Disc Exercises
1. Floppy push-ups: hold 10 to 20 seconds and repeat 10 times.
2. Cow position: go from flat back to cow position 10-15 times.
3. Posterior Pelvic tilt abdominal activation: hold pelvis flat to the ground for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times
4. Standing lumbar extension: push the back into a mild extension throughout the day, holding for 5 seconds.
These are called McKenzie floppy push-ups, this exercise aims to reduce pressure from the disc to the nerve to allow it to be pushed back closer to where it is supposed to be. You are going to push up, like so, you can also come up on the elbows and hold here in the extended low back position for about 10 to 20 seconds. Then I would recommend flattening out, taking a little break, then going back up into that extended low back position again. You can repeat this as many times as you want. Next, we’ll move on to the cow, so you’re in a flat back position like this, then drop your back so you have lots of extra curves in your low back, and then back to back to neutral. Do not go into a cat position just stay in the neutral. Repeat that about ten times.
The last position you’ll get into laying flat on the ground and place your hand underneath your lower back, underneath my low back so what I’m gonna do is i’m going to take my low back and i’m going to squeeze my hand so i’m gonna do a pelvic tilt just to engage my core and then back to neutral so pelvic tilt so squeeze my hand underneath my low back and then relax and repeat that ten times okay lastly you can do a similar one standing so you’re going to take your low back and encourage a little bit of extra extension kind of with your thumbs right here in the small of your back and just stay in this position for 1020 seconds and then back to neutral again and so those are the four main ones that you can do to help your back when you’re experiencing some trouble with your discs.