'Aaaahhhh, my back!' Sound familiar? One of the most common reasons for GP visits in the UK is back pain. What does the Dr do? Usually prescribes a course of anti-inflammatory medication or pain killers of some sort and off you go. This usually helps settle things for a while but it usually reoccurs due to the fact that the pain killers are dealing with the symptoms and not the cause(s). You go on accepting that it's just something that you have to live with which flares up now and again, but do you?

Of course every now and again we all get aches, pains and injuries - it's a part of life and some people genuinely do have chronic back problems which will never allow then to be 100% pain-free. But how much of it could be minimised or even avoided if we knew what was causing it and how much of it could be corrected with the right types of exercise? Now as usual I'd better start by saying that I am not a medical professional or a back pain specialist, however, I have trained many people over the years with back issues which they were under the impression were permanent and I showed them otherwise, and in some cases even when physiotherapy hadn't been effective. I should also point out that 'back pain' is an extremely broad term as the back is very complex so as usual there is no one-size fits all answer. The exercises which follow are basic GENERAL exercises which I deem as safe for MOST back problems. Always consult your Dr or consultant before embarking on any exercise program, or contact me and I can give you some guidance.

Dead Bug - No prizes for guessing why it's called this .... I'll add some demo pics at some point but the basis is lying on your back with your head relaxed on the floor, lift your legs up so that your knees are bent 90 degrees inline with your hips and your arms straightened towards the ceiling (with elbows locked straight). 'Brace' or stiffen your abdominal muscles, but not so tight that you can't breath normally. Some people may find that just holding this position is enough to feel their 'abs' burning but if you want do to the full exercise then take one arm and the opposite leg down to the floor keeping the knee bent (moving from the hip only) and the elbow straight, then return to the start position. Repeat this 4-5 times each side without resting the arm or leg on the floor and then do the other side. These are safe to do every day.

Tips:

- To make sure you maintain the 'brace' as you do them, try to push your stomach down towards the floor but this doesn't mean sucking the stomach in - they are two different things

- The slower you move, the better as the muscles have to work harder to control your limbs

Bird Dog - I'm not making these names up, honestly! They are actual exercises :) This exercise is actually the Dead Bug reversed but slightly harder as it involves more stability (balance) and more muscle-groups working. Start on your hands & knees with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips, make sure your hands are shoulder-width apart & knees are hip-width apart and your back is in a 'neutral' position i.e. flat (not too arched and not too rounded either). With your face down but head back, brace/stiffen your abs again, push one leg straight out behind you pointing your heel firmly up to the ceiling (ankle fully flexed/bent) and locking the knee straight whilst simultaneously raising the opposite arm up in front of you next to your ear keeping the elbows locked straight.

Hold the position for 5-10 seconds trying not to let your lower-back collapse/sink or let your hips tilt to one side, imagine you have a drink balancing on the back of your pelvis and you don't want to spill it.

TIPs:

- Squeeze your buttock tight as you point the heel for maximum Glute activation - it will help improve your bum at the same time!

- Don't try to lift the leg too high as this will throw you off balance, inline with the buttock is enough

- Do them next to a mirror so that you can glance over now and again to check your technique

Planks - These are slightly more advanced so make sure you get a Personal Trainer or someone qualified or better still - me! to check your technique as you could potentially exacerbate your condition if you're doing it wrong without realising.

Start on your elbows/forearms (shoulder-width apart) and your knees which should be together. Drop your hips towards the floor but don't let them sink too low and don't let the lower-back 'collapse'. Keep your face down but head back and try not to shrug or hunch your shoulders. Once you've adopted a nice flat back position, brace or stiffen your abs again whilst digging your elbows down & back into the floor + squeezing your buttocks again - this should help you to fully engage your abdominal muscles. Hold for as long as you can without feeling pain in the lower-back or feeling the lower-back doing the work instead of the abdominals.

Tips:

- To progress the exercise, lift your knees off the floor & lock them straight whilst maintaining the same hips and lower-back position

- Make sure you're not rounding your shoulders or upper-back - once again do it side on top a mirror so that you can glance over now and again to check

- You should not feel pain or discomfort in the lower-back whilst doing this!

Pelvic Bridge - Classic glute strengthening exercise - great for back problems generally as it's a way of strengthening the glutes without loading the lower-back.

Start by lying on your back with your arms resting by your sides, knees bent with feet flat on the floor making sure your head is relaxed on the floor. Lift your hips as high as you comfortably can without over-arching your lower-back, hold at the top for a count of one or two squeezing your glutes (buttocks) and then return. Try to push through your heels as this will allow utilise your glutes more. You can start with say three sets of 10.

Tips:

- Once again, make sure you don't feel discomfort in your lower-back whilst doing this - you should feel most of the effort (or the 'burn') coming from your buttocks!

- Try holding at the top of the movement at the end of each set for 10-15 seconds!

So there you have it folks, four great basic exercises for general lower-back pain. As you can see, I've focused the exercises on the Abdominals and the Glutes as these are key parts of the 'Core' which tends to get weak in our sedentary based lifestyles. Generally, most back problems (particularly the lower-back) are due to weakness in the core muscles due to sitting too much and lack of physical activity. These exercises are relatively safe and can provide the foundation to do more advanced core exercises to get you back to activity again when you're in pain. Stretching is also important, but I'll cover that another time.

More to come soon,

Grant