Exercise Treatment for Back Pain

Developed by Allan M. Levy, M.D.

1) Knee Pull
Lie flat on your back and grasp one knee with interlaced fingers. Keeping your back flat, pull your knee toward your chest and hold for 20 seconds. Switch to the other knee and repeat the stretch.

2) Forehead to Knee Stretch
Lower your forehead between your knees while standing. Go as far as you can go, and then grasp behind your knees and try to go a little farther. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Start with three repetitions and then increase gradually by one every other day until you reach 12 repetitions.

3) Hurdler Stretch (Standing)
While standing, put one foot on a chair in front of you. Now bend your forehead forward and try to touch it to your knee. Use the same number of repetitions as for the forehead to knee stretch. Repeat with the other leg.

4) Pelvic Tilt
While lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, relax the back muscles and tighten your abdominal and buttock muscles to press your back flat against the floor. This will tilt your pelvis forward. Once you have a totally flat back, do the same number of repetitions as for the forehead to knee stretch.

5) Abdominal Curl
Lie on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, with your hands clasped behind your head. Slowly curl your shoulder blades up off the floor, leaving your back on the floor. Hold for five seconds and slowly lower your head and shoulders. Start with five repetitions, increasing the number by five as the curls get easier.

6) Reverse Sit Up
This should not be started until later in the program. This involves working with a partner, who will have to hold your legs down. Lie on your stomach on a table, with only your legs and pelvis on the table. Have your partner hold your ankles while you bend at the waist off the edge until your forehead is pointing to the floor. Then slowly lift your upper body until it is horizontal again. Do five repetitions and add two at a time as this becomes easier.

7) Back Extension
Lie on your stomach. Raise your head and shoulders. Hold for 10 seconds, and then return and relax. Do five repetitions, build up by twos as it becomes easier.