Best Lower Back Exercises at Home | Relieve Lower Back Pain And Feel Fantastic

Hi everyone, today I am here with Rich, also known as Doc Beaubien. He’s going to share with you his top three exercise recommendations for lower back exercises at home. Rich is a doctor of chiropractic, and I asked him if he would shoot this video with me because I know that lower back pain is such a widespread problem. I personally know how debilitating it can be as well.

I also believe that there are a few misconceptions about the best way to treat lower back pain. So hopefully through having an understanding of these sorts of exercises, Rich will help clear up some of the confusion for you.

Lower back pain exercise video

If you’re ready to learn about back pain exercises at home, click on the video below. There are lots of back pain exercise videos on the net but I know you’ll get value from this particular one. Rich is highly qualified and experienced with treating lower back pain. We hope his advice on lower back exercises at home helps you as much as it has helped countless others before.

As an alternative to the video, scroll down below the video to read what Rich has to say.

Elly: So Rich, as you know, I’m 29 weeks pregnant. So I am going to leave the demonstrations to you.

Rich: All right.

Elly: So let’s get straight into it. So what are your three top recommended exercises to relieve lower-back pain?

Rich: All right. So there are three lower back exercises at home we’re going to go through that generally will work on most conditions. Obviously this isn’t meant to diagnose anything. These are the things that I would have most of my patients try before they came in, if they’ve been healthy for a while. All right?

So usually we focus on the piriformis because that tends to be what gets people. You may feel it in your back, but really it’s the hip and this piriformis muscle or the external rotators.

You don’t want to pick on the piriformis. It’s all those muscles right in here that get tight because we’re sitting all day long, because we sit for a living as a society, basically. And because of that, we need a way to kind of loosen those things up so it takes the pressure off our lower back.

Elly: Right. I love piriformis stretches, and releases, so why don’t you show us your favorite one. I’ll just sit here for a little.

Lower back exercises at home: Trigger point release

Rich: All right. So, we’re going to start with my favorite mobility device. I bought this trigger point therapy ball. You can use a lacrosse ball. It was just what I had with me while I was traveling. So I take this and put it underneath my right glute, and I’m just going to kind of roll around.

And then, if you find a tender spot … now this is where I’m going to differ with some people. Some people say you find that tender spot, you hold it and you don’t move. If you are insistent to do that, if you find that spot, I need you to find it, and you’re going to hold it.

Then you need to take deep breaths, because if you don’t, you won’t activate your core muscles and your nervous system’s going to be like, “Oh my God that hurts. Please get off it”. And at that point it’s just going remain, it’s going to stay tight. I prefer to just kind of roll around and just get all that fascia nice and mobile.

It’s just kind of like finding the sweet spot, rather than pushing it too far and…

Elly: Absolutely.

Rich… and looking for the pain, which never …

You don’t want to go live in the pain cave.

Not right on it.

No, no one does. It’s dark there.

Elly: We’re trying to get out of the pain cave.

Rich: Exactly.

We’re trying to relieve our lower-back pain.

So, now if you find that you’ve rolled around for 30 seconds and still have nothing, cross that leg over and let you get a little bit deeper in there.

Lower back exercises at home: Glute stretch

All right, next in our lower back exercises at home is my favorite stretch. So this is great for when you’re in the office and you got to do something, but you can’t get on the floor. All right so we’re in the chair, and I have no head, but …

Elly: That’s all right. We can see the part we need to see.

Rich: We grab the ankle, we grab this leg, we sit up straight, and we hug towards us. All right? I know this looks a little different. Everybody always wants to do this [classic piriformis stretch]. I find that causes more harm than good, so we’re going to sit up straight and pull it towards us.

Elly: So can you just explain where they should be feeling that stretch?

Rich: You should always feel this right in there. Now, give it a little time. It’s not always going to come right away, but as you sit, take some deep breaths. As you release your breath, most of it will release a little bit, and the muscle will release a little bit and you’ll go a little bit further.

[As I mentioned earlier, Rich is a doctor of chiropractic. His prescription is similar to physiotherapy exercises for lower back pain since he looks at stretching AND strengthening surrounding muscles].

Lower back exercises at home: Core exercises

Rich: And lastly core exercises for lower back pain. Now, I know there’s a lot of people that have a lot of ideas what core exercises should be for back pain. These are mine, because they have the least amount of risk for making your back pain worse. So they are a superman. Now, we’re going to do the easy version of superman. We’re going to just have my left arm and my right leg.

Now, if this hurts, obviously, don’t do it. And switch. You’re going to hold for 10 to 30 seconds, or until you can’t. Do it two or three times a day.

Now, we’re going to do a bridge. Hips up. Hold it. Again, 10, 20, 30 seconds, whatever works for you. And you’re done with that. Sometimes the single best exercise for lower back pain can be to strengthen the glutes. And that’s why the basic bridge is a great choice for one of your lower back exercises at home.

Last but not least, is a side bridge, or a side plank. However you like it, you can do it. Come off the floor 10, 20, or 30 seconds. Come down. And then switch sides. Now, if you find that this one’s too simple, you can always put this foot on top, come on top here. But it’s quality over quantity. All right? Those are my exercises I like to do.

Elly: Oh, awesome. Thanks.

Rich: You’re welcome.

Recap of back pain exercises at home

Elly: So let’s just recap over those three exercises. So the first one that Rich did was a release through the glutes by using the trigger point ball. I understand you can also a foam roller, if you had one.

Rich: Yes. That would be fine.

Elly: The trigger point gets in there a little bit more with the glutes though doesn’t it?

Rich: Yes, it does.

Elly: So we’ve got the release. Second, we had the stretch of the glutes, which is done slightly different to maybe a piriformis stretch that you may have been taught, with a technique that’s slightly different. And then, third were the core exercises. So we had the superman, the glute bridge, and the side plank.

So you’ll notice that Rich’s techniques, none of them involves stretching the heck out of your lower back.

Rich: Nope.

Elly: Okay, so his approach was to deeply release, deeply stretch and to strengthen those supporting muscles that are going to help you to have a strong lower back.

And you know whilst a lower-back program should always be individualized, I hope that these recommendations help provide you with a good foundation to get started and to understand the holistic nature of helping your lower-back pain. So, thanks Rich. If you enjoyed this video, make sure that you like, comment, and subscribe for more. Thanks for watching.

Rich: Thanks for having me.

Elly: Cheers. Ta da.

Related reading

For more great back exercises and stretches, a TRX is a great piece of kit that provides you with many additional options. If you have a TRX or you’d like to find out about what you could do with one, check out these back exercises using a TRX.

For yoga-specific postures, try these yoga poses for back pain. If you also suffer from tension headaches, try these five simple yoga postures to help relieve tension-related headaches. You might also be interested in these other therapeutic modalities for chronic pain relief.

Plus, read about these holistic approaches to better spine health and these ergonomic tips for creating a spine-friendly environment.

Have you tried these lower back exercises at home? Do you have any other suggestions for back pain exercises at home which work for you? If so, please leave a comment in the box below!