Strengthen Your Core After Back Injury

Back injuries are not only painful, they also take a long time to recover. They can happen because of multiple reasons ranging from lifting weights the wrong way to an accident. If the injury is mild to moderate, you can do exercises and therapy to get over it. But if the injury is serious, you could end up having surgeries followed by rehab, medication and therapy.

Most people, after getting their backs injured, let themselves go. They stop working out altogether and wait for the back to heal before doing anything. That is where they go wrong. Exercise is an important part of the healing process and without it, you might be looking at a longer healing time. Exercise ensures that you have a good posture, a stable core, more movement in your muscles and your spinal discs.

GETTING BACK IN THE GAME

The key to a healthy life after suffering back injury is to get back in the game gradually. Don’t wait for your back to heal completely before you start your routine life but don’t overdo it either. The three principles that ensure steady progress throughout your treatment and rehabilitation are:

BREATHING

This is the one thing that we forget every time we are tense or under pressure. Whenever you feel pain in your back, or are stopped from doing something that you took for granted before the injury, just take three deep breaths. Inhale and exhale. That’s it.

ACCEPTANCE

Injuries take time to heal. The greater the injury, the more recovery time you’re going to need. Don’t think that a couple of days are enough for your back muscles or discs to heal and start lifting the same weights that you used to. There is no quick fix when it comes to back injury. Keep this in mind and you will see steady progress in your routines and you’re healing.

AWARENESS

Most people don’t realize just how complicated it can get after an injury. Study up on it. Ask your doctors and therapists and stay aware of your movement and postures. This will help you identify your bad habits and let go of them.

Once you exit your orthopedic clinic and the doctors allow you to start rehab exercises, start with basic core strengthening exercises and gradually increase your regimen. This is imperative if you want to reduce your back pain and get your proper movements back. Never go against the guidelines that your doctor, your therapist, or your surgeon has prescribed for you. 

PELVIC TILTS

This is one of the most basic moves for core strengthening. It helps with your anterior and posterior tilting of the spine and develops muscles. It also introduces a range of movements for your pelvis and lower back.

Lie on the ground. Place your feet flat on the floor. Now tilt your pelvis towards the ribcage. Hold the position for three to five seconds and then tilt your pelvis away from the rib cage. Hold this position for three to five seconds and relax. Repeat this motion for 60 seconds.

LEG SLIDES

Lie on the ground, face up. Place your hands on your hip bones and straighten your spine. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your knees in the air. Take a deep breath and as you exhale, move your right leg and slide the heel on the ground until the leg is parallel to the ground. Bring it back up and repeat with the left leg. You can start with five reps and take it up to ten.

HIP BRIDGE

This exercise will greatly help you with your posterior muscles, hips and legs. Lie on the ground. Place both your hands next to your sides and your heels near your glutes. Lift your hips into the air. Make sure that your feet and your shoulder blades stay on the ground. Hold this position for ten seconds and then come back down. Do five to ten reps.

BIRD DOG

This exercise will help strengthen your core and hip musculature while providing overall stability. Get in an all-four position, on your hands and knees. Make sure that your hands and knees are hip-distance apart. Extend your right arm in front of you with your palm facing left and your thumb pointing to the ceiling. At the same time extend your left leg behind you and flex your foot. Hold this position for five to ten seconds and come back to the neutral position. Repeat with your left arm and right leg.

SIDE PLANK WITH MODIFICATION

This exercise is to help you with the stability and strength of your shoulder blades. Sit on the floor and tilt on your right side. Bend the bottom knee and arm 90 degrees. Keeping your right shoulder away from your ear, lift your hips off the ground. At the same time, lift your left arm straight towards the ceiling. Hold this position for ten seconds and then repeat for the left side.

90 DEGREE LEG SLIDE

This exercise will help increase your body’s movement. Lie flat on the ground on your back. Lift both your knees to 90 degrees. Now extend your right leg until you feel your core being engaged. Keep this position for three to five seconds and then return. Now repeat with your left leg. You can start this exercise from five reps and gradually increase the reps as you feel your core strengthening.

VARIATION OF BIRD DOG

This is a variation to the bird dog. Get in the all-four position, on your hands and knees. Make sure that your hands are shoulders apart and your knees are hip-distance apart. Extend your right arm in front of you with the thumb facing the ceiling. At the same time extend your left leg behind you. Maintain this position for five seconds and then bring your right elbow and left knee toward each other and then extend the limbs. Complete five reps and then switch sides.

We all know that back injuries take a lot of time to heal, not to mention patience. But with these core exercises, you will be able to speed up the healing process and get back to your regular life as soon as possible.

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