Should I work out if I have low back pain?

I get this question all the time. Lower back pain is very common and most people are hesitant to exercise if they are in pain. What they don’t realize is if done properly exercise can help relieve this pain. Most lower back pain is caused by a combination of extra weight in the front of your body, weak muscles, and overly tightened muscles.

The extra weight in the front is an obvious problem, although it usually isn’t the main driver. Exercising will reduce your body fat which will make all movements easier on your joints. This is more of a long term solution, if you are looking to reduce your body fat everything discussed here will aide you. What these corrections will do is allow you to get the most out of your workouts.

So this leaves us with weak muscles and tight muscles. Think of your muscles as elastic bands that cross over a hinge (your joint, specifically in this case your pelvis).If both of these elastics are at the same tension, the hinge will remain in the right place. Now if one elastic is tighter it naturally sits at a shorter length. The opposite is true for the weakened elastics. If you stretch an elastic past its normal resting state consistently eventually it begins to stay at the longer length. To simplify this, let’s use your arm. Think about if your bicep was much stronger than your tricep. Your bicep would then naturally sit at a shortened state causing you to naturally have your arms bent all the time. It would make it difficult to extend your arms. This constant bend at your joint, would cause a major on strain on your elbow joint resulting in pain.

The same happens to your lower back. Most of us are sitting in a chair for the majority of the day. This causes your hip flexors (muscles that lift your upper leg) to naturally sit at a shortened state. This is because these muscles are contracted while sitting. On the other side your glutes (muscles that lower your upper leg) naturally sit at a longer state. The net result of this is your pelvis tips too far forward even when standing. This causes the vertebrae in your lower back to become compressed and results in your pain. Think of your pelvis as a bucket, you can tip it forward or backward. If you are tipped too far forward you will have pain in your low back.

The good news is that the proper exercise program can usually alleviate your pain quickly. You simply need to stretch out your tightened muscles and strengthen your weakened muscles. I am reluctant to post a program that accomplishes this, because if done improperly can further the injury. Below are the muscle groups you should target.

Strengthen:
Low Back
Abs
Glutes

Loosen:
Hip Flexors
Hamstrings
Calves

The same can be said for most joint pain (shoulder, neck, knees, ankles). Consult a certified personal trainer for a program fitted to your needs. In talking to them make sure they are aware of your pain and have experience and a plan to fix it, before moving on to your other goals.

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