Best Core Exercises That Won’t Harm Your Back

We hear about the core and the importance of strengthening the core all the time.

The core consists of several key muscle groups – the abdominals, obliques, pelvic floor, glutes, erector spinae (ES), latissimus dorsi and trapezius to name just a few.

Yes, a strong core prevents back pain and injury. But HOW you strengthen it is crucial.

Why Do You Need A Strong Core?

Decrease risk of injury – A weak core and abs are heavily linked to back pain and back injuries. Take prehab into your own hands and make your core as strong as possible to lessen the likelihood of injury.
Improve performance – Whether you’re an athlete or just the average person completing your day-to-day activities, strengthening your core will help you perform all kinds of movements better.
Increase spinal stabilization and body control – Your core wraps around your entire midsection. It’s much more than just the 6-pack muscle we often associate with our abs and core. Exercises like the ones we show here provide increased body stabilization.

Overall, a strong core and the right core exercises improve balance and stability, promote good posture, alleviate back pain, and aid the movement of daily activities.

Protect Your Spine! BEST 3 Core Exercises That Won’t Harm Your Back!

There are safe and effective ways to strengthen the core muscles without straining your back.

Exercises that maintain a neutral spinal position, as opposed to bending, are the best way to improve core strength while protecting and preventing back pain.

Modified Curl-Up: Lying on your back with one knee bent and one straight puts the pelvis, spine and core muscles in optimal alignment. Place your hand under the arch of your lower back, and press into your hand each time you lift your upper back off the floor. 10-12 curl-ups, 3x.
Bird Dog: On all fours with hands directly below your shoulders and knees directly below your hips, squeeze your abs and glutes. Lift right arm up to shoulder level and left leg back up to hip level. Repeat with the opposite side. 8-10 reps, 3x.
Side Bridge: On your side, place your elbow directly under your shoulder. With your top foot on the ground in front of your bottom foot, lift your hips off the ground. Reach your top hand up or place it on your bottom shoulder. Squeeze your abs and glutes, and hold. 8-10 seconds, 3x.

Disclaimer: If you experience pain at any point during any exercise, stop! Pain is the body’s way of saying something is wrong, so don’t push yourself. Consult a doctor or medical professional if the pain persists.

Our back pain chiropractors and rehab specialists work one-on-one with patients to ensure exercises are being performed correctly, and to tailor exercises to the patients’ specific needs.

What Not To Do! Top 3 Exercises to Avoid

Some popular, go-to core exercises can cause back pain and spine-related injury. Here are the top 3 exercises that you should avoid to prevent back pain:

Crunches
Side Twists
Superman

The core muscles – abdominals, glutes, and muscles of the torso keep the spine and pelvis in proper alignment and stabilize the body during movement. They need to be trained in conjunction to stabilize the lower back, but many traditional exercises work muscles in isolation.

In fact, according to spinal research expert Dr. Stuart McGill, people who perform isolated exercises tend to get hurt sooner than those who do exercises that work to strengthen all the muscles together.

MYTH: Doing ab exercises will make you lose weight in your midsection. Some people follow a claim called spot reduction, which says exercising a certain area or muscles will cause weight loss in that area. For example, someone may do an unreasonable amount of ab exercises just in an attempt to reduce belly fat. The reality is… this is not the best way to reduce fat mass! A consistent, full-body resistance training routine incorporating exercises for your core is a great, scientifically proven way to increase lean body mass while decreasing fat mass.

Understand The Impact

The healthy limit for low back compression is 3,300 N, as set by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The top 3 exercises to avoid impose the following compression:

Sit-ups place 3,500 N of compression on the spine
Curl-ups on a stability ball impose 4,000 N
Supermans result in 4,300 N of compression

1 sit-up compresses 786 pounds on the lower back. Repeat that movement over and over, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster (long-term chronic pain).

Contact Our DMV Back Pain Chiropractors Today

Treat your back pain at one of our 4 convenient locations:

We treat the following back pain conditions:

Upper and Lower Back Pain
Arthritis
Pregnancy-Related Back Pain
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Back Injuries
Post-op / Pre-op