The lower back is highly susceptible to injury. A combination of stretching and resistance training can help keep your back healthy and prevent injuries.

Resistance-training exercises can help treat lower back pain by targeting the muscles and connective tissues that support the spine. Abdominal muscles help move and support the spine. Thus, by strengthening them, lower back pain will be relieved. Crunches and sit-ups are the most popular abdominal-strengthening exercises. Begin by lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, then place hands behind your head with elbows pointed toward the knees. Perform crunches by curling torso halfway to the knees, with elbows touching knees.

Of all the resistance training exercises, the back hyperextension exercise targets the deep spinal muscles, which straighten your spine and bend it backward. Lay the back of your ankles under a foot bar, keeping the front of your thighs on top of a pad. Then, lower your head and torso, creating a ninety-degree angle between the lower and upper body. Lift your torso parallel with the floor, and then lower it back down slowly, repeating this exercise. Hold either a barbell across your upper back or a weighted object near your chest so that the resistance is increased. Do not continue if this exercise causes pain. If there is no access to a foot bar, a variation to the hyperextension is to kneel down on a mat or soft surface and place both hands in front. Then slowly lift one leg back, extending it backwards. Hold for a second and bring the leg back, repeating with the other leg.

Another of the resistance training exercises is the superman exercise, which works the same muscles as the back hypertension through a similar range of motion, but requires lower-intensity muscle contractions. To begin, lie face down on the floor with arms extended in front of head. Then, lift arms and legs simultaneously hyper extending the spine. Hold in place for five seconds, and then lower the back down slowly. Alternate lifting the left arm and right leg together, followed by the right arm and left leg. To lower back pain, the seated twists helps strengthen your lower-back and oblique muscles that are located on the sides of the abdomen. They work together rotating the torso to the left and right. To execute the movement, use a seated twist machine, which has a rotating chest pad and handles attached to a stack of weights. Set the machine to lift the weight stack as the torso is rotated to the left, and then sit on the machine and keep twisting in both directions. Adjust the machine so the weight stack rises as you twist to the right, then repeat the exercise.

Make sure that feet are flat on the floor and legs are still throughout the movement. This will help lower back pain. Barbell dead lifts are another of the resistance training exercises, which can build strength in the lower back. It is advised to use lightweights to start, and never perform this exercise with heavy weights. Open legs to shoulder-width distance and. inhale, slowly lowering the weight to the floor. Keep the knees slightly bent, back slightly arched and exhale as weight is lifted up.