Alleviating Back Pain: How Pilates can help your lower back
80% of people in the UK experience lower back pain in their lifetime.
That’s a huge statistic, meaning lower back pain is a common, widespread, health problem. Reassuringly, most of the time back pain isn’t caused by a serious medical condition and often can be significantly improved by strengthening & stretching muscles.
If you suffer from lower back pain it can take its toll on your physical and mental wellbeing, preventing you from enjoying other activities and completing everyday tasks.
Pilates is one of the most effective movement methods to help with lower back pain. We will explore ways to manage – and avoid – episodes of back pain.
Lower Back Pain: explained
Identifying the cause of back pain can be difficult, and sometimes frustrating as there is not always a clear anatomical cause. Back pain is often described as “non-specific” - (yes, this is actually a diagnosis!) Whilst getting a diagnosis is a good start to recovery, at times there can be no obvious reason for the pain.
Another category of back pain is “mechanical.” This is where problems with the joints, bones, or soft tissue around the spine can cause pain. Your physiotherapist or doctor will explain which tissues they think may be affected and use that to guide treatment.
The pain itself can range from mild discomfort to chronic. Usually, we expect pain to last 6-8 weeks, though in extreme cases this can be longer.
With certain symptoms, your doctor may recommend a scan to check for any underlying issues that may need further intervention. Most commonly, your doctor could prescribe a targeted exercise programme to help with the lower back pain. This is where Pilates comes in.
Common causes:
Stress, repetitive movements and lifting things awkwardly can all lead to back pain. Some common medical conditions can also contribute to pain. These conditions include:
Vertebral disc prolapse (commonly referred to as a slipped disc): where some material of the disc can cause irritation or pressure on a nerve. This can cause back pain and numbness, tingling and weakness.
Ankylosing spondylitis (an inflammatory disease affecting the spine): this causes pain and stiffness that’s usually worse in the morning and improves with movement. Over time it can lead to fusion of some of the joints in the spine.
Spondylolisthesis (a bone in the spine moving forwards out of position onto the bone below): this can cause lower back pain and stiffness, as well as numbness and tingling sensation.
Facet joint syndrome: this involves pain at the joint between two vertebrae in your spine. This would usually cause pain on one side of the lower back.
Muscle strains and tears: with muscular problems, lower back pain tends to be one-sided.
Treatments for lower back pain:
While each person with back pain will need to be treated individually there is general advice which applies to all.
Advice about managing back pain includes:
Visit a doctor: your doctor will be able to advise you on whether you have symptoms that indicate a scan or another form of treatment is needed.
Medication: using painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication to help you manage your pain – but it is important to check that the medicine is safe for you to use. Ask advice from a pharmacist if you’re not sure.
Stay active: it is important to continue with your daily activities as much as possible when suffering with an episode of lower back pain. Although it may feel difficult, keeping moving regularly has been shown to help people heal more quickly.
See a manual therapist: hands on treatment or massage can help to ease muscle tension, reduce pain and aid healing.
Meditate: studies show that meditation can help you tolerate pain better. It can also reduce stress and tension in the body, which in turn can help with pain reduction.
Use heat: heat packs or hot water bottles can help ease the pain.
Work on your posture: avoid sustained positions or repetitive movements. Practice Pilates to find good alignment.
Managing lower back pain:
When it comes to managing back pain, The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence recommends a combination of approaches. It emphasises the importance of exercise as well as manual treatment.
According to the NHS website, Pilates exercises can help back pain sufferers. If you’re injured or suffering with lower back pain, however, it is important to see an expert Pilates instructor who can prescribe exercises that are safe and beneficial for your condition.
At Yellow Pilates, we work closely with health clinicians at Perform Osteopathy who share our studio space. We create targeted exercises programs specific to your needs.
Benefits of Pilates for lower back pain:
1. Helps redistributes the forces in your spine
A stiff thoracic spine (mid-upper back) is something many people suffer with. It can cause, or exacerbate, lower back pain because a lack of mobility in the upper back generally means that lower spinal segments have to move more to compensate.
