Lower back pain can be one of those injuries where it affects your everyday life and well being. There are many options that you can choose to for your lower back pain from seeing a doctor and getting medication to doing stretches to relieve the pain. Sometimes the medication just doesn’t cut it anymore, and there are methods like Pilates that can help strengthen lower back muscles while relieving the pain. Today, we will cover what Pilates is and what the exercises can help you.
Pilates Explained
Pilates exercise incorporates multiple disciplines including yoga, basic ballet, and resistance training. The focus in Pilates is strengthening the core. Strengthening the core includes the abdominal muscles, the obliques and the paraspinal muscles that align with the spine and the buttox. By building a stronger core, you essentially build a stronger body overall for posture, balance, and movement.
Four Pilates Exercises for Lower Back Pain
What typically happens with lower back pain is that the core is weakened and thus is injured. With Pilates, you strengthen these muscles and stabilize the spine to prevent further injury. Here are the four Pilate exercises you can use to aid you in strengthening as well as stretching the core. These exercises all can be done on the floor of your home. You will also want to start with three to five sets and build up from there.
1) Pelvic Tilt: To get into the position you first will want to lie flat on your back with your arms by your side with your knees up and your feet flat on the ground. Breathe in pushing your belly button down for a count of five while holding your breathe. Raise up your hips off the mat and hold for five seconds and then slowly let your hips down and breathe out.
2) Pelvic Curl: Lying down in the same position as the pelvic tilt. You will want to start by breathing in while raising up your lower back and your buttocks off the ground and hold for five seconds. Then slowly exhale and lower your body back down gently with you back first then your buttox to the original starting position.
3) Teaser: This position you will want to sit up, and you will want to find your center, and this is sitting on your tailbone while being able to hold your balance. You will want to keep your legs bent and when you come off the floor with doing a sit-up hold for a five count and then bend them and release lying all the way back down.
4) Swimmers: This position you will want to lie flat on your stomach and extend your arms and legs out with your chin tucked down. You will and the raise your arms and legs off the ground and move them up and down as if you were swimming. Do this for five to ten seconds then relax.
Conclusion
You can now say that you have learned four of the most basic Pilates exercises for lower back pain. Pilates isn’t just for fixing your body through exercises when you hurt yourself, it’s about strengthening your core so you can prevent future injuries.
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