Working With Lower Back Pain
How much of your day do you spend in flexion, such as leaning forward over the computer, sink, laundry, or steering wheel? To counteract that forward posture, let's talk about extension and backbends. One of the best exercises for this is bridge. My PT clinic teaches bridge to patients with low back pain. But it's all recycled yoga!
The glutes, lumbar paraspinals, and hamstrings are activated in the bridge (setu bandhasana) pose, while the quads and chest are stretched.
If you're unfamiliar with the bridge pose, start lying on your back with your knees bent. You can lie in bed or on the floor. Tilt your pelvis posteriorly, flattening your lower back to the floor. Press down with your feet and squeeze your bottom while lifting your hips. Depending on your flexibility or pain level, you may only lift your hips an inch off the ground. That's okay! With time, your flexibility will improve. I recommend 15-20 reps to my patients, but if you are a beginner or have back pain, start with 5-10 reps and hold for a few seconds on each one. Keep the legs parallel rather than letting the knees splay out. You can use a yoga strap or therapy band around the thighs to help keep the legs parallel.
Another way to perform bridge is to put your feet on a stability ball and lift your hips. This is more challenging because you must keep the ball steady as you lift. Keep squeezing your bottom when you lift and when you lower down.
If you have a yoga block, you can rest in the bridge pose with the block under your sacrum (the flat bone of your lower back). Remember that the blocks have three levels, so choose the lowest level to start. You can substitute a thick folded blanket if you don't have a block. I like to rest here for 2-3 minutes, but if you feel a strain in the lower back, start with one minute or less.
In-peace,
Lisa Neff