Low Back Pain? Start Here: 5 Low Back Pain Exercises from OSCW Coaches"

"My Back Hurts"

Welcome to the club.

At some point, almost everyone deals with low back pain. Athletes. Office workers. Parents. People who sit too much. People who stand too much. People who bent over to pick up a sock and suddenly aged 40 years.

The good news?

Most low back pain isn’t a life sentence.

In many cases, movement is part of the solution.

Before we go any further:

If you have severe pain, numbness, loss of strength, pain traveling down your leg, or symptoms that aren’t improving, please consult a qualified medical professional.

For everyone else, here are 5 simple movements that often help.

1. Band Resisted Cat to Camel

See the band resisted Cat to Camel video here.

Move slowly between rounding and arching your back.

Don’t force it. Just create motion. The point of the band is to force you to breathe into and around it as you move.

5-10 slow reps.

EXTRA: Try this modified Pigeon pose with Cat to Camel on a yoga block.

2. “Grounded Flag Pose”

See the Grounded Flag Pose here.

Sweep your left leg behind you as you stay steady with your right foot and right hand hard into the rack. Once your left foot is planted at the base of the rack. Reach as best as possible your left arm as far up into the right as you can. If you’re able to do so , hold your left hand over your head with your right hand by your side and lean as far to the left. Breathe through this position as you’ll get your lats, your obliques and lower back muscles in a stretch. Sit back toward your heels and reach your arms long.

30-60 seconds per side.

3. Glute Bridge

Simple and Effective. Your glutes are supposed to help your low back.

For many people, they’ve been on vacation for years.

Drive your hips up, squeeze, and lower under control.

8-12 reps.

4. Banded Supine Hip Decompression:

See the banded supine hip decompression here.

Setting up sturdy with a 1 to 2 inch thick band wrap it around the small of your back get yourself into a bridged position. Make sure that the anchor or the rack is truly sturdy create as much distance as you feel like you can handle obviously with the band you need to make sure once it’s on your hips and you stay glued with your heels into the floor it’s going to pull down on your hips and decompress the spine. Stay here for a while anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes play around with the distance from you to the tether for the desired effect.

5. Sled Drag/Reverse Drag:

See the sled drag/reverse drag here.

Not revolutionary. Utilize a “3D” strap to wrap low on the hips or just above the hips, depending on how you’re needing to feel this. This is not uniform for feeling everyone’s gonna need to play around with where the strap is on your hips whether it’s high or low. If you’re a compressed person (breathing wise and postural) and spend a lot of time with issues with balance, you’re gonna want that lower on the base of your hips. If you have better control, you’re gonna have this slightly higher.

Still one of the best things you can do.

A brisk 3 sets of 15-30 yards will should suffice with not a ton of load on the sled. This gets the glutes and quads moving while maintaining a good position for your pelvis and hips that tend to influence the lower back.

The Big Takeaway

Low back pain is often a movement problem, not just a stretching problem. The goal isn’t to become a professional stretcher. The goal is to move well, get stronger, and build resilience.

And remember:

Your back is strong. It may be irritated. It may be sensitive. But it’s rarely as fragile as the internet would have you believe.

Try these low back pain exercises daily for a week and see how you feel. We’ll help you find the right movements, the right amount of exercise, and a plan designed specifically for you.

Your back has been talking. It's time to listen — and do something about it. Book session with an OSCW coach and get a movement plan built around you.

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