Last week I talked about MOVING. Specifically, the thoracic spine, the hip, and the ankles. But how do each of these systems move? The MUSCLES that attach to them. Much of the time, creating mobility in surrounding areas or the low back can create great relief. Even more relief can often be found by performing mobility protocols FOLLOWED by strength protocols. This creates a low back and surrounding system that are both BULLETPROOF. So how do we do that?
In my office, most patients are performing exercises and encouraged to continue these exercises at home. In most cases, I try to make them simple. This means less equipment and less thinking. I always suggest starting exercise with the basics. For the low back, we can target the glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and core muscles. One exercise I suggest and train with many patients is: the squat. Now this may seem simple, but it can help people with low back pain SO much. It also allows for strength progression and confidence building!
****Listen for Thunder to tell you how much he loves box squats at the end of the video!****
We usually start as a box squat and drop the height and add weight over time. Then we move away from the box for more depth and continue to add weight. Then we can add jumps, bands, and more. However, if squats aren’t your thing, no problem! Videos will be coming out this week with other strengthening exercises as well.
Strengthening the core is also part of a well-rounded low back exercise plan. There are hundreds of exercises to target your core and I suggest that you find a few that you like for yourself, some of which you can do at home! This way, on weeks you are feeling too busy to make it to the gym, you can still get moving and feel accomplished and strong.
I hope you look forward to seeing videos for strength and stability this week!