Back pain is a serious issue for those of us who work on a computer for long periods of time. I used to suffer from back pain chronically when I sat at a computer 40 hours per week. The back is a very complex muscle group. There are a lot of variables to consider. When the spine is not in a neutral position, the compression forces repetitive strain and overuse injuries much quicker than if we had good posture.
Are Sit Ups Bad For Lower Back Pain
It’s also important to be careful in choosing the activities you do. After a long day of sitting, it might be a bad idea to do ab workouts that build core strength. The core muscles definitely need to be strengthened, but I usually did more harm than good when I did core exercises after sitting at a computer all day. Although it may not feel like it, my core muscles work all day long to support my torso at a computer. Working on a computer for long periods of time is an endurance event, regardless if we are sitting or standing. Going straight to a gym after work to do sit up repetition wasn’t the ideal balance for me. I always tried to do my core exercises on days that I wasn’t doing any work on a computer.
Exercise is very important to me.
As I’ve gotten into my mid-forties, I’ve noticed the lack of muscle growth and activation I was used to when I was younger. That elusive six pack is much harder to achieve as I’ve gotten older. The more I use my core muscles to support my computer posture for long periods of time, the more my abdominal muscles get tighter, weaker, and more deactivated. But these are just more reasons and more motivation to focus on my physical fitness. A huge variable of that is training my abdominal muscles effectively. Improving my core strength hasn’t been an easy task for me. Certain body movements and core exercises have made my back pain worse, sometimes including sit ups and crunches. So today, I’m dedicating this post on how sit ups can affect lower back pain.
This article is not medical advice. It’s based off my experience and my opinions. I talk about ways to strengthen your core that have helped me live a higher quality, sedentary lifestyle. Do your research, make good decisions, and be the best possible advocate you can be for your physical fitness and your abdominal muscles.
The question, “Are sit ups bad for lower back pain?” doesn’t have an easy answer. I would say that the answer is two fold. My first answer is yes. Sit ups can be bad for lower back pain if they are done carelessly or incorrectly. My second answer is no. Sit ups done properly and intentionally can help strengthen and reduce pain in the lower back.
Sit ups and crunches can sometimes exacerbate lower back pain for me.
I go to the chiropractor once a week, regardless of whether I’m in pain or not. The lumbar vertebra in my lumbar spine can easily go out of alignment after a full day of sitting. This would be a bad time for me to do sit ups and crunches. The sit up repetition doesn’t go well with the instability of my overworked lower back muscles. If I did sit ups and crunches after a long day of sitting, I would suffer from back pain after my workout. It’s just not worth it. I also want to mention that I never do sit ups and crunches without supporting my lower back with an AbMat. I’ll talk more about this under the next subheading, “Safe Exercises for Lower Back Pain”.
It’s a common misconception that the core muscle group is another way of talking about our abdominal muscles. It is actually made up of a lot more muscles than that. The other main variable of the core is muscles in the lower back that surround the lumbar spine. If the lumbar spine isn’t in a neutral position when I’m doing sit ups and crunches, I will suffer from back pain.
Safe Exercises For Lower Back Pain
Below are the exercises that work for me, which help me build my core strength, without putting a strain on the muscles surrounding my lumbar spine.
Plank and side plank
After a long day of sitting, I like to do plank and side plank. These ab exercises don’t put a strain on my lumbar vertebra and lower back muscles like sit ups and crunches do. I’m not even worried about the intensity of the plank. Most of the time, I use a progression where my elbows and toes are on the floor to support my upper body. This is less intense for me than if I was to have my hands and toes on the floor. But, I’d rather do the exercise intentionally, at a lower intensity, with my elbows and toes touching the floor. This allows me to focus more on my breathing and the stability of my lumbar spine.
Sit ups and crunches
As I mentioned earlier in this article, I don’t like to do sit ups and crunches after a long day of sitting. I will do them on days off from work instead. It’s also crucial that I use some kind of lower back support when I do them. My favorite thing to use is an AbMat. The AbMat stabilizes my lumbar spine while I do the sit ups and crunches.
This greatly decreases the chances that I suffer from back pain. I prefer to do the CrossFit style sit ups, where my hands are over my head when I’m in the down position. Then, I swing my arms and hands toward my feet when I begin my upward descent. This allows me to take advantage of the momentum that my arms create. I prefer this over the older, traditional physical fitness style of sit ups, which is a much stricter and slower movement.
Side note: This isn’t paid promotion. I’m not compensated by companies that make the AbMat or the X Bands. They are simply products I’ve spent my own money on, that have improved my quality of life.
Leg lift
There are 2 different ways that I do a leg lift. Both of them can help strengthen your core, as well as your hip flexor muscles.
The first way is to grab a pull up bar, just like we were going to do a pull up.
Instead, I lift my legs until my thigh is at a 90 degree angle with my upper body. On this method, the muscles around the lumbar spine are active, but it’s pretty easy to maintain a neutral position while doing it.
The second way is to lay flat on my back, next to a cable machine in the gym.
I use X Band foot straps to connect to a cable with a carabiner. The metal hook of the X Band straps would be at the bottom of my foot for this exercise (not the top of my foot, like in the picture). This allows me to do a leg lift under a weighted load. It has helped me build core strength in my lower abs, which are the hardest variable in attaining that elusive six pack. This version of the leg lift has also helped me wake up and activate my hip flexor muscles that have gotten incredibly tight and deactivated after years of sitting at a computer for long periods of time. This exercise is also referred to as a reverse squat.
Thanks for your interest in sitting posture. If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You’re taking valuable steps that will improve your core strength and decrease the chance you will suffer from back pain. That’s something to be proud of.
If this article was helpful, check out my book titled “45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.” It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
P.S. You can sign up for my free computer posture newsletter here.
