Self-healing exercises for low back pain, lumbago, sciatica

A question often asked by therapists is "what is the correct sitting position?"

 Regularly paying attention to your posture will help you look taller when standing or sitting, and will help you maintain good range of motion and function. So is there an easy way to maintain a correct posture while sitting? How does this help your lower back pain?

 One common trigger for low back pain is poor sitting posture! When you sit, especially when you need to sit for a long time, the muscles, ligaments, and intervertebral discs are put under excessive pressure, and this excessive pressure can lead to low back pain.

  When you have low back pain, your therapist will surely tell you that learning how to maintain a good shape is one of the most effective ways to treat low back pain.

  How to get the correct sitting posture?

 A normal lumbar spine should have a slightly forward curve.

 

The key to maintaining a correct sitting posture is to always maintain this forward curve.

One way to do this is to use a towel roll or lumbar pillow to maintain the curve of your lower back while sitting. In order to use the towel roll properly, you need to sit on the chair with your buttocks against the back of the seat, then lean forward slightly, and place the towel roll at the narrowest point of your waist , about where you wear your waist belt, this will help you maintain the correct curve of your lower back. You can make such a lumbar pillow yourself with a towel or pillow.

 

Another way to maintain correct sitting posture is to do "slouch-upright training". This restorative slouched-upright posture helps train your lumbar spine to maintain the correct position.

 

The specific method is as follows

1.First sit on a chair, don't let your back lean on the chair, and then slowly let your back loosely curl up. When doing this posture, you must be active and slowly curling, and don't trigger Pain (pictured below). After you hold the curl for about 1-2 seconds, then slowly move to the next position.

2.After relaxing and maintaining a loose posture for 1-2 seconds, try to make your body sit up as straight as possible. At this time, your waist will have the correct curve. Your posture should be as upright as possible, and you will even feel forward Convex, and give the back a slight squeeze (as shown in the image below). After holding this position for about 1-2 seconds, you can relax this position by about 15%, and you will feel that the pressure on your back has disappeared, but the curvature of the lumbar spine is still there, but it is not so overly lordotic.

This posture is the correct posture. It may feel a little unnatural at the beginning, but after practicing many times a day, you will gradually have the correct sitting posture.

how to practice correctly

After the correct sitting posture is how to practice. If you have low back pain or sciatica, you may often have questions like "How can I avoid low back pain?" "What should I do if I have low back pain?" "When should I practice?"

There are many ways to treat low back pain, and many exercises can improve your symptoms, some are to strengthen your spine, and some are used to improve the flexibility of the spine.

 Generally, the therapist will assess your problem and then teach you how to quickly restore the previous level of function through self-management training.

 The following exercise routine is commonly used to treat low back pain, sciatica, or lower extremity pain caused by low back pain. Start with the first exercise and work your way up. Maybe you don't need all the exercises, but if the first exercise doesn't relieve your pain enough, try the second, and so on.

  How do you know you are doing the right thing?

  If you are experiencing pain in one side of your back or hip, carefully monitor your symptoms for changes while performing the first movement. Look carefully for clustering of symptoms: less pain in the thigh or buttocks, but more pain in the lower back. It is a good phenomenon to have symptom concentration when practicing these movements, which means that the movement exercises you are doing are relatively correct.

  If your symptoms get worse, or if there is no symptom concentration, or if the symptom concentration is not obvious, then try the next movement, feel the changes in your symptoms carefully, and remember: the pain is getting closer Your spine is a good sign.

 Note: Before starting any training exercises, ask your doctor if these exercises are safe for you.

 

When some acute low back pain occurs, you should try this acute low back pain exercise first. First, keep lying on your stomach for about a minute, then use your elbows to prop up your upper body for about one to two minutes, and pay attention to whether there is any Symptom concentration phenomenon. After holding this position for a minute or two, then try to slowly push up your body, and keep your lower back and hips relaxed during the process, as high as possible, allowing the forward curvature of the lumbar spine Recover as much as possible. During this period, I kept telling myself "Push a little more, push a little more, push a little more". Stretch the lower back as far as possible in the full pain-free range, and repeat this movement ten times while you watch for symptoms.

If you do not experience symptoms of concentration during this exercise, you can try the next movement.

二. Push-ups, side swing hips

This movement is very simple, after pushing your upper body up, then swing your hips and lower body to one side of the body or the other. All you have to do is swing your hip out of the way as you slowly straighten your elbow, it's usually more comfortable to swing to the side opposite the pain.

 As you swing your hips to the side, you can push your upper body up a bit. You may notice that you don't push up as far as you would normally in this position, but you still need to push up as much as you can. Repeat this action 10 times, and observe the phenomenon of symptom concentration at any time. If the pain still doesn't improve, try the next exercise.

  

 三. Standing lumbar slippage

 If the above action does not relieve your symptoms, then try this action.

 This action requires you to stand about one foot away from the wall, with the side of the back pain outside, use your shoulders against the wall and elbows against the ribs, and then the other hand is stuck in the pelvis and slowly Slowly push the pelvis under the rib cage.

  Repeat this side sliding movement ten times and watch your pain change. If the pain is not relieved, try the following exercises.

 

  四.Lumbar spine bending and rotation stretching

 Start this exercise with your body lying on your side, usually with the side that hurts underneath. Straighten the lower leg and place the upper foot behind the lower knee. Place the upper hand at the level of the upper shoulder, then rotate the spine so that the upper shoulder rests on the mat, and use the other hand to control the bent knee, hold this position for a second or two, then return to the original position . Repeat this movement 10 times, then note any changes in symptoms.

 If you are still uncomfortable, try the last movement for a long time.

 

五.Bend at the waist

This action requires you to lie on the mat, then bend your knees,slowly bring your knees close to your chest, and then hug your knees with your hands under the knee joints. This action will open the intervertebral foramina on both sides of the vertebrae and relieve the compression of the nerves.

 Then gently hug your knees back to make your back feel stretched, then hold this position for a second or two, and then slowly relax. Repeat this movement 10 times, and watch carefully for any changes in symptoms.

 The above five exercises have a good effect on alleviating lower back pain. If you have low back pain, seeking the help of a doctor is the best option, and following the exercises of a physical therapist is a good way to relieve pain and restore normal function.