7 Easy Chronic Back Pain Exercises That Actually Work

If you have low back pain that is taking longer than 3 months to heal then chances are that it is chronic low back pain. It’s the most common and costly musculoskeletal problem in modern society and is experienced by 70%–80% of adults at some time in their lives². Fortunately, we can manage this by following some most effective yet easy chronic back pain exercises.

In this article, we will cover some common causes of chronic low back pain and we will discuss in detail all the exercises and tips that will help you get out of this pain.

What’s chronic back pain

When a low back pain with or without leg pain (sciatica) persists for 12 weeks or more then it is termed chronic low back pain¹. In 85% of people suffering from chronic low back pain, pain is non-specific. Non-specific low back pain is pain that is not attributed to a recognisable pathology (such as infection, tumour, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fracture, or inflammation)¹.

Recently I had a client with a complaint of back pain for five years. His pain flared up over the last ten days and increases with the slightest forwarding bending. MRI report, and X-ray report all ruled out any possibility of lumbar disc hernia. Here the cause of chronic back pain is non-specific.

He is a thin-built male person around 35 years of age and his occupation involves sitting in front of a computer for long hours. Further inquiry reveals that he adopts the wrong sitting posture in his desk job, i.e, stooping forward with forwarding bending at the low back region which could be the possible cause of his pain. So, it is recommended to sit in desktop ergonomics ways to prevent pain.

Other risk factors include heavy physical work, frequent bending, twisting, lifting, and prolonged static postures. Psychosocial risk factors include anxiety, depression, and mental stress at work. A study has found direct relation to psychological factors (distress, depressive mood, and somatisation), the pain increases with psychological stress³.

Most people with back pain have experienced a previous episode, and acute attacks often occur as exacerbations of chronic low back pain. In general, recurrences will occur more frequently and be more severe if people have had frequent or long-lasting low back pain complaints in the past¹.

Chronic back pain exercises

Treatment of chronic low back pain patients should be supportive, the goal is to improve pain and function rather than to “cure” the patient’s condition⁴.

Strengthening exercises

Due to long term pain and inactivity, the muscle around the lower back becomes weak. The weak muscle further contributes to the pain, so it is very important to strengthen these muscles. There are several low back strengthening exercises and the bridging exercise is the most common among all.

#1 Bridging exercise

So, let us start with the bridging exercise. For this, the starting position should be lying straight on your back with hands by the side and knee bent to a comfortable position. In this position, you have to simply raise your waist as high as possible. Raise it slowly and hold the position for 5 seconds, best way is to count from 1 to 5 and then lower it down slowly.

Repeat this exercise a minimum of 15 to 20 times in a session, the more you do the better it is.

#2 Chest raising exercise

This exercise is also very easy and with this exercise, we strengthen our upper back muscles. For this, first of all, lie down on your tummy, and keep both hands next to you. After that lift, your head and chest, lift it as far as you feel comfortable and hold that position for 5 seconds. And then slowly come down, in one session repeat it at least 8 to 10 times, do 2 sessions a day.

#3 Straight hand, leg raise in prone

For this exercise, stay in the same position as above, that is, you will be lying on your tummy with your hands on both sides. In this position, lift one leg and one opposite hand straight. for example, if your are lifting your left leg then simultaneously lift the right hand. Keep in mind that when you lift the leg, you will not bend your knee, try to keep the knee as straight as possible. 

Hold this position for at least 5 seconds, as I said earlier, it would be better to count from one to five. After that keep the foot slowly down and then you raise the other leg like this and keep it old for 5 seconds. Repeat this process at least 20 times, that is, if you do it 10 times in one leg, it becomes 20 times in one session.

#4 Hand & leg raise in quadruped exercise

Our starting position for this exercise will be the quadruped position. You will come to your knees and hands, we call this position a quadruped position or we also call it a prone kneeling position. In this position, you will raise one arm and one leg straight. This means that if you are raising your right leg, you will lift your left hand.

And doing so, keep in mind that your knee and elbow will remain completely straight. Hold this position for about 5 seconds and then slowly come into the Relax position. In the same way, repeat this process on the other side, i.e, if you lift the right leg then raise the left hand. Do this at least 20 times in a session and do 2 sessions a day.

