7 Exercises to Avoid with a Bulging Lumbar Disc (L4-L5 & L5-S1)

Last Updated on January 23, 2026 by Sunit. S. Ekka

What exercises to I avoid with bulging discs?

If you are suffering from an L4-L5 or L5-S1 herniated disc in the lower back, then you may have lots of confusion about what exercises to avoid. We have already covered L5 S1 disc bulge exercises that will benefit you; however, there are a few exercises that you must avoid, which can be potentially harmful to the herniated disc.

But what are these exercises?

In this article, we are going to clear all your confusion regarding this and guide you through it for a quicker healing process for a painful lumbar disc hernia.

7 Worst Exercises for L5-S1 Herniated Disc (Avoid These!)

Contrary to exercises we recommend in lumbar disc bulge, always extension exercises, ie, you need to bend your low back backwards, and we tell our patients to strictly avoid bending forward.

To make it very simple, if you are having a lumbar prolapsed disc, you must avoid exercises that need to bend forward, you need to avoid flexion at L5 S1.

There are lots of exercises and stretching poses that require us to flex forward at the lumbar spine. In one of my previous articles, we discussed why disc bulge sufferer should avoid bending forward.

These exercises are easy to spot but equally easy to ignore. We will cover these common exercises needed to avoid a lumbar disc bulge.

But, you should also avoid exercises that include high-impact activities like running and jumping, as well as heavy weightlifting and twisting motions.

Instead, low-impact exercises like walking, cycling, and swimming can help improve flexibility and strengthen the muscles in the lower back without putting undue stress on the affected area.

1. Toe-Touching Stretches: Why They Harm Your Bulging Disc

This is perhaps the most common move in the number of exercises, and we strictly recommend avoiding this exercise. This exercise includes bending forward in a standing posture with your hand straight as if trying to touch the great toe.

One of the yoga poses also involves this bending movement. So, if you are doing this exercise and at the same time you have a disc hernia at L5-S1, then avoid it.

2. Barbell Lifts: How Heavy Weights Worsen Lumbar Disc Herniation

Lifting a barbell in a standing posture is a common exercise among bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. In addition to bending forward, the weight of the barbell doubles the stress on the lumbar area. 

This exercise is very dangerous for bulging discs of the lumbar spine. You should immediately stop this exercise.

3. Standing Hamstring Stretch: A Hidden Risk for Sciatica Pain

In the group of exercises to avoid in lumbar radiculopathy, our next common exercise is hamstring stretching. If you have a lumbar disc hernia and doing this exercise then it may increase your sciatica pain.

Hamstring muscles are present on the back thigh, and to stretch them, we need to perform this exercise, which requires us to bend the lower back.

Actually, in this exercise, we have to keep our heel on a stool/ chair in front of us, keeping the knee as straight as possible. Now take the opposite side hand and try to touch the great toe, and at the same time move your forehead towards the knee.

As you can observe the movement of the lumbar spine, you should better avoid this exercise. Here are the next exercises to avoid with bulging discs

4. Seated Hamstring Stretch: Why It Aggravates L4-L5 Disc Bulge

This is another hamstring stretching exercise performed in a long sitting position. For this exercise, we simply need to sit straight in a long sitting position and then use our hands to touch the great toes.

As you can notice, this also involves bending in the lumbar area. So, avoiding this exercise when you are suffering from a disc hernia is recommended.

5. Rocking Exercise: Why It’s Dangerous for Herniated Discs

We, Physiotherapists, usually recommend this exercise for sciatica due to lumbar canal stenosis. This uncommon exercise involves flexion of the whole body in a lying position.

So, for this bend both the knees and bring them close to the chest and hold it with both hands.

In this posture, we have to rock ourselves backwards and forward. As it’s clear that it requires bending forward in the lower back, we have to avoid this exercise also when having a prolapsed disc in the lumbar area.

Also read: 4 Stages Of Disc Herniation: Symptoms & Treatment

6. Sit-Ups & Supine-to-Sit Moves: High Risk for Disc Injury

This is a very popular exercise to burn belly fat and reduce belly bulges. But, I would strictly recommend that you avoid this exercise in sciatica due to a lumbar disc bulge.

But why?

See, for this exercise, you have to lie straight on your back and then come to a sitting position. This puts lots of pressure on the lumbar area, and of course, it requires us to bend forward.

7. Double Leg Raises: How They Strain Your Bulging Disc

The next exercise to avoid with a lumbar herniated disc is the straight leg raise. It’s okay to do a single straight leg raise (SLR) exercise, but please avoid SLR simultaneously in both legs.

SLR in both legs together is a popular exercise to burn belly fat, but it also puts lots of stress on the lumbar spine, and if you have a herniated disc, it could be very dangerous for it.

Simply ignore this exercise in the lumbar disc hernia.

Bonus: Safe Alternatives & Daily Habits for Disc Herniation Recovery

Housewives are more prone to developing disc hernia issues due to household chores that require bending over, like washing dishes in the kitchen sink, and cleaning house. However, by making simple modifications to their household activities, they can prevent back pain.

So, what exercises do we actually have to do to heal a lumbar disc bulge?

There are so many good exercises to do for lumbar disc hernia, which I have covered in detail in one of my previous articles, “5 Best L4 L5 Disc Herniation Exercises to Avoid Surgery” Please go through it.

Keep Reading: 3 Best sleeping position for sciatica for quick relief

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Sunit. S. Ekka

The author is a physiotherapist who has been practising for the last 17 years. He holds a Bachelor's in Physiotherapy (BPT) from SVNIRTAR (Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation and Research), one of the prestigious physiotherapy schools in India.

Whatever he learns dealing with his patient, he shares it with the world through blogs and e-books. He also owns a YouTube channel, "Sunit Physiotherapist" with over 8 lakh active subscribers. Here, he shares everything he gets to learn serving the patient.