Luckily, many Pilates exercises improve mobility of the spine and are very effective at targeting the thoracic area. These exercises are designed to free up the segments of the upper spine so that they can do their job. This in turn takes some of the pressure off the lower back.
With dedication to your Pilates, these mobilising exercises, together with back strengthening work, will help improve your posture. Good posture will take pressure off your lower back. It should also help you avoid episodes of back pain in the future.
2. Targets the muscles that protect the spine
While there are many causes of back pain, studies show that weakening of the muscles of the trunk can be a primary cause. Luckily, Pilates exercises are known for effectively strengthening the trunk muscles.
Pilates exercises, like ‘the pelvic curl’ (link*) also help wake up the local stabilisers muscles which are the muscles that work to support the spine. For those with back pain this can be particularly helpful as dysfunction in these muscles can cause pain and instability in the spine.
3. Teaches your spine to function optimally
An episode of lower back pain can lead to you over-recruiting the glutes and hip muscles, which can then create more tension and pain.
This is where Pilates exercises like the pelvic tilt come in handy. These exercises teach muscle disassociation at your hips – a way of moving in the most efficient and natural way without muscle guarding.
8 Pilates exercises for lower back pain
1. Pelvic Tilt & Clock
Lie on your back, knees bent with your feet in line with your hips. Imagine your pelvis is a clock.
Tilt pelvis towards you (12 o’clock) and away from you (6 o’clock) and repeat 6-8 times
Return to centre and find the middle point: the neutral position
Tilt pelvis side to side (3 o’clock to 9 o’clock) and repeat 6-8 times
Try to smoothly and slowly move through each 4 points of the clock in a circular motion
Repeat in both directions
2. Lazy Hip Rolls
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, arms resting at your sides.
Gently let both knees fall to one side, as far as comfortable, while keeping your shoulders on the ground.
Return to centre, and repeat on other side.
Repeat 10 times on each side
3. Shell Stretch (child’s pose)
Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, and extend your arms forward on the floor.
Lower your chest towards the ground, extending your arms forward. Relax your forehead on the floor.
Hold for 20-30 seconds.
4. Heel Slides
Lie on your back with your legs extended.
Slowly slide one heel towards your glutes while keeping your foot on the floor. Slide it back to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.
Repeat 10 times on each leg.
5. Knee Circles
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Lift one knee towards your chest, stopping at 45 degrees
Make small circular motions with your knee.
Repeat 5-10 circles each direction for each knee.
6. Knee Floats (hover)
Find yourself on your hands and knees, with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
Lengthen the spine and take a breath through the nose.
As you breathe out, hover the knees off the ground without letting your pelvis lift too high.
Hold for 5 seconds, then smoothly lower the knees to the ground.
Repeat 5 times
7. Knee Press
Lie on your back with your head on the ground.
Lift your legs in table top position, with knees above the hips.
Lay both hands on the front of your thighs, just below your knees with your fingers facing up and your palms flat onto your thighs.
Breathe in. As you breathe out, press your hands into your thighs.
As you resist with the legs, find connection to your core and centre by drawing in the belly button towards the spine.
Release the pressure. Repeat 6 more times
8. Lower back circle (4PK)
Start on your hands and knees in four point kneeling position.
Without too much thought, move the pelvis in a circular motion.
As you circle your hips around in a large movement, allow the rest of the body to react however feels natural.
Repeat 5 times each way.
Yellow Pilates
If you would like advice or guidance on how to do any of these exercises, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We also have a range of in person 1-to-1 Pilates and group Pilates classes which can be tailored to your needs or requirements. So, if you wish to combat your lower back pain in the company of an expert, get in touch.
We offer:
Book an appointment at our fully equipped Pilates studios in Glasgow City Centre. Our studio is based at Oxford House, 71 Oxford Street, Glasgow.
For more information, please get in touch online by emailing hello@yellowpilates.com
