7 Great Back Pain Exercises for Women

Jun 25, 2021

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7 Great Back Pain Exercises for Women : Most adult women have experienced back pain at least once in their lives. This isn’t really surprising, when you think of the fact that our backs feature a complex network of muscles. We use these back muscles every single day for walking, sitting, standing, bending, and lifting objects.

If you are a woman suffering from frequent back pain, there is something you can do to improve your situation. For any back pain caused by an injury, you should first consider getting physiotherapy treatment to treat this injury. When your pain is caused by a poor posture or weak core muscles, you can perform exercises to strengthen your body.

Try a few of these back pain exercises for women:

Abdominal bracing
Strengthening your core muscles will help women to relieve their back pain. Abdominal bracing, for example, is an exercise that targets your transverse abdominis, which is a thick core muscle that wraps around your abdomen. The simple fact of strengthening this muscle could improve all your other core muscles.
To do this exercise, lay on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. As you exhale, try to bring your belly button towards your spine. Hold this position for 5 seconds before taking another breath. Repeat this simple movement 10 times.
Superman
Even though we can’t fly like Superman, we can pretend. For this exercise, start by laying on your stomach. With your arms stretched out in front of you, slowly lift up your arms, your head and your legs as much as you can. Hold this position for at least a few seconds and repeat this movement 10 times.
You could also place a pillow or a cushion under your belly if you need more comfort. Doing the Superman will strengthen your transverse abdominis, as well as your latissimus dorsi, your trapezius, and your hamstrings.
Plank
Doing a plank will strengthen your rectus abdominis, which are known as abs, but also many other core muscles. Place your forearms on the ground, with your elbows under your shoulders. Keep your neck in a neutral position, looking at the floor in front of you. Tuck your toes and lift up your body by engaging your abdominal muscles.
Be sure to keep your torso straight, so your body will form a straight line from your ears to your heels. Draw your belly button towards your spine and tuck your butt. Hold this position for as long as you can. You could start with 10 seconds, to gradually increase your plank time.
Push-ups
If you get bored with doing the plank, you could move on to push-ups. This well-known exercise will strengthen your core muscles, especially those of your upper body. Start by getting into a plank position, but with your arms extended and your hands flat on the floor. Tighten your core muscles and bend your elbows to lower down your body until your chest is just about to touch the floor.
Lift yourself back up to your initial position. Do at least 10 push-ups before relaxing your body.
Fire hydrant
This exercise is not named after a superhero, but it is meant to look like a dog lifting a leg to pee on a fire hydrant. Start on all fours, with your hips over your knees and your shoulders over your wrists. Slowly raise up one of your legs to the side, while keeping your knee bent. Maintain the position until you feel your glutes work and put your leg back down.
Repeat on the other side and do the whole exercise at least 10 times. To make it more challenging, you can place a resistance band right above your ankles.
Upright rows
This is an exercise you can perform with two weights. If you don’t have weights, you can hold water bottles, heavy books, or any other objects that will be comfortable to hold. With a weight in each hand, stand with your feet spread apart at shoulder-width. Turn your palms so they face your body, and slowly pull your elbows up, until they are just above your shoulders.
Next, lower your weights back down. You can repeat this exercise, which will strengthen your middle and upper back as well as your shoulders, up to 10 times.
Bent over rows
After you have done upright rows, you can try bent over rows. While standing with the weights still in your hands, bend down by bending your knees and pushing your hips back. Lower down your weights towards the floor, then retract your arms so they will be aligned with your torso. Hold your weights close to you for a few seconds, then repeat 10 times.

Keep in mind that all these exercises should be done slowly. Avoid pushing yourself too hard, especially if this is your first time at trying exercises for your back. And if ever you feel sharp pain while you are exercising, you should stop immediately. If the pain persists, speak to a health care professional.