Here is a great beginner exercise for improving your glutes (gluteus maximus), which is a very important muscle to support your low back.
As a Personal Trainer, one of the first exercises I do with many of my clients is the glute bridge. This is a way for me to make sure the glute muscles are firing. If the glutes aren’t firing, then you may experience low back discomfort when doing this exercise. Also there may be a muscle imbalance in the hips, that should be addressed, this is information I need to design an exercise program.
.
The bridge is also a great way to stretch the hip flexors, which may get tight when sitting too much. It’s also a great exercise to recruit the gluteal muscles with minimizing the TFL. Check out this article form Pub Med explaining.
When the glute muscles are underdeveloped will not provide enough support for the spine. This could be a reason you experience back pain. If you do a series of exercises like this bridge exercise, squats, lunges, hamstring curls, abduction and adduction exercises every week then you can expect your back pain to go away in 4-6 months. Every body is different and will have a different rate of progression. But generally the people that come see me with back pain, it goes away once the muscle starts getting stronger to be more supportive to the lower back.
Another reason you may be experiencing back pain is because of a muscle imbalance. If some muscles are stronger than others, the muscles will start to pull at your spine causing discomfort. The reason they start pulling is to compensate for other muscles that aren’t pulling enough because they are too weak.
If you are experiencing back pain and would like to be more active, sign up for a free phone consultation at ValUfitness, value your body. 778-877-2847.