It may surprise you to hear that there is a muscle that does not get enough attention when it comes to lower back pain exercise.
This muscle performs a very important function in lower back stability, and if its weak, creates instability and therefore can lead to back pain.
If its too tight, the lack of blood flow can cause back pain too! What muscle is this? Your glutes! Pardon the anatomy term, but (no pun intended!) we're referring to your butt muscles.
These large, powerful muscles provide an under-emphasized solution for back pain sufferers.
Their job is to stabilize the pelvis, prevent the excessive movement forward of it, called anterior pelvic tilt, and to stabilize your hips.
Your glutes rotate your thigh bones outwards, and reduce the forces that go through your knees and ankles in activities such as walking, jogging, and especially running.
If your glutes are not strong enough, or are not turning on at the right time, excessive anterior pelvic tilt and internal rotation of the thigh bones results.
This type of postural imbalance, is one of the most common that leads to lower back pain.
Chronic tension in your glutes can be a problem as well.
Too much tension in any muscle causes a lack of blood flow to the area.
Movement of muscles, through contraction and relaxation, creates a sort of pump to move fluids around.
Lack of circulation and tight muscles are a common contributor to lower back pain.
We've discussed the muscle, so now, what is the exercise? The most convenient, easy to do exercise for your glutes is simply squeezing them together! That's right, isometric contraction and relaxation of your glutes provides a "pumping" action to improve circulation, and reduce postural imbalances that may be present as a result of them not being activated.
This can be done in a standing position, sitting position, any time or any place to assist in providing relief from lower back pain or stress.
Think about it, when was the last time you were standing in line somewhere, and your back started to ache? This would be a perfect time to gently squeeze your glutes and relax them a few times.
Don't worry, this is not noticeable to people around you.
Contracting and relaxing about 5-10 times can be just the trick to making your back feel better and your experience more pleasant.