How to Exercise with Lumbar Muscle Strain
May 16, 2022
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Xu Ge
Introduction
Twist the waist and rotate the hips: Stand upright with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, relax your entire body, place your hands on your hips, and regulate your breathing. Keep your upper body essentially upright; the waist should move in coordination with hip rotation, avoiding excessive forward or backward bending of the torso.
Waist-twisting back-pounding exercise: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart; swing both arms naturally forward and backward as the waist rotates left and right. Using the momentum of this swinging motion, alternately tap the lower back and lower abdomen with your hands.
Lumbar muscle strain can be alleviated through the following three exercises:
1. Waist and Hip Rotation
Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, maintaining an upright posture with full-body relaxation. Place both hands on your hips and breathe evenly. Rotate your hips horizontally around the central axis of your waist. One complete rotation counts as one repetition; then perform the same movement in the opposite direction. Gradually increase the amplitude of rotation. Keep your upper body essentially upright, allowing your waist to move naturally with the hip rotation—avoid excessive forward or backward bending of the torso.
2. Waist Rotation with Back Tapping
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, maintaining an upright, relaxed posture and slight knee flexion. Let your arms hang naturally at your sides, with hands loosely clenched into fists. As you rotate your waist left and right, allow your arms to swing naturally forward and backward. Using this swinging motion, alternately tap your lower back and lower abdomen with your fists; adjust tapping intensity according to comfort and tolerance.
3. Touching Toes with Both Hands
Stand upright and relaxed, with feet slightly apart. First, raise both arms overhead while gently arching your back backward as far as comfortably possible; hold briefly. Then, slowly bend forward from the hips, sliding your hands down your legs toward your feet—attempting to touch your toes if possible—and hold momentarily before returning to the upright position. Keep your knees fully extended (do not bend them) during forward flexion, as bending the knees reduces effectiveness. Elderly individuals and those with hypertension should perform this movement slowly and cautiously.
