B. Davis et al.
Essentials of Exercise Physiology, W.D. McArdle et al.
Physical Education and Sport Studies, D. Roscoe et al.
The World of Sport Examined, P. Beashel et al.
Advanced PE for Edexcel, F. Galligan et al.
Examining Physical Education, K. Bizley
Sport and PE, K Wesson et al.
PE for you, J. Honeybourne