Lower Back Exercises

Here is a section from the Sports Injury Bulletin. See entire article at http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1090-lower-back-spams.htm

Basic exercises to prevent back spasms

Basic, traditional, back-spasm-preventing and back-strengthening exercises include the following (make sure you warm up by walking, jogging, or cycling easily for 10 minutes or so before you begin the drills):

• (1) Knee Raises (for lower back flexibility). Lie on your back with your legs extended, and then bring your left knee toward your chest and grasp it. Pull the left knee as close to your chest as pain permits, and hold for about 10 to 15 seconds, letting your hamstrings, bum, and lower back muscles 'unkink'. Then, return to the starting position and perform the same sequence with your right leg. Return to the starting position to complete one rep; complete 10 reps overall.
• (2) Back Rounders (for lower back flexibility). Lie on your back with your legs extended and your arms at your sides. Draw both of your knees toward your chest. Then, grasp your knees underneath your thighs and raise your head from the floor. In a relaxed and smooth manner, bring your head and knees as close together as pain and flexibility permit, and hold this position for five to 10 seconds. Return to the starting position, relax, and repeat for a total of 10 times.
• (3) The Pelvic Press (for strengthening the low back). To carry out this exercise, simply lie on your back with your arms at your sides - or with your hands behind your head. Then, tighten the muscles of the stomach and buttocks, pressing the small of your back to the floor. Hold the small of your back on the floor for about 12 seconds, return to the starting position, and relax for a few seconds. Perform this cycle 12 times, rest for a moment, and then follow up with 12 more 'presses'.
• (4) The Double-Knee Lift (for better coordination and flexibility, as well as improved core strength). Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the ground. Then, tighten your stomach muscles and bring your knees slowly and smoothly toward your chest. Next, extend your legs into a straightened position while keeping your heels several inches off the floor. Hold this position for three to five seconds (or for as long as pain permits). Return to the starting position by bringing your knees back toward your chest and then lowering your feet to the floor, and relax for a few seconds. Perform two sets of eight reps of this exercise, stopping the exertion if any pain arises.
• (5) Opposite Arm and Leg Lifts (for strength and flexibility). Lie face down on the floor with your legs straight and your arms fully extended, so that they are lying on the floor on either side of your head. Then, raise your right arm and left leg as high off the floor as possible, and hold the position for about 12 seconds. Lower your right arm and left leg back to the floor and relax for a few seconds. Then, raise your left arm and right leg as high off the floor as you can, holding for 12 seconds. Complete one rep by relaxing for a few seconds, and carry out a total of two sets of 10 reps, with a short break between sets.
• (6) lower back Extensions (to enhance lower back strength). Lie on your stomach, with your arms by your sides and your hands extended toward your feet, with palms touching the floor. Contract the muscles at the back of your neck, so that you are gazing forward and upward. That's the basic position! A rep is simply a contraction of your lower back muscles, lifting your torso off the ground, followed by a slow easing of your trunk back to the floor. Complete two sets of 12 reps, with a short intervening break.
• (7) Hip Circles and Twists (two movements to improve core strength during actions involving rotation of the spine). With your hands on your hips and your feet spread apart somewhat wider than your shoulders, make circles with your hips in a clockwise direction for 12 repetitions. Repeat the circles in a counter-clockwise direction for 12 reps. Then, extend (straighten) your arms so that they are extending straight out on either side of your body (they should be parallel with the floor), and twist your torso and hips to the left, shifting your weight onto your left foot. Then twist your torso to the right while shifting your weight to the right foot. Complete 12 reps on each side, making sure that movement is produced by your core muscles, not by violent thrusts from your shoulders and arms.
• (8) Warrior at the Wall (for lower back strength and flexibility, as well as bum strength). Stand tall but relaxed with your feet at hip width; your arms should be hanging at your sides, with palms turned toward your legs. Look straight ahead, facing a blank wall which is about three feet away. As you exhale, bend forward from your hips and extend your arms forward until your fingertips are touching the wall. Adjust yourself so that your legs are perpendicular to the floor and your arms and upper body are absolutely parallel with the ground. As you inhale, raise your left leg backward and up until it is parallel with the ground. Hold your left leg up for about eight breaths, and then repeat with the opposite leg. Repeat several times with each leg.

