Low back pain can be debilitating and the 80% of adults who have experienced back pain in their lifetime could agree that life with minimal back pain is the dream.
This week Dr. Rob is going to show you a simple core exercise that everyone should be doing to prevent back pain.
Watch below to learn!
https://youtu.be/wkWVBeKUirg
You may have heard that you need strong abs to avoid back pain, but that’s not necessarily the case. Having a strong core is good but having a core with endurance is even better! When your core muscles have good endurance you’re able to activate them at low levels all day to stabilize and support your spine. It’s when your core muscles get tired from lack of endurance that people tend to hurt their backs and experience back pain.
To start building core endurance one of the best exercises is the Dead Bug! It’s super simple but surprisingly challenging to do properly! Dead Bugs help to control and stabilize your spine.
This exercise is so great because it keeps your spine in neutral throughout the movement. Lots of people get back pain during ab exercises like sit-ups and ab wheel roll-outs because your spine isn’t in a neutral position.
To do a Dead Bug:
- Lie on your back with your arms and legs in the air — like a dead bug. Your knees should be slightly bent.
- Engage your core muscles by pressing your lower back into the floor and remain in this contracted position for the duration of the exercise.
- Slowly straighten one leg keeping your low back pressed to the floor. Hold for one breath then bring your knee back to a bent position. Then switch to the opposite leg and do the same movement.
- Once you’ve mastered the legs you can move on to a harder progression where you simultaneously lower your right arm and left leg until they are parallel with the floor. Hold for one breath then use your abdominal muscles to return the limbs back to the starting position.
- Alternate by lowering the left arm and right leg until they are parallel to the ground, holding for one breath and then returning to the starting stance. Continue this sequence for one minute.
This should be difficult if you’re keeping your back pressed to the floor, if it’s easy you’re probably letting your back arch up.
Having trouble with this exercise? Come talk to one of our amazing practitioners for tips and personalized advice!
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