Lower back pain: Do these four exercises at home to relieve this disorder

Lower back pain is a disorder that is commonly experienced by a lot of people. It is the most common reason why people go to the doctor or miss work, and it is also the leading cause of disability worldwide.

It can be acute or chronic depending on its causes. Acute pain in the lower back can last from a few days to a few weeks, while the disorder is described as chronic if it lasts for more than three months.

While it mostly affects those who are in their middle age or older, it can also develop among the young ones.

Age is a risk factor along with lack of exercise, excess weight, diseases, improper lifting of heavy objects, psychological conditions, and smoking.

Low back pain is caused by strains, disc injury, sciatica, spinal stenosis, and abnormal spine curvatures.

There are also medical conditions that can cause pain in your lower back. These are arthritis, fibromyalgia, spondylitis, spondylosis, kidney and bladder problems, pregnancy, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, and cancer.

Depending on what caused your lower back pain, most do not need to undergo surgery to treat the disorder.

There are ways that you can prevent yourself from suffering the disorder. You can avoid movements that twist or strain your back, build muscle strength and flexibility, quit smoking, and doing low impact exercises, those that will not strain or jolt your back.

If you are already suffering the disorder, you can remedy it by doing these exercises at home.

You can do partial crunches, bird dog, hamstring stretches, and wall sits.

Partial crunches can strengthen your core and your lower back. It is easy to do, you lie on your back, knees bent while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Place your arms on your side, then lift your shoulders off the floor, just a few inches up and then lie back down.

The bird dog, on the other hand, can help stabilize your lower back when you are moving your arms and legs. You position yourself on the floor on your hands and knees and make sure that your abdominal muscles are tightened. Then extend one leg behind you but keep it level with your hips and at the same time reach your opposite arm forward then you switch with the other leg and arm.

The hamstring stretch is an exercise that will bring relief to the back of your leg. You will need a towel for this exercise. First, you lie on your back with one knee bent. Then you thread the towel under the ball of the foot of your other leg. You pull back the towel while raising your leg towards you. Hold the position for 30 seconds before switching to the other leg.

Wall sits are great in relieving the pain in your lower back. And, it is easy to do. You stand with your back towards the wall leaving some 12 inches between you and the wall. You then slowly lean your back into the wall until it is flat against it. Then slowly slide down while bending your knees into a sitting position. Hold this position before going back up.

Perhaps you can start with repeating each exercise five times in one round then work your way up to 10.

Image credit courtesy of Bwanderd/Flickr