6 Weight Ball Exercises for a Tight Lower Back

Weight ball exercises to relieve lower back stiffness, tightness, and pain are becoming increasingly popular. A versatile piece of exercise equipment, the weight ball (also known as a Swiss ball or physio ball or exercise ball) can be used to aid those suffering from back pain during a variety of exercises.

More specifically, many exercise ball programmes aim to bring controlled movement to the spine to aid in nourishing the discs. By increasing blood flow around the disc and by causing the water to flow in and out of the disc, vertebral motion helps nourish the discs in the spine.

Below we will discuss some weight ball exercises that you can do for your back.

Weight Ball Exercises for a Tight Lower Back

Check out the following six weight ball exercises for a tight lower back you should be doing. For more back related exercises, check out these exercises to strengthen the lower back. Let's get started:

1) Spine Rotation with Weight Ball

Spine rotation will help release muscle tension in your spine (Image via Pexels@Andrea Piacquadio)

This is one of the simplest weight ball exercises you can do to relieve muscle tension from your back.

Instructions:

Sitting on the exercise ball, raise your arms straight in front of you.
Without twisting at the spine, move both arms across your body to the right while maintaining shoulder height with the bent left elbow; move both arms to the left while maintaining the bent right elbow. Count five times on each side.
By turning the head in the opposite direction from the arm movement, but without twisting at the spine, you can add head movement to the arm movement. Count five times on each side.
Spreading the feet slightly, twisting the spine in the direction of the arm movement, straightening the opposing knee and rocking forward on the ball as needed will make it more difficult.

2) Back Extensions with Weight Ball

Weight ball exercises can be adapted for various kinds of back relieving exercises that you normally do, such as back extension. Leaning face-down on an exercise ball while performing back extensions stretches the abdominal muscles in the front of the torso and the dense paraspinal muscles of the low back.

It makes sense to strengthen the paraspinal muscles on an exercise ball, as they're frequently the source of low back pain. Assuming you don't experience any sharp pain when you extend your spine, perform three sets of ten repetitions with a minute of rest in between; if you do, consult a doctor first.

To do the exercise:

Lie on your stomach on the exercise ball with your legs extended. Use your feet or toes as a source of support (wearing rubber-soled shoes is a good idea). You might also try putting your feet up against a wall.
With your hands behind your head, slowly lift your chest and upper abdominals off the ball while arching your back.
Make an effort to concentrate on tensing the muscles in your low back. Hold for a few seconds with your torso extended, then gradually bring it back to the ball.
To activate the muscles in the upper back, try pinching your shoulder blades together.

3) Pelvic Isolations with Weight Ball

Rolling on a weight ball will feel very good for your back (Image via Pexels@Andrea Piacquadio)

Weak muscles in the surrounding areas can also contribute to low back pain by forcing the low back to overcompensate or overwork, which can lead to injury. Strengthen your pelvic muscles by performing some weight ball exercises that can also relieve tension and keep your muscles in good shape.

The core muscles include the muscles in the pelvis, and weakening in these muscles can occasionally cause low back pain. Therefore, developing stronger pelvic muscles is a smart way to manage (or help avoid) low back problems.

To do the exercise:

Sit on the exercise ball with your feet firmly on the ground and arms by your sides or on the hips.
The small of your back should then be flattened by gently tilting your pelvis, pulling your stomach muscles in, and moving your hips forward and upward. Hold for a short while, and reset your body to the starting position.
Pull your hips back while slightly arching your low back.
Hold the posture for a short while, and shift back to your starting position. Every day, you can repeat this exercise back and forth ten times without stopping.
Alternately, while still in place, slowly rotate in a clockwise direction for a few minutes before switching to a anticlockwise direction (counterclockwise).
To maintain a hula hoop rotating around your hips, perform this movement.

4) Lumbar Extension with Weight Ball

This is one of the simplest weight ball exercises to add to your routine.

Instructions:

Place the lower chest/abdomen over the exercise ball with the legs straight, apart for stability, and flexed up on the toes (or with the legs together and feet against a wall).
Rest the hands on the side of the ball, but do not use your arms to push up.
Slowly lift the head and chest off the ball as far as is comfortable, squeezing the shoulder blades while lifting; then return to the starting position.
Perform five repetitions.
Put your hands behind your head for a more difficult exercise, or raise your arms straight up.

5) Bridge with Weight Ball

Weight balls can be used to bring about a change in your usual workout (Image via Pexels@Gustavo Fring)

Bridges are a popular exercise for the lower back. When performed with the weight ball, it becomes one of the most relieving weight ball exercises you can do for your back.

Instructions:

Lie on the ground flat with your legs straight.
Place your hands flat on the floor with your arms at the sides and legs together on the exercise ball at the calf region.
Tighten the abdominal muscles, and lift the buttocks off the floor to straighten the back.
Hold this position for five seconds.
Go back to the starting point. Perform the exercise 3-5 times.

6) Mobility and Stretching with Weight Ball

The last in our list of weight ball exercises for the back is a nice stretch that can relieve your muscles and make you feel good.

Instructions:

Sitting on the exercise ball with your arms by your sides, move your feet out slowly, lean back slightly, and roll the ball to your upper back.
Raise your arms above your head, straighten your knees, and arch over the ball till your hands are touching the floor.
Before bending knees, lowering arms, and rolling back to starting position, hold the stretch for ten seconds.
Perform three repetitions.

Takeaway

Performing the aforementioned weight ball exercises regularly should lessen lower back stiffness and pain (if any).

For more exercises, check out these exercises for lower back pain that you can do at home.