There are many causes of lower back pain, but most acute pain typically stems from muscle strains / ligament sprains. Muscle strains and ligament sprains can occur as a result of fatigue, overuse or improper use of the muscles. The following 5 exercises can help alleviate lower back pain and get you moving pain free again.

#1 Back Flexion Stretch

• Lie flat on back with legs fully extended
• Tuck knees in towards chest and use hands to hold knees in place
• Lift your head off of the mat until a stretch is felt along the mid/lower back
• Hold for 20-30 seconds before releasing

#2 Cat/Cow Stretch

• Starting on our hands and knees, making sure the shoulder is above the hands and hips are above the knees
• Inhale and extend the chest up, while dropping your bellybutton towards the floor. Imagine if you had a tail, extending your tail upwards like a happy puppy.
• Hold for a brief moment before exhaling and rounding the back leading with the tail bone, simultaneously tuck your chin in towards the chest
• Repeat for 15-20 repetitions

#3 Trunk Twist

• Lie flat on your back with both legs extended
• Bring your right legs towards your chest
• With your left hand push the right knee towards the left and onto the ground
• Extend the right arm out towards the side and turn head to face right hand
• Ensure shoulder blades stay in contact with the ground
• Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat with the other side

#4 Knee Rocks

• Lie flat on your back knees bent 45 degrees
• Put feet together and flat on the ground
• Rock knees from side to side as far as you can go without falling over
• Extend your arms 45 degrees to the side with palm side down to provide support
• Rock 10-15 times each side

#5 Glute Bridge

• Lie flat on your back with a 45 degree bend in your knees
• Feet shoulder width apart and flat on the ground
• Keep arms 45 degrees to the side, palm side down
• Lift hips off of the ground until a straight line is formed between the upper trunk, hips and thighs
• Squeeze glutes and contract abdominal muscles at the top
• Hold bridge position for 3 seconds before dropping back down gently
• Repeat for 12 repetitions

Why glute bridge you ask?

The glute bridge is the perfect exercise to improve hip mobility and increase lower back strength. The gluteus muscles are stabilizer muscles that support the pelvis and sacrum. If these muscles are not well conditioned it can result in pelvic tilt and induce lower back pain.

Kevin Kwok – Client Care Manager

Kevin enrolled in numerous sports program as a child, which exposed him to an active lifestyle early in life. He played ultimate frisbee competitively in at the junior level while in high school. Kevin now focuses his training exclusively on dragon boating. He has been paddling for the past 2 years and hopes to make the Canadian National Team in 2019. He hopes he can motivate others to accomplish their short and long term fitness goals.

The post 5 Exercises to Help Alleviate Lower Back Pain first appeared on Le Physique | Vancouver Personal Training.

Pushups are a great body weight exercise that help strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps and increase trunk stability. An essential and functional movement, understanding proper pushup technique and then incorporating them into your routine can have amazing effects on your overall performance, due to the complexity of the movement, use of the entire body and full body awareness it can create. Great pushup technique is even helpful in sport and activities like yoga and pilates. For example, newbie surfers will appreciate the application in popping up (getting up off your surfboard into an upright position).

Top 3 tips for proper pushups

1. Place your hands under your shoulders or slightly wider

Common mistake: hands are placed in front of the shoulders, so if you were to lay down with your hands in place, they would be at the level of your chin or ears, which is too far forward. Too far forward positioning can increase the stress to your shoulder joints, as your elbows tend to wing outward and forward, causing internal rotation and possible impingement of structures supporting your shoulder. In other words, potential shoulder and neck pain.

2. Maintain a straight plane through the hip and upper trunk

Common mistake: leading the movements with the head and shoulders on the pushup. This significantly compromises the intensity of the exercise, along with any improvements in trunk stability that you would experience.

3. Start to increase range of motion over time, as you become stronger

Common mistake: doing quarter range of motion pushups and always increasing the number of reps, versus increasing depth of movement to half, then full range of motion. Common mistake: Headbanger pushups. This is a combination of mistakes seen in tip 2a and 4a where you may notice someone doing many, many, many, pushups, but it really is a combination of many, many, many little elbow bends and head bobbing. This can lead to neck pain (you saw that coming, didn’t you?).

Rehabilitation Tips for Pushups

If your shoulders hurt

* Angle your elbows toward your feet, and imagine folding your arms in closer to your body, as though you are doing pushups in a skinny alleyway.

* Place your hands on a bench, table or stable surface like a fixed bar to reduce the angle, in order to decrease pressure in the shoulders, and focus on shoulder stabilization throughout the movement.

* In the top (plank) position, ensure your shoulder blades are in a neutral position before you begin the movement, and focus on keeping them there. Often people will shrug their shoulders up towards their ears during the movement potentially causing impingement.

If your neck hurts

* Have someone check to see if you are stabilizing your head in the proper position: neutral cervical spine and chin gently tucked.

If your wrists hurt

* Use push-up handles.

* Forms fists to push off of.

* Use the edge of an elevated, sturdy surface.

If your back hurts

* Lift, or keep your hips “high” to ensure they are not dropping below the level of your head (stay parallel to the floor, so they are on the same plane throughout the movement)

* Perform push-ups from your knees, so you can focus the effort on maintaining a strong core, before challenging your upper body

* Remember to engage your core before you start the movement

* Use the edge of an elevated, sturdy surface

The post Powerful pushups, done properly first appeared on Le Physique | Vancouver Personal Training.