Dealing with back injuries and chronic pain can be extremely frustrating. These things can impact your life in a variety of ways, especially when it comes to the way you exercise.
If you are one of the many people out there struggling with a lumbar disc herniation, it is important to understand how to exercise without causing yourself pain or making the condition worse. Symptoms of this condition are numbness and tingling in the lets, decreased strength, diminished sensations, and generalized back pain.
Here are a few recommendations for your exercise regime:
- Avoid “Good mornings”
In this exercise, weight is placed on the shoulders. The next step is to bend forward at the hips, allowing your chest to drop toward the floor while maintaining a straight spine and legs. A “good morning” is problematic when you put too much of a load on your lower back and buttocks.
Instead, consider trying a “waiter’s bow.” This exercise involves bending forward from the hips, gently placing your hands on a bed, while allowing your body to rock back just slightly. When performing this exercise, always remember to maintain the natural curve in your lower back. When returning to a standing position, squeeze your buttocks while drive your hips forward.
- Avoid a standing hamstring stretch
While it’s important to stretch your hamstrings daily, this stretch could cause serious issues when dealing with a lumbar herniation. This is due to the fact that the stretch allows the back to compensate and bend forward, which places unnecessary stress on the front half of the disc.
Instead, do this stretch while lying down. Remember to stretch both legs, but only one at a time. This will allow you to stretch without putting too much stress on your body.
If you are suffering from lumbar disc herniation, but are wanting to begin a new exercise regime, contact A Family and Sports Chiropractic Clinic today. There you will find a chiropractor in Vancouver WA who understands how athletic activity can make things better or make them worse. Click here to call them today.