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Back Pain Exercises
Exercises to minimize problems with back pain
You can minimize problems with back pain with exercises that make the muscles in your back, stomach, hips and thighs strong and flexible. Some people keep in good physical condition by being active in recreational activities like running, walking, bike riding, and swimming. In addition to these conditioning activities, there are specific exercises that are directed toward strengthening and stretching your back, stomach, hip and thigh muscles.
Before beginning any exercise program, you should discuss the program with your doctor and follow the doctor's advice. It is important to exercise regularly, every other day. Before exercising you should warm up with slow, rhythmic exercises; if you haven't exercised in some time, you can warm up by walking. Inhale deeply before each repetition of an exercise and exhale when performing each repetition.
Exercises to strengthen your muscles
Wall slides to strengthen back, hip, and leg muscles
Stand with your back against a wall and feet shoulder-width apart. Slide down into a crouch with knees bent to about 90 degrees. Count to five and slide back up the wall. Repeat 5 times. 
Leg raises to strengthen back and hip muscles.
Lie on your stomach. Tighten the muscles in one leg and raise it from the floor. Hold your leg up for a count of 10 and return it to the floor. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat five times with each leg.
Leg raises to strengthen stomach and hip muscles 
Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Lift one leg off the floor. Hold your leg up for a count of 10 and return it to the floor. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat five times with each leg. If that is too difficult, keep one knee bent and the foot flat on the ground while raising the leg.
Partial sit-up to strengthen stomach muscles
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on floor. Slowly raise your head and shoulders off the floor and reach with both hands toward your knees. Count to 10. Repeat five times.
Back leg swing to strengthen hip and back muscles
Stand behind a chair with your hands on the back of the chair. Lift one leg back and up while keeping the knee straight. Return slowly. Raise other leg and return. Repeat five times with each leg. 
Exercises to decrease the strain on your back
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your bed or floor. Raise your knees toward your chest. Place both hands under your knees and gently pull your knees as close to your chest as possible. Do not raise your head. Do not straighten your legs as you lower them. Start with five repetitions, several times a day.
Stand with your feet slightly apart. Place your hands in the small of your back. Keep your knees straight. Bend backwards at the waist as far as possible and hold the position for one or two seconds. 
For more information on "Prevent Injuries America!®," call the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' public service telephone number 1-800-824-BONES (2663). or visit their website at: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org
Experiencing Back Pain? Yoga Can Help
By Nancy Wile
According to a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, yoga may be more effective for the treatment of low back pain than traditional exercise. The study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, followed participants who suffered from chronic but not serious back pain. Participants either took yoga classes, attended therapeutic exercise classes, or practiced therapeutic back exercises from a book. At the end of 26 weeks, those who tried the yoga classes experienced the most improvement in back function and were most likely to have reduced their pain medication, and these benefits persisted for at least several months.
Why is Yoga an Effective Way to Treat Back Pain?
There are a number of reasons that yoga is an effective way to relieve back pain and improve the overall health of your back.
1) Yoga helps increase strength in very specific muscle groups and works to strengthen all major muscle groups that support the spine.
2) The stretching postures in yoga increase blood flow to the tissues that support the spine, improving the health of the intervertebral discs and muscles along the spine.
3) Yoga increases flexibility in your shoulders and hips, which decreases demands on your back, and yoga increases flexibility of the muscles in your back and along your spine, allowing your spine to rotate properly.
4) Yoga's focus on breathing and connecting breath with movement improves body awareness, making you more conscious of movements that may contribute to back pain.
5) The "spine lengthening" poses in yoga promote good posture and proper alignment of the vertebrae. When the spine lengthens, it naturally moves towards correct alignment. Having proper posture ensures that you are not placing undue stress upon your back.
Healing Your Back with Yoga
Maintaining an injury-resistant and resilient back with good posture depends on three interrelated components of muscle health: flexibility, strength and endurance. All of these three factors are involved in every move we make. Flexibility forms the foundation for strength and endurance, and a lack of flexibility carries an increased risk of injury during training for strength and endurance.
The arms, legs, chest all attach to the spine via the shoulder girdle, pelvis and ribs. The weight of the head is perched on the end of the spine. Therefore, the spine affects and is affected by every movement the body makes. For example, if your head is not properly balanced, the natural curve of the neck becomes distorted. If the arms and legs don’t have full range of motion, the spine must compensate by extra twisting and bending. Many people with back or neck pain suffer from imbalances of the flexors, extensors and rotators of the spine, arms and legs. An intelligent yoga program can bring these muscle groups back into balance.
However, not all yoga programs will help with back pain. If you try a very vigorous yoga practice while having back pain and fail to listen to the signals from your body, back pain could actually get worse. It’s important to take it slow, listen to signals from your body and practice yoga exercises that are appropriate for helping back pain.
To try simple yoga exercises for your low back, visit: www.yogaforbackhealth.com. You find lots of free yoga exercises for your low back that are explained and illustrated, as well as free yoga video downloads of simple exercises you can do now to alleviate back pain.
Reference: Sherman, KJ (et al). Comparing yoga, exercise and a self-care book for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005, Dec. 20: 143 (12): I18.
Nancy Wile, Ed.D. is the founder of Yoga To Go – a yoga organization that provides simple and effective yoga programs for busy people around the world. To learn more about healing your back with yoga, visit: http://www.yogaforbackhealth.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Wile