Degenerative disc disease is a difficult condition to live with. However, it does not need to hinder the rest of your life.
Here are three things you can do to control your disc degeneration:
Hi, I'm Natalie and today Veritas Health is going to bring you a 12-minute exercise routine for low back pain. This is going to be a real-time exercise routine, so I encourage you all to go along and do these exercises with me.
Before I begin, if any of these exercises cause pain or worsen your symptoms, please discontinue and consult with your medical provider. These exercises are going to be good for helping with back mobility and for helping improve core strength.
The first exercise we're going to do is a pelvic tilt. You can lay on the ground or on your bed with your feet bent. You're going to draw your belly button in towards your spine, which will cause your back to round and push into the ground. Hold for 10 seconds.
Then relax. We're going to go through 10 of these, so nine more.
While you are holding the pelvic tilt, make sure that you are still breathing.
All right, we'll do number four.
You might feel your core muscles working. Number five.
Number six. Make sure that you are fully relaxing between each set.
Number seven.
Number eight.
Number nine.
And number 10.
Awesome. The next exercise we will do is called a prone press-up. You will lie on your belly with your hands on either side of your shoulders. You will then press yourself up, trying to keep your hips on the ground and hold for five seconds.
You can then go back down to the ground. We're going to go through 10 more of these. If this exercise is too much of a stretch, you can modify it by just coming up onto your elbows.
Once again, if these exercises increase your pain or worsen your symptoms, please discontinue and consult with your medical provider.
During this exercise, you might feel some pressure through your low back or a stretch through the front of your stomach. These sensations are all good as long as they're not painful.
Excellent. The next exercise we will do is going to be a straight leg raise. This exercise is going to be beneficial for helping strengthen the hips and the core muscles. You will lie on your back with one knee bent up and one leg straight. You will then lift your leg to about the level of your bent knee and then come back down. While doing this, try to keep your core tight and your back against the ground. Let's go through 10 of these.
If this exercises causes any pain down your leg, please discontinue and consult with your medical provider.
Great. Now we will switch to the other leg, so bend your other knee and let your other leg straighten out. We're going to go through 10 of these. Remember, try to keep your core tight and your back against the ground.
You should make sure these movements are nice and controlled. You might feel muscles along the front of your hip or your abdomen contracting as you go.
We'll now do a second set of 10. If you're having pain or feel really fatigued, it's OK to take a rest break.
Good. And we'll do one last set of 10 on the other side. Remember, keep your core tight and your back against the table or the ground. And remember to keep breathing throughout the whole exercise.
Awesome. The next exercise we'll do will be a bridge. This exercise will help strengthen the core muscles and the glute muscles. You'll lie on your back with both of your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. You will put your hands on the ground and then lift your hips up as high as you can go comfortably. Hold for about 10 seconds at the top.
We're going to work our way up to 10 of those.
If it is uncomfortable or hard, you don't have to lift your hips all the way off the ground.
You might start to feel your ab muscles or your glute muscles get a little fatigued with this.
Make sure you are still breathing throughout the whole exercise.
Good. The last exercise will do will be a prone leg extension. This exercise will help strengthen the back and the glute muscles. You will lie on your belly and you will tighten one glute muscle and lift your hip off the ground. Let's go through 10 repetitions on each side.
This exercise helps strengthen the glute muscles, so you might feel your muscles working through your hip and your glute region.
Good. And then you can switch to the other leg.
We'll do a second set. If this is too difficult, you can put your fists under your pelvis for a little bit of support.
Go to the other leg.
All right, nice job. To learn more about exercises that can be beneficial for low back pain, please visit us at Spine-health and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this. Thank you for watching.
In This Article:
- Living with Degenerative Disc Disease
- How to Lessen Pain from a Degenerated Disc
- Controlling Degenerative Disc Disease Pain: Three Things You Can Do
- Step Two of DDD Management: Reduce Lower Back Stress
- Step Three of DDD Management: Improve Nutrition
Step One: Stay active to slow the disc degeneration
Once pain is adequately controlled (it will most likely not go away completely) the most important thing patients can do is stay active.
Exercises not only preserve what functionality exists; they are the single best way of healing the back. Exercise increases the flow of blood and oxygen and other nutrients to the back and discs, thereby keeping them hydrated and as pliable as possible. Exercise can also improve one's sense of well-being by promoting the release of endorphins, a natural pain-reliever and stress reducer.
See Easy Exercise Program for Low Back Pain Relief
Staying active does not require a lot of innovation, but it does require planning, such as:
Strengthening and Aerobic Conditioning
Strengthening exercises improve muscle strength and reduce strain.
Alternating 30 minutes of strengthening exercises with low-impact exercise like walking, biking or swimming every other day can maintain flexibility and mobility, as well as control weight. For those who are in too much pain to tolerate much exercise, a gentle approach is best. Water therapy is particularly gentle on the lower back, as the water provides support for the weight of the body.
Stretching
Hamstring stretches promote flexibility and reduce muscle tightness in the lower back and legs.
Doing five minutes of stretches first thing in the morning and the last thing before bed will also significantly increase mobility. Hamstring stretching is almost always important for patients with lower back pain. Additional, more targeted stretching, such as piriformis stretches, may be advisable, depending on the patient’s diagnosis.
Investing in a few hour-long sessions with a physical therapist or certified athletic trainer knowledgeable about low back pain can provide adequate guidance and ideas for back exercises that can be done with and without exercise equipment.
