Lower Back Pain! Need Exercises For Core Muscle Strength.

AARRRRGGGGGHHHH!!! Old lower back injury has reared its ugly head and once again stopped my progress. This area (just above the glutes) is so tight and inflamed that I am walking like a need a cane! In short, I am unable to exercise in anyway without intense pain so rest, ice, and massages are my life.

Sad part of the whole event is this happened outside of any type of exercise or activity! I now believe my core muscles are weak and need specific types of exercises to prevent future flair-ups. Help!

Please provide good quality core exercise techniques for strength and flexibility. {Background} Historically, I have not suffered with back pain. I squat, stiff leg dead lift, and utilize hyperextensions.

Thanks!

A lot of lower back problems come from short or tightened hamstrings.

A great stretch for hams

Lay on your back with both legs bent. Straighten one leg upward and grab behind the knee with both hands. Gently pull your leg towards your chest without bending your leg. Hold for a few seconds. Keep your head rested on the floor. Switch legs and repeat process.

The stretch has worked wonders with my lower back and hams.

Also this works great too. Lay on the floor with one foot flat against a wall. Your leg should be at a 90 degree angle at the knee. Bring your other foot up to your bent knee. Like if you were sitting at a chair with your foot resting on your knee. Put one hand on your foot (the foot on your bent knee) and the other on the crossed leg at the knee. Push on your crossed knee inward and you should feel the stretch on your outer hip extending to your glutes. Then switch.

These 2 stretches should loosen up your back.

Forum Rules & Guidelines

[image]http://www.bodybuildingjournal.com/bodybuilding/images/bbjbanner.gif[/image]

Great advice misanthropy- A lot of people don't realize the connection between the hams and the lower back.
It sounds like you're hitting your lower back well with those exercises you're doing- I've found that since I started lifting for my back, I never really suffer from back pain anymore- Are you sure your form's right?

The feedback is great, thanks!

Concerning my form. . . no doubt I have allowed my form to lag once in a while. I am most careful with back exercises since I have felt and have a healthy fear of back pain. I added stiff leg deadlifts to encourage good hamstring glute and back strength. I felt this would be a logical start toward beginning deadlifts.

Lessons learned so far. . . I will incorporate early morning stretching into my daily "to do" list and follow it as strictly are my lift form. Pain is a great if brutal teacher. [&o]

Stretching really helped me on the leg days. My lower back was hurting for some reason. Turns out my hamstrings were tight. Once I started stretching them before/after doing squats.. no more lower back issues.

Marc C. David
Support DB! Buy your supplements at Supplements101.com

Hey mda, Since I'm in the process of working core muscles with and without weights, I'll try to capture what and how I workout in a document and possibly adding pictures too.

How about I pass it onto you before I post. This way I'll get your feedback to clean it up first.

Work for you?

Sure. If you do a really good write-up with pictures.. that would be awesome!

Marc C. David
Support DB! Buy your supplements at Supplements101.com