Check out these great tips for low back pain..Thanks, Luke!

In addition to visiting Dr. Russell for treatments, there are a few simple exercises you can do at home to help reduce back pain.

Lower back pain is often started by misaligned hips. When your hips don't line up the way they are supposed to, they cause your low back to take on the strain that should be loaded on strong glute muscles.

So, to help Dr. Russell keep your hips aligned and get rid of back pain, you need to focus on 3 simple things:

1. Loosen up the muscles that are pulling your pelvis out of place


2. Activate and strengthen your butt muscles to train them to carry your upper body


3. Develop lower back endurance

Below are some of the exercises we use in my Carson City Bootcamp that you can easily do at home - they'll help you a lot. And at the bottom of this post is a simple routine that uses all of these exercises to address the CAUSES of low back pain - misalignment and neural deactivation.

Fire Hydrants and Hip Circles



These strengthen your gluteus medius and really loosen your hips up.

If you spend any time at all sitting during the day, you NEED to be doing hip circles to keep your hips loose.

A key with these is to keep your back flat while you move your legs.

Hip Flexor Stretches



Your hip flexors are the muscles that pull your knee up toward your body. When you sit, these muscles are shortened.

Over time, your hip flexors will tilt your pelvis out of alignment. This keeps your nice strong glute muscles from being able to do any work and you wind up with low back pain and a lack of tone in your butt.

The key to this stretch is to actually STRETCH. Too many people just go through the motions. Push into the hip you're stretching - hard.

Glute Bridges



These are one of the best exercises for activating your butt muscles. This wakes up the nerves in your glutes and gets them ready for action - like supporting your back.

An important thing to remember is to press down through your heels... if you press with your toes your quads take over a lot of the work.

Bird Dogs



This is a key exercise for lumbar endurance. Dr. Stuart McGill has shown that for preventing back injuries, endurance is more important than strength.

By keeping your spine in a neutral position, you are training the muscles in your back to support you.

To get the most out of this exercise, point your arm straight out in front of you and have your leg lifted level straight behind you.

Bridging Leg Lifts



This is a combination exercise that works on glute and low-back endurance, while simultaneously loosening your hamstrings.

The biggest thing to remember is to keep your hips as high as you can and stretch back as far as you can while keeping your leg straight.

A Quick And Simple Program To Reduce Back Pain

1. 3 way hip flexor stretch - 20 seconds each position - repeat other side


2. Piriformis stretch - 30 seconds each side


3. Glute Bridges - 20 reps with a squeeze at the top


4. Bird Dogs - 30 seconds each side


5. Bridging Leg Lifts - 10 each side

There you go, five easy exercises that will help get rid of your back pain! Go for it!

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Luke Wold is a personal trainer in Carson City, NV. He offers rapid weight loss fitness training and nutritional programs to anyone who wants to look great quickly.