Proven Chair Exercises for Lower Back Pain (with Video)

Your back can develop lots of serious problems when you’re seated for too long. No matter how well it is engineered, the nerves get compressed, resulting in pains in the hip, lower back, neck, and shoulders. It is up to you to take preventative measures like chair exercises for lower back pain or even an office ergonomic chair. With the right office tools and working techniques, you could reduce direct injury, indirect trauma, and control existing problems. We think you'll find these proven tips helpful in stabilizing and protecting your back.

What happens when your back is healthy and pain-free?

Our bones are arranged with muscles, ligaments, and tendons linked together in a system. This system is only capable of functional movements when each part is in an optimal condition. Strengthening the back muscles via exercising lowers pain and improves our posture and spine stability.

• Improving balance: Balance lets us walk upright and is critical to good musculoskeletal function throughout our lives.   
• No more pain: Poor exercising habits lead to lower back pain, strains the muscles. Incorporating some exercises can improve our health and reduce the chances of back pain.     

Enhancing core muscles

If the supportive muscles on your torso are strong, they will be able to support your spine better. You will feel tired from time to time, but you won’t be in pain or develop back problem risks. You can improve the condition of the core muscles through these exercises.

Cardiovascular exercises

Starting out with cardiovascular exercise combined with chair exercises for lower back pain is easy to do and very low impact, like walking. This exercise doesn’t overstress muscles that are already tired, and it helps improve blood flow. It stretches the muscles around the spine as well. A healthy blood flow supplies hydration, nutrition to the entire lower back area.   

Water therapy

Water therapy offers a wider motion range as the surface of the water is buoyant. You could use this exercise to improve tired leg muscles as the water has gentle friction to it to condition muscles. This therapy might be good for injured muscles, especially those who find exercising difficult for people with chronic back pain.    

Exercise ball

This is one of the best sitting exercises for lower back pain if you are on the flexible side or only have to deal with stiff muscles. Sit on an exercise ball intermittently for around 30 full minutes and do some stretch exercises. The stretches engage your core, rear and back muscles. Alternately, try a chair that stretches back to carry out these same exercises.     

Finally, if these exercises are too strenuous or painful, then get started on a smaller goal. You could try moving by going up or down a staircase, walking in a park. Else, head to the nearest physical therapist, health practitioner for advice on fixing those aches.

Build an ergonomic workspace

Back muscles will continue to ache even if you do take up regular chair exercises for lower back pain. What would be more effective in reducing recurring pain is an office chair lower back support. Investing in a good office chair model with an adjustable lumbar support position reduces fatigue and cramps. It also prevents you from slouching forward as you work and support the natural curvature of the spine. Without this appropriate support, you put excessive pressure on spinal discs and the lower back, resulting in disc degeneration. Try these things to add more support along the spine:

• Add an ergonomic chair for lower back pain to your desk. This can help align your back and thighs the right way.   
• If you can’t get a hold of an ergonomic chair right away, then roll up a small towel and place it where your spine curves whenever you sit. This gives you additional support in that area.   
• Switch over to an adjustable standing desk and work standing up for some part of your workday.

In addition to this, you could take up chair exercises with back support to facilitate back health. Begin with setting a timer to remind you to take frequent breaks, check posture, go for brisk walks to stretch out muscles.  

Resting your back after bending for too long

When bending forward for too long, either when seated, watering the garden, changes occur along with the ligaments and discs. It might last for a few minutes, but your spine isn’t stable during that time, and joints become stiff too.

This puts your lower back at greater risk of sudden injury when you exert even more stress on these tissues. For example, lifting a big fertilizer bag after bending for too long or getting up to lift a box at work after staying seated. What you could do is stand upright for some time to give your spinal tissues time to recover and retain their shape.   

Stretching hamstrings

Hamstrings that are tight and stressed out result in lower back pain too. The simplest way to overcome this is to stretch the hamstrings. This decreases the pressure on the pelvic region and relieves the lower back as well. To know what kind of hamstring stretches are good for you, speak with a physical therapist to understand how to modify the exercises.   

When following the video's exercises, ensure that you go through these steps to prepare your body.

• Lie fully flat on the ground with your legs fully stretched out
• To be more comfortable and for more stability when exercising, try a yoga or exercise mat.
• Begin your exercise routine, following each step carefully
• Hold each stretch for ten to thirty seconds, unless stated otherwise
• Repeat the stretch positions a couple of times 

Hamstring stretches keep the thigh area flexible and loose. These chair exercises for lower back pain can prevent lower back pain by reducing pelvic mobility. It even prevents it from getting too tight while providing more support for your pelvis and back. 

Loose hamstring muscles lower the risks of straining, tearing muscles during strenuous activities. When they are flexible, the hips have better movements that could help you carry out tasks easily. It improves your posture, as well. If the hamstrings are very tight, they can rotate the pelvis backward, flattening the lower back arch. When your body is this way, it leads to bad posture, uncomfortable seating.