More advanced exercises for the low back and core

Once you have completed the basic routine above a couple of times per week for a few weeks (or once you can breeze through the above exertions with no problems), you are ready to move on to more challenging drills for your back and core muscles.

The following exercises will have a pronounced impact on your strength, stability, and coordination:

• (1) The Bridges of Kenya (for achieving stunning core strength). Lie face down on the ground or floor and stretch out in a prone position. Then, lift up your body so that you are balanced only on your forearms and toes. Your elbows are on the ground and should be directly below your shoulders. Your forearms and hands are pointed straight ahead, resting on the ground. Your toes (and feet) are about shoulder-width apart, and your toes are the only part of your lower body which are touching the ground. Your whole body is supported only by your forearms and toes.
• A. Now, a key, key point: 'tuck' your pelvis. This basically means rotating your pelvic girdle by pushing the lower part of your pelvic area toward the ground while the upper part of the pelvis rotates away from the ground. Your hip area doesn't actually come any closer to the ground (your whole body should be in a fairly straight line from your toes up to your shoulders). When you 'tuck', you are just rotating your pelvis, not moving it up or down. If you were standing, you would be directing the lower part of your pelvis forward and pulling the top part of your pelvic girdle backward. It's important to complete this exercise as directed, because it is crucial for improving what I call your core strength - the strength of the muscles surrounding the pelvic girdle, which promote powerful, economical, injury-free sporting activity.
  B. Hold this basic position (body supported only on forearms and toes, pelvis tucked) for 15 seconds, and then lift your right arm off the ground, straighten it, and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds (at this point, your body is supported only by your left forearm and the toes of your two feet). After 10 seconds, return to the starting position.
• C. Then, lift your left arm off the ground and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds. Return to the starting position.
• D. Now lift your right leg up in the air and hold it there for 10 seconds (your body will now be supported by your two forearms and the toes on your left foot). Return to the starting position.
• E. Lift your left leg in the air for 10 seconds, and then return to the starting position.
• F. Here's a move you'll always remember: from the starting position, lift your right arm and left leg in the air SIMULTANEOUSLY. Hold them up for 10 seconds, and then return to the starting position.
• G. Then, lift your left arm and right leg SIMULTANEOUSLY, and hold them in the air for 10 seconds. Return to the starting position.Take a one to two-minute break, and then repeat steps A-G once more.
• H. Once you've completed the second set, stay in the basic position for one additional minute. Please remember to keep your pelvis tucked and your body in a straight line.
• I. Now, flip over on your back and lift yourself up so that your body is supported only by your forearms and your HEELS! Again, your body should be linear, your pelvis should be tucked, and your elbows should be approximately below your shoulders. Stay in this basic position, and then lift your right leg off the ground for 10 seconds.
• J. Return your right heel to the ground, and lift your left leg in the air for 10 seconds (you are balanced only on your forearms and right heel). Then, return it to the ground and hold the basic position for 30 seconds.
• K. Flip over on your right side and support your whole body with only your right forearm and the OUTSIDE OF YOUR RIGHT FOOT. Your body should be a straight line, inclined upward from the foot to the shoulder - and off the ground (don't let your leg touch the ground). Your left foot should simply be lying on the right foot. Then, lift your left leg straight up (abducting the hip) for 10 seconds, before returning to this basic position.
• L. Flip over to your left side, and repeat step K, but with your body weight supported by your left forearm and the outside of your left foot (you will raise your right leg in the air). Hold your right leg in the air for 10 seconds, and you're done with the core routine!

More functional exercises

Although the Bridges of Kenya is an extremely effective exercise, note that it - like the exertions in the basic back-spasm-prevention programme outlined above - is not as functional as one might hope. That is, 'Bridges' does not utilise a standing posture, which is the body position used in most sports, and it does not call for strength and coordination during active movement, which is what is required during most sporting activities.

