Bridging

Lower back pain exercises for seniors and the elderly, like the bridging exercise below, will help strengthen your core muscles of your lower back.

By raising your bottom off the ground you will also strengthen your buttock muscles and increase the range of motion in your hip flexors. Try this exercise 3 – 5 times a week and see how much stronger you can become.

This basic lift exercise is an important one to learn especially if you spend a lot of time in bed. To prevent bed sores and strengthen the ability to reposition your body by lifting your bottom off the bed, perform at least 8 to 10 of these exercises.

If you experience pain in your low back, try pressing your back into the bed before beginning to align your spine. Good luck.

This exercise helps strengthen the hip extensors, buttock muscles and hamstrings. It also helps strengthen the low back and sacroiliac. This can improve your ability to stand and maintain your balance.

Purpose of this exercise

This exercise helps strengthen the hip extensors, buttock muscles and hamstrings. It also helps strengthen the low back and sacroiliac. This can improve your ability to stand and maintain your balance.

How to do it

Step 1

Lie down on bed or floor with knees bent. Your hips are in neutral.

Step 2

Lift bottom as high as comfortable off floor. Pause, then return to starting position and repeat 10 times.

Breathing

Inhale during the upward movement phase. Exhale during the downward movement phase.

Tips

Keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Lift your bottom high enough to get a good contraction. Hug your legs after your exercise to relax your muscles.

Take it up a notch

Lift your bottom off the floor with on leg straight.  Repeat 10 times with each leg.

How to do Bridging

More Back and Trunk Exercises

1. Eccentric Straight Leg Raise

• This exercise works your abdominal and hip flexor muscles which will improve your ability to get out of bed, get out of a chair and maintain your posture and help back muscle pain.

2. Bent Knee Raise

• This back pain help exercise works your abdominal and hip flexor muscles which will improve your ability to get out of bed, rise up from a chair and maintain your standing posture.

3. Curl Ups

• Abdominal back pain symptoms exercises help with posture and balance by strengthening your core muscles. Simple things like getting out of bed or up from a chair can become easier when your
• abdominal muscles are strong.

4. Cat and Camel

• To stretch and extend the lower back and mid back muscles. Exercises for back pain and loosening up the pelvic area and learning the pelvic tilt.

5. Back Extension

• To stretch and extend the lower back and mid back muscles. It can also help with mid back pain associated with postural strain. This will make it easier to maintain good posture with sitting and
• standing.

6. Leg Extensions

• To stretch and extend the lower back and hip pain muscles. It can also help with strengthening the pelvis and leg muscles reducing symptoms.

7. Bridging

• These lower back pain exercises help strengthen the hip extensors, buttock muscles and hamstrings. It also helps strengthen the low back and sacroiliac. This can improve your ability to stand and maintain your balance.

8. Pelvic Tilt

• To stretch the lower back and hip muscles. This is a great treatment for back pain exercise for tired or sore backs after a long day of walking!

9. Sit Backs

• This back strengthening exercise will firm your abdominal muscles.
• It will help your ability to get out of bed or up from a chair.

10. Arm Raises On Back

• This back muscle exercise improves the range of motion in your upper back and shoulders.
• When correctly stabilizing the lower back, this exercise will help strengthen your postural muscles including the abdominal muscles.

11. Arm Raises On Knees

• This back pain and exercise movement will improve your upper back and shoulder stability.
• It is also helpful in reaching to a high shelf, opening the refrigerator door or even combing your hair.

12. Hip Flexion

• This lower back exercise will improve your lower back range of motion and flexibility.
• It will help with activities such as doing the laundry, sweeping up with a dust pan or reaching to a low cupboard.

Resources Stay Independent
https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/STEADI-Brochure-StayIndependent-508.pdf