#5 Cat and Dog Exercise

The name of the exercise may sound confusing, but actually, it is very easy. This exercise also has to be done in a quadruped position. So first you will come in a quadruped position, then curve your lower back upwards, tilt your head downwards to curve it up, we call it cat exercise. Then vice versa, you will curve your lower back downwards, this time you will lift your head upwards so that your lower back will form a downward curve, this is called dog exercise. 

Repeat this cat and dog position one after the other so that your lower back will be relieved of any stiffness if present.  Repeat this exercise 15 to 20 times in a session and do it twice a day.

#6 Strengthening exercises by using a therapy ball

The same bridging exercise can be done using a therapy ball. Therapy ball is also termed by other different names such as exercise ball and gym ball. Using this ball makes the exercises more interesting and enjoyable. There are several other back exercises that can be done using this ball which I have already covered in 6 Easy Gym Ball Exercises for Lower Back for Quick Relief.

For bridging exercise simply lie down on your back and keep the leg over the ball and raise your waist. Raise it as high as possible and hold for 5 seconds. After 5 seconds lower it down slowly. Repeat it 25 to 30 times in a session, however, the more you do the better it is.

#7 Stretching exercises

In chronic back pain, one of the most common muscles to get stiff is the piriformis muscle. These are flat muscles present on the sides of our buttocks and are often ignored. There are several good exercises to stretch this muscle which I have already covered in one of my articles 3 Easy Piriformis muscle stretch.

Here, I’m going to describe one of the most common and simple exercises among them. For this exercise, you have to sit straight on a chair. Now, to stretch the right side piriformis muscle keep the right leg over the left thigh as displayed in the figure. In this position, you have to simply bend forward to a point where you will feel a comfortable stretch on the side of your right buttock. Hold this position for 5 seconds and then come to normal position.

Repeat this 3 to 4 times in a single session on one side. Similarly, repeat the process on another side.

How physiotherapy can help in chronic back pain

When you are referred to the physiotherapist they will thoroughly evaluate the pain and pain associated with the movement. Accordingly, they will chalk out the treatment plan that best fits your condition.

1: Rest during severe pain

Rest is very important during severe pain. During rest apply hot fomentation over the back. When you go to a Physiotherapist they will apply ultrasonic therapy and interferential therapy (IFT), it is very useful in pain-relieving. One can also use a portable IFT or TENS machine which anyone can easily handle.  

2: After reduction of severe pain

After the reduction of severe pain, your physiotherapist will do a series of stretching exercises. They will search for tender/painful spots and will perform DTFM (Deep Transverse Friction Massage) over them.

Often the tender spot will be at the interspinous ligament region.

Immediately after stretching and DTFM, the physiotherapist will give you ultra-sonic therapy and interferential therapy.

4: Lumbar traction

Lumbar traction is very effective if you have leg pain with low back pain. It is a technique in which a traction force is applied over the low back using a traction machine. This traction force creates a gap between the lumbar vertebral bone which is otherwise reduced in conditions such as a bulging disc. To learn more about lumbar traction please read my previous article, What is Lumbar Traction in Physiotherapy?

3: Posture correction

Correct posture is very important to prevent the recurrence of pain. In the above case which I discussed in the introduction, he must sit straight and avoid bending the lumbar region while sitting and practice the best way to sit at your desk.

In short, we should sit on desks in such a way that there’s no bending in our neck and lower back. We should choose our chair in such a way that our lower back will get good support.

Final word

When working in front of the computer for long hours if we adopt the wrong posture, it will increase pain and can make the disc bulge worse. That is why we should learn to sit in the right way and we should also adopt it. I have already discussed this in detail, you may read this article. In short, we should sit on desks in such a way that there’s no bending in our neck and lower back. We should choose our chair in such a way that our lower back will get good support.

Usually, conservative management gives very good results, but if pain continues to appear consult your physician.

Also read: Effective chronic pain treatment using sound & electrical stimulation possible| Study

Sunit. S. Ekka

Dr Sunit Sanjay Ekka is a physiotherapist in practice for the last 15 years. He has done his BPT from one of the premium Central Government physiotherapy colleges, ie, SVNIRTAR. The patient is his best teacher and whatever he gets to learn he loves to share it on his Youtube channel and blog.