# Could someone suggest a routine to strengthen my core to help with back pain?



## PFM (May 22, 2022)

I herniated a couple lumbar discs almost 20 years ago and it still crops up and makes me bedridden every couple months. I need some sort of daily routine to help strengthen my core and back so it doesn't keep happening. Internet search sucks dick now and I don't frequent fitness forums so I'm having a hard time finding a routine that'll help with this. 

Suggestions please? Should I just focus on static exercises like planks and such? I remember reading situps are generally not very efficient and maybe even bad for what I'm looking to accomplish. Crunches? Back extensions? 

What do.


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## Shig O'nella (May 22, 2022)

Asymmetric stuff seems to help mine. Dumbells with different weights, planks with one hand elevated, that sort of thing. Forces the core muscles to compensate


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## eternal dog mongler (May 22, 2022)

Supermans, assuming you can do them without pain.


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## Uberpenguin (May 22, 2022)

I mean, you could just do something like pushups. If you do them correctly, keeping your back totally straight and making sure you go below parallel, they work pretty much your whole body. Just do like 20 pushups a day, you'd be shocked how effective it is, plus you can get down and do them whenever the hell you feel like.

Although also keep in mind that with back pain a lot of times if a person is feeling kind of worked up they can channel that into sensations of pain. I'm sure everyone knows that if someone gets appropriately anxious they can think they're about to die when they effectively have nothing wrong with them at all, so make sure you aren't ruminating on it too much.


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## PFM (May 22, 2022)

Uberpenguin said:


> I mean, you could just do something like pushups. If you do them correctly, keeping your back totally straight and making sure you go below parallel, they work pretty much your whole body. Just do like 20 pushups a day, you'd be shocked how effective it is, plus you can get down and do them whenever the hell you feel like.
> 
> Although also keep in mind that with back pain a lot of times if a person is feeling kind of worked up they can channel that into sensations of pain. I'm sure everyone knows that if someone gets appropriately anxious they can think they're about to die when they effectively have nothing wrong with them at all, so make sure you aren't ruminating on it too much.


Thanks for the advice. I do pushups nearly everyday, and yeah I keep my body completely straight.

Regarding the phantom pain, it's always after lifting something heavy, a day or so later I can barely get out of bed. The pain is god-awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Thankfully I only end up in that state a few times a year. The rest of the time when I fuck up my back it's a nagging pain that takes awhile to subside.


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## Leotardo DaVinci (May 22, 2022)

You should just try deadhangs, where every 10 seconds you bring your knees to your chest. It decompresses the spinal column and straightens you out.

Also things like percussion guns (those things instagram fitness guys use) and yoga is fantastic. I do about 15-20 minutes of stretching every morning and that has staved off a few injuries over the years.


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## PFM (May 22, 2022)

Leotardo DaVinci said:


> You should just try deadhangs, where every 10 seconds you bring your knees to your chest. It decompresses the spinal column and straightens you out.
> 
> Also things like percussion guns (those things instagram fitness guys use) and yoga is fantastic. I do about 15-20 minutes of stretching every morning and that has staved off a few injuries over the years.


Thanks for the tip on deadhangs, I'll give them a try. I already have a percussion messager and a willing person to use it on me and it's fantastic. I do need to stretch more, especially in the hips.


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## Permuto (May 22, 2022)

Not to assume anything, but is there a reason you're not working with a physiotherapist? Or is that already something you've done and it only went so far?


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## PFM (May 22, 2022)

Permuto said:


> Not to assume anything, but is there a reason you're not working with a physiotherapist? Or is that already something you've done and it only went so far?


Lack of insurance, to be honest. That changed recently so it's on my to-do list.


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## KatanaSenshi (May 24, 2022)

Have you ever heard of Dr.Stuart McGill? If not, I recommend you to read his book (Back Mechanic) or at least watch his interviews on Youtube. His exercise routine is a bit different from the conventional ones but they are definitely safer to practice because they are designed to avoid the potential damage to the spine.



Spoiler















Another important practice which helps to reduce the pain is, avoiding disk friction in the morning (i.e. basically keep your back relatively straight-ish after wake up). I don't know exactly why/how it works but it turned out to be more effective than conventional excercise only therapy in controlled trials. These videos ↓ are rather lengthy and a bit technical, but his explanation is pretty good.



Spoiler


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## eternal dog mongler (May 24, 2022)

PFM said:


> Regarding the phantom pain, it's always after lifting something heavy, a day or so later I can barely get out of bed. The pain is god-awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Thankfully I only end up in that state a few times a year. The rest of the time when I fuck up my back it's a nagging pain that takes awhile to subside.


Sciatica? Been there before. You need to get out of bed immediately like you're gonna fucking fight the rest of the world and stretch it out.

Sucks when you have to piss in the middle of the night though. Just hoovering over that toilet like well hope I hit it.


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## C.U.N.T. (May 24, 2022)

Can you activate your pelvic floor muscles? It's like trying to interrupt your piss mid-stream. You can start simply by doing this, gently, concentrating on smoothly, not jerkily activating, holding for a second or two while also tensing your abs then gently releasing X 5.
For me the best stretches for tight glutes/hip flexors affecting your lumbar has been the figure four stretch and hamstrings. 
Going back and forth between the sphinx and/or the cat and the child poses is good. Planks are great for core, boths sides. A foam roller is great to have handy.
Swimming or walking in a pool forwards, backwards and sideways helps by removing most gravity from the equation and adding resistance.
If you have access to a gym things like deadlifts, farmer's carry, tricep pull downs, rotational exercises also strengthen core muscles.


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