Exercise Therapy Can Alleviate Back Pain
Back pain is a common condition in daily life. Most cases result from musculoskeletal disorders, such as acute or chronic injuries to the back muscles, fascia, ligaments, small intervertebral joints, vertebral fractures, lumbar myofasciitis, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, senile osteoporosis, ankylosing spondylitis, lumbar sacralization, and flat feet. Appropriate exercise effectively strengthens back muscles. Strong back muscles enhance spinal stability, distribute spinal stress more evenly, and reduce spinal load. Exercise also improves flexibility of tendons, fascia, joint capsules, and ligaments, restores lumbar mobility, enhances blood circulation, stretches contracted tissues, reduces muscle atrophy, and significantly alleviates back pain.
Several exercise therapies for back pain are worth trying:
1. Standing position, feet shoulder-width apart. Perform rotational movements of the body left and right, 9 times each.
2. Standing position, lateral flexion of the body. When leaning left, extend the left hand downward as far as possible, right elbow bent. When leaning right, extend the right hand downward, left elbow bent. Repeat 9 times each side.
3. Standing position, perform forward and backward bending within tolerable pain limits. When bending forward, keep knees straight, lower head, and extend hands downward as far as possible. When bending backward, tilt head up. Do 9 repetitions each.
5. Backward walking. Keep head up, chest out, eyes forward, arms hanging naturally. Swing arms naturally while walking backward. Walk forward 9 steps, then backward 9 steps. Repeat and gradually increase to 100–200 backward steps, once or twice daily—ensure safety.
6. Prone position, head turned to one side, hands clasped behind back. Use abdomen as pivot point, lift head, chest, and both lower limbs off ground, knees straight. Hold each lift for over 5 seconds. Complete 9 repetitions as one set, rest 2 minutes, then repeat.
Additionally, back pain patients should sleep on a firm mattress, strengthen back muscles when using a lumbar belt, avoid bending to lift heavy objects, and prevent cold exposure and overwork.