When I work with clients to resolve lower back pain I use exercises to train and strengthen four key muscles…
- The diaphragm
- The pelvic floor
- The transverse abdominus
- The multifidus
Diaphragmatic breathing, inhale through the nose and and breathe into the tummy and lower ribs. Exhale through the mouth.
To activate the pelvic floor think about gently lifting up through the pelvic area to stop the passage of urine.
To activate a transverse abdominus contraction think about gently drawing in the belly button on the out breath.
Training the multifidus muscles with a co-contraction of the pelvic floor and / or TVA. Think about drawing the pelvic bones at the back of the pelvic gently together, then perform a clam exercise.
Once you have mastery of these isolated contractions we need to start putting them all together and adding movement…