How much time do you spend in a day sitting down in a single, uncomfortable posture at your office? More than nine hours, right? Then, it’s bound to happen. What? The excruciating lower back pain which you experience nearly every other night when you sprawl on your bed.
Why lower back, though? There are plenty of causes for this, including some of the extreme ones like accidental injuries. But a major generative reason for the lower back ache is the posture. Especially, prolonged slouching, which puts undue stress on the spine and creates tension in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
However, there is a natural cure for this torment, one which you can totally try at home. What it is? Exercise. Yes, and not just any workout routine, but the one that has been tailored to treat the strained muscles in the lower back. Check out some of the most effective exercising positions below, and let me know which ones did the wonder for you.
Cat-Camel Pose
On a yoga mat, position yourself into a table pose, by supporting your body weight on your knees and hands. Make sure your back is straight in the initial phase. Then, while constricting your abdominal muscles, lower your head towards the floor and round your spine towards the ceiling to imitate a camel’s hump. Stay there for around ten seconds. Exhaling slowly, relax your back. Next, extend your tailbone out, push your stomach towards the floor, lift your head high and curve your spine like a cat. Hold that pose for ten seconds. Return and repeat. This cat-camel pose is sure to stabilize your spine and increase its flexibility.
Fish Pose
Fish are highly flexible, and this is the sort of flexibility which you should hope to foster in your own body. How? By striking the fish pose. Lie down on your back, with knees bent or straightened, your choice. Lift the pelvis, place your hands beneath it with palms facing the ground and elbows close to the torso sides, take a deep breath and raise your upper torso towards the ceiling for about thirty seconds. Exhale and release.
Child Pose
You might have seen yoga experts repeatedly rendering this pose on your cable TV, hooked with the super-awesome TV Gold from Spectrum. Why? Because it’s a surefire strategy to work on multiple muscles at the same time. Plus, it’s really simple to execute. Just sit on your heels and place your hands on your thighs. This should be your initial position. From here, lean forward with your face down and arms outstretched on the floor in front of you. Exhale slowly. Hold the pose for about sixty seconds and then come back up. The child’s pose enables you to carry out a much-necessary stretching of the thighs, ankles, hips, neck and of course, the lower back.
Cobra Pose
Holding an awe of their own, cobras are magnificent creatures. This pose allows you to mimic the revered reptiles and improve your core strength while reinforcing the muscles of your back as well. How do you practice it? Let me show you. On the mat, lie down with your stomach firmly pressed to the ground, with your legs straightened and your face pointed towards the floor. Place your arms by your sides, palms upward and fingers widened. This would count as the initial phase. Next, slowly raise yourself from the floor, using the sheer strength of your lower back. Lift your head, then the arms, the chest and lastly the legs. Hold the pose for about ten seconds and release.
Side Plank
This is a deceptively easy exercise. You can do it by lying on your left side with knees straightened out. Raise your body from the floor, by supporting the weight on your left foot and the left forearm, which would be pressed to the ground. Raise your right hand in a way that it’s perpendicular with your torso. Hold the pose for about sixty seconds and release. Try the other side.
Partial Curls
Strong abdominal muscles play a vital role in supporting the spine and help in keeping the hips aligned. To perform partial curls, lie back on floor, bend the knees while keeping the feet flat and hip-width apart. Cross your hands over the chest and breathe in deeply. Upon breath out, engage the abdominal muscles by pulling in your stomach. After that, gently raise your head and shoulders two inches off the ground and hold for five seconds before returning to the original position. Repeat this exercise for 10 minutes and perform three sets for optimal results.
Conclusion
So, with these restorative exercises, you can say goodbye to that nasty lower back pain. Performing the aforementioned exercises would have a positive effect on your core muscles. In addition to this, you will be able to prevent injuries and enhance your flexibility, which would enable you to work more productively. It is worth mentioning the fact that in case you continue to experience pain in your back, you set up an appointment with your doctor and get immediate consultation before the pain gets worse.