Lower Back Rehabilitation

Lower back rehabilitation for pain is a very important component to a patient’s treatment plan and should be implemented by a chiropractor or physiotherapist.

A teacher and now colleague uses this phrase with patients, “These exercises are as important as brushing your teeth.” “Every time you brush your teeth think about doing your exercises.” This is a very true statement. All patient care should be active care, which means you work with your doctor to beat your back pain.

When the muscles of the lower back and “core” become weak from injury or other underlying condition they must be exercised to function properly again.

For example, when the lower back becomes injured the “core” muscles must be rehabilitated to prevent future injuries to the lower back.

Another example is that person who sits all day at the computer or some other type of job that requires 8-10 hours of sitting down. These people start to experience low back pain because one of the biggest muscles in the body (the (G max) gluteus maximus) becomes inhibited (the brain doesn’t know how to use it) and the joints of the low back start doing the work that the G max should be doing. This can cause significant back pain. In this case the gluteus muscles must be rehabilitated to function properly and prevent future injury.

When injury does occur the spine must be stabilized before any rehabilitation program can begin. Patients in acute pain should not perform rehabilitation exercises unless prescribed by your health care provider.

After the initial acute pain phase the patient must be functional screened to find muscles that must be rehabilitated and the program should be started. The program should be started with light and easy exercise to “wake up” the muscle(s) found weak during the functional testing.

The cat-camel exercise is a good way to start the rehab program. The goal of this exercise is to increase spinal mobility and it should not be painful.

Lower back rehabilitation should progress through 3-4 phases working up to advanced exercise such as squats and lunges, for athletes progressions should include sport specific exercises.

Always consult your physician before starting any exercise or rehabilitation program. The exercises described on this website are not for everyone. Please consult your chiropractor for your specific needs.

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