What Are The Best Exercises To Strengthen My Back If I Have Occasional Back Pain?

David Knight, M.S., L.A.T., C.S.C.S., Athletic Performance Coordinator, University of Wisconsin

July 1, 2009

Question: What are the best exercises to strengthen my back if I have occasional back pain?

Answer: There's a common myth out there that back pain is actually the result of a weak back, and in actuality it probably isn't a result of a weak back but some other connective function that we might have in our body. For example, we might have poor hip mobility. For a golfer who rotates into the ball, my left hip, if it doesn't have good mobility it's going to ask my low back to become mobile. So my low back could be very strong where other parts of my body might not be doing what they need to be doing.So, we need to address that factor first.

David Knight, M.S., L.A.T., C.S.C.S., University of Wisconsin

ABCNEWS.com

But if we're looking at strengthening our lower back there's a lot of good exercises we can do to help strengthen our lower back. I would avoid exercises that work on a lot of extension especially hyperextension, and promote more exercises that work on stabilizing the lumbar spine in a neutral position while you lift, such as a dead lift or a stiff-legged dead lift. Those kinds of exercises help to stabilize the lumbar spine while you're moving the hip through a full range of motion, allowing the body to work in its natural working function.