WHY:  This exercise will help you to learn low back and pelvic body awareness. Learning body awareness in these regions is important when trying to manage pain now and in the future. This exercise also promotes motion in this region and can help with stiffness and spasms.

 

HOW:  Get set-up laying flat on your back with your knees bent and feet supported on the ground. Place your hands on your hip bones to help with learning body awareness. Now perform a posterior pelvic tilt followed by anterior pelvic tilt.

 

COMPENSATION:  Do not overarch your lower back, after you perform the posterior pelvic tilt let your low back naturally move into an anterior pelvic tilt by relaxing your muscles. The movement should come just from your stomach and hip muscles, not your low back!

HOW: Begin by lying on your back and bending your knees, putting your feet flat on the ground. Move just your hips from 12 to 6 motion rotating your pelvis up and down. Reset and then move your pelvis from a 9 to 3 motion of side to side. You can use your hands to help feel just your hips moving and not your torso or body. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your hips working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your torso flat on the ground, don’t rotate it as you move your hips. Only want movement in the pelvis.

HOW: Lay flat on the ground or table. Bend your knees and put your feet flat. Contract your core muscles and slowly push into the ground with your feet. Raise your hips first, then lower back, and finally your mid to upper back. Focus on slowly peeling the spine off of the ground. You should reverse that movement and slowly lower your back down to the ground.

 

FEEL: You should feel a combination of your core, low back, hip/glutes, and hamstring muscles working together.

 

COMPENSATION: At the top of the bridge, keep your spine in line with knees, do not arch too much. Make sure your feet aren’t too far in front of you or too far underneath you.

HOW: Get set-up in a hook lying position laying on your back with your knees bent. Flatten your low back into the ground to engage your core, then lift one leg up at a time to to bring your knees up above your stomach. Lower down and repeat on the opposite side.

 

FEEL: You should feel your abdomen muscles working as well as the muscles in front of your hips.

 

COMPENSATION: If you’re having trouble keeping your low back flat, push your opposite foot into the ground when you go to lift the other leg. Do not let your back arch.

HOW:  Get set-up laying flat on your back with your knees bent and feet supported on the ground. Place your hands on your hip bones to help with learning body awareness. Perform and maintain a small amount of posterior pelvic tilt prior to starting. While keeping the rest of your body still, slowly let one knee fall out to the side within your range of motion, then return to starting position and repeat.

 

FEEL:  You should feel motion strictly at your hip joint. You should feel like your stomach muscles are helping to keep the rest of your body still.

 

COMPENSATION:  You should not feel like your back or your pelvis are moving excessively, resist arching your low back.

HOW: Lie on your back and bring your knees up with your lower legs pointing straight out. Start from the neck and slowly lift your upper back off of the ground until you feel your upper abs engaged. Think of curling up, one vertebrae at a time, and peeling it off the ground. Once you reach as high as you can go, repeat the process in the opposite direction, one vertebrae at a time.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core working during this exercise.  Particularly, your upper abdominals will work the most. 

 

COMPENSATION:  Don’t lift all at once! Remember to “roll” up.  Keep your knees up and feet out as you roll up.

HOW: Start in a seated position with your legs spread about shoulder width apart (or the width of a mat) and sit up tall and upright. Reach your arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height. From here, pull your belly button in as you roll down and reach forward, then roll back up the starting position. You can modify your legs by bending your knees and placing the bottoms of your feet together. 

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in your spine as you reach forwards. 

COMPENSATION: Try to not allow motion in your lower body, focus your breathing and motion in your spine.

HOW: Begin on your hands and knees. In this position, you will balance on the opposite arm and leg. The wider you are the easier to balance, the more narrow the more challenging this will be. Bring the arm and leg up as high as you can towards the ceiling, slowly return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: With the leg kicking out you will feel the muscles on the back of the hip working, with the arm that is punching out you will feel the muscles on top of the shoulder and back of the shoulder blade working.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating the trunk, arching the back as you raise your leg, or shrugging the shoulder as you raise the arm.

HOW: Begin on your hands and knees. In this position, you will balance on the opposite arm and leg. The wider you are the easier to balance, the more narrow the more challenging this will be. Keep your back flat and your core engaged. Bring one arm and the opposite leg up until your leg is straight out from your hip and your arm is straight out from your shoulder. Once in this position, pulse your arms and legs up and down at the same time for the time prescribed. Then alternate doing this on the other sides. 

 

FEEL: With the leg kicking out you will feel the muscles on the back of the hip working, with the arm that is punching out you will feel the muscles on top of the shoulder and back of the shoulder blade working. You should feel your core muscles working the entire time.

 

COMPENSATION: Avoid rotating the trunk, arching the back as you raise your leg, or shrugging the shoulder as you raise the arm.

HOW: The tall plank position looks like a push up position. Assume this position on the ground on your hands and toes. Simply hold this position for the desired amount of time.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core muscles working to hold this position. You will also feel your arm, shoulder, and chest muscles working.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lose a good plank position, keep your elbows straight, strong through your shoulder blades, and do not excessively arch or bend your back

HOW: Start on your hands and knees with your knees underneath your hips and reach your hands as far out as you can. Sit your hips back and try to place your butt on your heels while keeping your arms straight out in front of you. Hold that child’s pose position for as long as prescribed. Then, from the child’s pose position, go right into a prone press up by pushing yourself forward, dropping your hips down to the floor, and attempting to push your chest up and back. Think of trying to show off a logo on the front of your shirt!

FEEL: You should feel a stretch in your hips, shoulders, and low back during the child’s pose. You should feel a stretch in the front of your hips, your abdominal region, and your lower and mid spine during the prone press up. 

COMPENSATION: Control your breathing during both exercises and the transition from one to the other, don’t speed through these, take your time and focus on quality of movement.