Get Rid of Your Low Back Pain - McGill's Big Three Exercises

Your low back pain can be a result of, or exacerbated by, a dysfunctional core. Your "core" is composed of a number of muscles that work in coordination with one another to stabilize your spine. Your core muscles include: rectus abdominus (the 6-pack muscle), interal and external oblique, transverse abdominus, quadratus lumborum and the the gluteal muscles. When your core is weak or lacks endurance, that places extra unnecessary pressure and stress on your spine causing irritation in your low back. Dr. Steward McGill is a retired biomechanist at the University of Waterloo who has dedicated his studies to focus on low back pain and the best exercises to get rid of low back pain. Here are the results of endless years of research:
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1. Bird-Dog

• Start on your hands and knees with your hands shoulder-width apart directly under your shoulders, and knees hip-width apart directly under your hips.
• Maintain a neutral spine.
• Brace through your abdomen and squeeze your gluteals.
• Make sure you can maintain this while you take a breath in and out.
• Lift your right arm in front until it’s level with your shoulder, squeezing the muscles between your shoulder blades as you do so.
• At the same time, extend your left leg straight back until it is level with your hips, squeezing your gluteals, and keeping your hips parallel to the floor.
• Return to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner, and perform the same action with the opposite arm and leg.
• That is one repetition.
• Perform 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. ​

2. Side Bridge

• Lie on your side and prop yourself up on your elbow.
  
• Make sure that your elbow is directly under your shoulder to avoid any unnecessary strain through your shoulder joint.
  
• With your legs straight, place your top foot on the ground in front of your bottom foot.
  
• Place your top hand on your bottom shoulder.
  
• While maintaining the natural curve of your spine (your upper body isn’t twisted or leaning forward), brace your abdomen, squeeze through your gluteals (clench your bum), and lift your hips up off the ground.
  
• Don’t forget to breathe!
  
• Hold for 8-10 seconds, repeat 3 times. 

3. Modified Curl-Up

• Lie your back with one knee bent and one knee straight, this puts your pelvis in a neutral position and the muscles of your core in an optimal alignment of pull to avoid strain on the low back.
  
• Place your hands under the arch of your low back and ensure that this arch is maintained throughout the curl-up.
  
• Start by bracing your abdomen; this is different from flexing your abs, bear down through your belly.
  
• Now make sure you can take a breath in and a breath out while maintaining this brace.
  
• If you cannot, stop there and practice doing just that until you’ve got it mastered!
  
• Now, pretend that your spine in your neck and your upper back are cemented together and do not move independently.
  
• Pick a spot on the ceiling and focus your gaze there, lift your shoulder blades about 30° off the floor and slowly return to the start position.
  
• Take note of your neck, and ensure that your chin isn’t poking forward when you do a curl up.
  
• If you’re struggling with that, focus on making a double chin.
  
• Perform 3 sets of 10-12.