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Isometric Exercises for a Herniated Disc

A herniated disc is a condition that can wreak havoc on your life. Exercising your core muscles to help support your spine is one of your first and best lines of defense to keep the negative effects of a herniated disc at bay.

  1. Isometric Exercise

    • Core isometric exercises benefit people who suffer from back problems because they are gentle and do not require any movement that can cause injury. Isometric exercises require you to hold a position without moving for a proscribed period of time. There are those who think that exercise has to involve weights in order to build strength, but that is not the case. Sometimes just the effort of resisting gravity can be all that it takes to give you results that make a difference.

    Warnings

    • It is important to exercise both the back and the abdominal muscles, not just one or the other. Exercising both helps to keep your body alignment in balance; this goes a long way in alleviating back pain caused by herniated discs. Proper alignment prevents strain and from bending or moving in a way that will aggravate the herniated disc.

    The Plank

    • The best overall exercise for your whole core is the plank. Correct form is the key to this exercise, and so having someone spot you the first few times until you know what the appropriate position feels like can be beneficial. Another important tip to get the most out of this exercise is to pull your belly button in toward your spine. It doesn't matter how long you hold the plank in the beginning as long as you are doing it right.

      Start in a push-up position, lying flat on your stomach with your toes flexed and touching the floor. Keeping your body in a straight line, bend your arms and push yourself up to rest on your elbows. Keep your head down and avoid raising your hind end in the air. Your body should be in a straight line, and there should be no other movement.

      Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds, relax and repeat the exercise. Try to increase the amount of time you stay up over a few weeks, working up to a goal of 60 seconds per rep. Don't worry if you start to shake; this is perfectly normal and is actually a sign that you are working your muscles. This will decrease over time.

      The plank works all the abdominal muscles--upper, lower and side--as well as the back and shoulder muscles. Be sure to stretch gently before and after you do this move. As your strength increases, doing a couple of crunches or leg raises to fatigue your abdominal and back muscles will increase the effort involved in doing this exercise.

    Lower Back Raises

    • To specifically help strengthen the lower back, you can do raises. Lying on your stomach, stretch your arms out in front of yourself and raise your torso off the floor about two to three inches. Do not raise your head. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds. Lower yourself back down and raise your legs off the floor by the same two to three inches and hold the position for the same time period. Work up to being able to raise your chest and legs off the floor for two reps of up to 60 seconds each.

      Over time, you should have fewer acute problems, such as back spasms, and less overall pain.

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