What should you do if you get a little back pain?

Should you just stop all activity and rest until it goes away? Almost always, the answer is no!

We may want to seek the help of a medical professional but we also want to continue to remain active WITHOUT increasing our back pain.

Here are some ideas you can try to stay active so your back pain doesn’t get you down!

LOADED CARRIES

Loaded Carries are a great total body exercise that can often be tolerable even in the presence of some back pain. Here are some ways to modify this exercise to make sure it isn’t irritating.

• Deadlifting the KB in between your feet

  • Most suitcase carries will start with the KB on the outside of your feet. Try Deadlifting the KB in between your feet which will be more comfortable for many.

• Sumo Stance

  • Widening your stance can help you keep your torso more upright which may be less irritating.

• Elevate the Kettlebells

  • If none of the mods to get the KB off the ground work for you, try elevating them on plates, box, or stool.

• Farmers vs. Suitcase Carry

  • Suitcase Carries (weight on one side) require you to fight that weight from pulling you to one side. If that's bothersome, try a Farmer Carry (weights on both sides).

HIP HINGE

The Hip Hinge is a great exercise that teaches you how to move and lift things using your strong muscles on the back of your legs instead of your back. Here are a couple variations to keep you moving even in the presence of a minor flare up.

• Hip Hinge with a Dowel Rod/Broom Stick

Bend forward & back at your hips while keeping the stick touching the bottom of your spine & the middle of your back. This ensures most of the motion is coming from your hips.

• Good Mornings

Once you're able to get down the first variation, put the dowel rod across your back and think of closing a car door with your backside. Most of the motion should come from the hips.

Give these two a try and let us know how they feel! These can be useful to keep moving even in the presence of a little back pain.

BANDED PULL DOWNS

Banded Pull Downs are a great exercise to get the muscles throughout the trunk & back to fire without much movement. Al the motion comes from the shoulders which allows most folks to be able to do this exercise with minimal issues!

Here’s are a couple variations to keep you moving even in the presence of a minor flare up.

• Standing Banded Pull Down

Tie a band to a pull up bar or fixate it at the top of a door. Grab it with both hands and your elbows straight. Pull down to your pockets while keeping everything tight like someone’s going to punch you in the stomach. (Keep breathing though ;)

• Supine Banded Pull Down

This is the SAME movement but on your back. Try & push your lower back into the ground & don’t let it come down. You can make this more challenging by lifting your feet off the ground.

Give these a try and let us know how they feel! These can be useful to keep moving even in the presence of a little back pain.

PALLOFF PRESS

The Palloff Press is is a very similar exercise to the Banded Pull Down and should be pretty tolerable for most folks that may be having a minor flare up.

Here are a couple variations to try out. This is on deceptive exercise. It can be much more challenging than what you think.

• Standard Palloff Press

Grab a band with both hands close to your chose then step away from where it’s fixated. Once there, don’t let your body move except your arms pushing the band away from your body. Try and keep the band from pulling you towards where it’s fixated.

• Weighted Palloff Press

To make this a little more challenging, run your band through a weight (whether a plate or kettlebell) and do the same activity. The weight creates some instability that requires you to work a little hard to stay steady.

Give these exercises a try and let us know how they feel! We hope you’re able to use some of these to keep moving even in the presence of a little discomfort.

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Dr. Jeff Musgrave, PT, DPT, Cert MDT

Dr. Dustin Jones, PT, DPT, GCS, CF-L1

P.S. Comment below if you want us to cover any other topics!