3 Exercises To Recover Safely From Back Pain

If you’ve ever had serious back pain, you will know two things:

• the road to recovery involves regaining your normal mobility, and your back’s inability to flex normally (something usually taken for granted) affects every little thing.
• the idea of taking your back through any range of motion is a terrifying prospect, knowing that you could at any moment be flung into searing, paralysing pain.

So, how to resolve this? How to address the former, while avoiding the consequences of the latter?

Over-50s specialist physio, Will Harlow, gives us the 3 exercises he gave his mother (herself in her 60s) to successfully fix what was prognosed as a lifelong disability:

Gently does it

The key, he explains, is to exercise in a way that gently proves to your body that it’s safe to move again—as otherwise, you will have a subconscious psychological block stopping you allowing a return to full mobility, much as most people find it very difficult to deliberately give themselves a serious injury.

As to how to do it, he gave her these three exercises, and recommends the same to us, should the need arise:

1. Knee rolls: yes, knees. Not the most intuitive exercise for one’s back, but that’s the whole point: rolling one’s knees (description to follow in a moment) obliges one’s back to twist, just a little, while still being supported by whatever you’re lying on. As such, it’s done lying on your back with knees bent and lower back slightly flattened into the surface. Slowly roll both knees to one side, then return to center, starting with small movements to signal safety to the brain. Initially, the range should be limited—just a few inches side to side—to prevent spasms. Do 20 reps per side, repeat 3–4 times daily. Over time, range of motion improves, reducing stiffness and spasms. For Mrs. Harlow, it took six weeks to get the full range of motion.

2. Seated forward flexion: an exercise that looks like it’s not remotely an exercise at all, but it’s actually a very important one*. Sit on a firm chair with hips and knees at 90°, feet flat, and legs slightly apart. With hands on thighs, slowly bend forward from the top of the spine, sliding hands down legs. Initially stop at the first sign of tightness or pain, then return. As flexibility improves, progress to touching the floor. This movement calms the central nervous system, proving to the brain that forward bending is safe. Do five reps, three to four times daily or when the back feels tight.

3. The clam: lie on your side with the top leg to be worked, knees and hips bent at 90°, feet together. Roll slightly forwards, then lift the top knee without moving the rest of the body. Maintain strict form and stop if you feel the effort above the waistline (which means the back is working instead). This strengthens the gluteus medius and minimus—key for offloading the lower back. Continue until you feel a working ache below the waistline, then rest. Do multiple sets daily, together or spaced out.

*it reminds this writer of last time I hurt my back, and I needed my son’s help to put my socks on, precisely because I could not perform this movement!

For more on each of these, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!