Low back pain is very common these days. In fact it affects about sixty to eighty-five percent of adults. Good thing is most cases, symptoms are just mild and fleeting, with ninety percent of it goes away within six weeks. Pain which persists for over three months which is considered as chronic low back pain affects around fifteen to forty-five percent of the population (Clinical Journal of Pain 1993)
One of the causes of lower back pain is lumbar spondylosis. It is a degenerative condition which often affects the lower spine. This condition is often a result from old age. As people grow old, the spine undergoes some changes and most of these changes are a contributory factor of the degeneration of the vertebrae. Note that spondylosis can also occur in other parts of the spine like the thoracic and cervical which is also known as spinal osteoarthritis.
In usual case of lumbar spondylosis, the space between discs in the lumbar spine is thinned that is why it resulted to pain which seems to spread out from other parts of the body. Patient also experience tingling and numbness. If the condition is left untreated it can progress to the narrowing of the spinal canal which can lead to impingement of spinal cord. As a result patients develop unsteady gait, poor bladder control and serious neurological problems.
There are various non-surgical treatments available for lumbar spondylosis and one effective treatment is physical therapy. Most doctors prescribed physical therapy to relieve symptoms for lumbar spondylosis. What are some of the lumbar spondylosis exercise?
Back extensions. Patients takes the position of face down on its stomach and then gradually lifts its upper body from the floor. Its arms can be place palms down under the chest so as to take some of the strains in the back muscles. If you have a hard time perform this lying down then this exercise can be done against the wall. Just put you hand against the wall and then bends back using your arms as well as your lower back muscles.
Exercise Ball Curls. Sit on an exercise ball and try to find your balance before you start your exercise. Next is you hold a three pound dumbbell in each hand and extend them towards the floor and then curl them up to your shoulders. Perform this ten times.
Exercise Ball Lift. Lie down in the floor. Put the exercise ball between your legs. With your legs, grasp the ball and lift the ball about twelve inches from the floor. Then return it to the floor. Do this ten times.
Other lumbar spondylosis exercise are band stretch, lumbar stretch and standing stretch. One thing to note though, do not start your exercise without your doctor’s advice. It is even better if your doctor can design the right exercise program for you.