5 Pilates Exercises to Ease and Prevent Back Pain

By Chelsea Streifeneder for Prevention

Nagging back pain can come at any age, and all too many of us are familiar with it. According to the American Chiropractic Association, half of all working Americans report feeling back pain every year, and as a nation, we spend at least $50 billion annually to find relief. Ouch.

The good thing is, most back pain isn’t caused by a serious medical condition, but rather everyday habits like poor posture, exercise, or simply sitting too much. By strengthening the core and releasing tension and tightness around the upper and lower back, you can usually ease the pain—and even prevent it.

The Pilates exercises below will connect you to your deep core muscles so they can support your back and remove strain there. To really feel a difference, do this routine twice a week consistently. Do note that it’s best to consult a doctor and get to the root of your back pain before starting a program like this on your own. Remember to go slowly and gently, and always listen to your body—you should never do anything that hurts! (Work your core, gain strength, and get faster by attending at least twice, better three times per week our SlimAndFitClub Workouts).

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet positioned about a hand’s distance from your butt. Keep your arms long at your sides with palms flat on the floor.
2. Press through the entire area of your feet, squeeze your backside, and lift your hips off the floor until your shoulders, hips, and knees are in a straight line. Relax your upper body and make sure you don’t roll into your neck. Hold in this position for a slow count of 10.
3. Inhale as you slowly lower your body back to start position, remembering to keep your core engaged. Perform 2 or 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions.

Swimming

1. Lie on your stomach with legs joined together in a straight line. Keeping your shoulder blades settled back and away from your ears, stretch your arms straight ahead and pull your abs in.
2. Extend and raise your arms and legs out and up off the floor and lengthen your spine so that your head must come off the mat to stay in line with it. Keep your gaze down at the mat to avoid crunching your neck, and protect your lower back by anchoring your pubic bone to the floor.
3. Alternate lifting right arm and left leg, then left arm and right leg, pumping them up and down in small pulses as fast as you can in a swimming motion. Focus on the length, not height, of your limbs. Continue for 30-60 seconds. Repeat 2 or 3 more times.

Rather than do full sit-ups, which can aggravate your low back if you’re experiencing pain there, strengthen your abs in this half chest curl that also works your back muscles.

 

1. Lie on your mat and place your elbows directly under your shoulders. Tuck under your toes and press firmly through the backs of your legs and heels.
2. Engage your lower abs and tighten your core as you lift your body up off the floor and come into a straight line from head to toe. Don’t let your ribs splay open or your butt sag or lift too high. (These are the 4 most common plank mistakes—and how to fix them.) Hold for 30-60 seconds, then lower down. Repeat 2 or 3 more times

 Child’s Pose

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1. Start on hands and knees, then bring your hips back to sit toward your heels as much as possible. If you need more of a lower back stretch, keep knees closer together; if you need more of a hip stretch, take knees farther apart.
2. Stretch your arms out in front of you with palms resting on the floor. Relax your forehead to the ground, and breathe deeply.
3. To come out, crawl your hands toward your legs and slowly sit up. Let the head be the last to come up. Repeat and hold again for as long as needed.