Lower Back Exercises: Which Muscles to Target?

Have you ever been to the doctor for low back pain and been told to do lower back exercises or just take pain pills? If so, it is important to use a safe exercise program that is beneficial. About 45% of the US population has had low back pain and it is the second leading cause of disability. Back pain is often mechanical in nature. Mechanical back pain is the result of muscle / ligament dysfunction and / or misalignment of the spine and / or pelvis. Therefore, it CAN be treated with manual therapy, education, and a muscle-specific exercise program. In particular, an exercise program that targets our core muscles.

According to pioneering physical therapist Gregg Johnson, our main stabilizers are the transversus abdominis, the pelvic floor muscles, the multifidus, and the deep fibers of the hip flexors and quadratus lumbar. When our body experiences pain, our body has a mechanism that “inhibits” these muscles. Once these muscles are “asleep”, our body lacks protection against disturbances. This can lead to further injury and pain. Therefore, it is important to understand what types of muscles our body has.

Our body has two types of muscle fibers: phasic and tonic. Our phasic muscles are our “motors” for quick movements like getting out of bed and they don’t last long. On the other hand, our tonic muscles are for “posture” to stabilize the body. Tonic muscles are capable of working for long periods of time. Therefore, the core muscles are known as tonic muscles. Again, when the body is in pain, these tonic muscles, known as “core stabilizers,” shut down. Therefore, it is important to have a specific exercise program to “wake up” those muscles again.

One of the exercise techniques Greg Johnson uses is called “phasic shakes.” In this paradigm, you choose a specific functional position with the correct alignment. You then hold that position against gravity or with resistance to “wake up” your toning and stabilizing muscles. Initially, the phasic muscles can be activated. But, you hold the position until the phasic muscles fatigue. Finally, the tonic and stabilizing muscles will turn on. When the stabilizers are working, you have accomplished the goal of this technique.

This specific exercise technique can help improve posture, increase coordination and balance, gain body awareness and symmetry, and teach the spine and pelvis to become flexible again. As you know, back pain can be very disabling. A specific exercise program that targets the correct muscles can improve and help prevent injury. Thus, it helps your body to be efficient with its movement and perform your daily functions more easily.