The following exercises, with their emphasis on movement and coordination, are considerably more functional:

• (2) Picking up Litter (for coordination and lower back strength). As you jog along easily, suddenly stop on your left foot (with your left foot out ahead of your body), perform a squatting motion with your left leg (ie, flex the left leg at the knee), and simultaneously swing your right hand downward, scooping up an imaginary piece of litter from the ground. Straighten your left leg so that you once again achieve an erect posture, and then three steps (right, left, right), stopping on the third - right - step and repeating the overall motion (flex right leg at knee, scoop up 'litter' with left hand). Continue in this manner for one minute, rest for 15 seconds, and repeat. This exercise is great for improving balance and agility, as well as lower back flexibility and coordination.
• (3) Half Standing Forward Bends (for greater lower back strength and coordination). Stand tall but relaxed with your feet at hip width; your arms should be hanging at your sides, with palms turned toward your legs. Look straight ahead. As you exhale, step forward about 36 to 42 inches (about the length of your leg) with your right foot. Then, place your hands on the tops of your hips and make sure the front of your pelvis is 'squared'. Release your hands and let your arms hang. As you inhale, raise your arms forward and then straight overhead. As you exhale again, bend forward from the hips, 'soften up' your right knee, and let your head and arms hang down. Your head should be directly above (but a little to the left of) your right foot, and your arms should pass alongside your ears, with your hands attempting to make contact with the ground just a little in front of your toes. If your head is not very close to your right knee, flex your right knee a little more. As you inhale, 'roll' up slowly, 'stacking' the bones of your spine on each other, and then raise your arms overhead, reaching for an imaginary object well above you. Step back with your right foot to the beginning position, while letting your arms move back to your sides. Rest for a moment, and then repeat four more times, before completing five forward bends with your left leg forward.
• (4) Cross-body Leg Swings (for greater lower back mobility). Leaning slightly forward with your hands on a wall and your weight on your left leg, swing your right leg to the left in front of your body, pointing your toes upward as your foot reaches its farthest point of motion. Then swing the right leg back to the right as far as comfortably possible, again pointing your toes up as your foot reaches it final point of movement. Repeat this overall motion 10 times before performing 10 reps with your left leg. Rest for a few seconds, and then repeat.
• (5) If you are a golfer, tennis player, baseball/cricket athlete, or squash /handball/racquetball competitor, your sport involves considerable twisting motions which can damage lower back muscles and induce spasms. To strengthen your lower back during tortuous twists, utilise devices like the 'NRG Ball' (think of a medicine ball on a stick) or a 'Bodyblade' (a flexible rod) to provide resistance as you carry out the normal swinging motions associated with your sport (Fitter International Inc., mentioned above, carries both products). As a cheap alternative, you may also hold a free weight or medicine ball in front of you, and alternatively twist from side to side in movements mimicking those of your sport, using your abdominal and lower back muscles to produce motion, rather than freely swinging your shoulders and arms back and forth.
• (6) The Rotational Hamstring Stretch (for improving flexibility in the lower back, bum, and hamstring areas):
• (A) Stand on your right foot with your left leg elevated to nearly hip height in front of you, with your left heel resting on top of a bench or table. Your right foot should be turned outward approximately 45 degrees from straight ahead. Then, lean forward slightly to induce stretching on the left hamstring. At this point, rotate your left foot, ankle, knee, and hip inward and outward 15 times to each side.
• (B) Repeat the above action with your support (right) foot rotated inward approximately 10 degrees.
• (C) Finally, repeat both of the above actions with the opposite leg.If you carry out this advanced routine two to three times a week for several weeks, you will notice a remarkable improvement in your lower back and core strength, coordination, and sport-specific flexibility, and you should be at lower risk of back spasms. Best of all, your upgraded strength and control should help you perform at a higher level in your chosen sport.