Therapeutic Exercises You Can Do at Home

Easy At-Home Therapeutic Exercises

At-home therapeutic exercises can target areas like your back, glutes, and shoulders to foster meaningful change in your body.

To effectively complement your physical therapy, consider incorporating daily excerises you can do on your own between guided professional therapeutic exercise sessions. Examples below can complement your balance training, and endurance activities like walking or swimming. Be sure to first check with your doctor or physical therapist.

Prone and Prone on Elbows Positional Therapeutic Exercise

Many diagnoses and therapeutic exercise modifications can improve mobility in your spine. Face down is called prone positioning. As we lay on our stomach we have a slight back bend and this is a good position for people to start in if they’re having a really stiff spine and unable to get into a full range of motion.

The next position is if you’ll come up onto your forearms for me and you can see here quite a difference in the amount of extension that we get in the spine just by resting up on the elbows. Let yourself relax and allow your pelvis to hang towards the table to gain a nice back stretch.

Prone Press-Ups Therapeutic Back Extension Exercise

A full extension therapeutic back exercise involves focusing on controlled movements and listening to your body.

1. Position your hands near your shoulders.
2. Press up, keeping your lower back and belly relaxed, using your arms to push your chest off the floor.
3. Extend yourself straight up to get a nice big back bend.
4. Pause at the top, then slowly lower down.
5. Repeat pressure on and pressure off.
6. Aim for 10 repetitions.
7. Progressions can be added by inhaling and exhaling during exercise.

Cat Cow Stretch Therapeutic Back Exercise

The cat cow stretch involves alternating between a rounded “cat” position (exhale, round spine) and a “cow” position (inhale, arch spine), improving spinal mobility, flexibility, and easing back pain.

1. Begin on your hands and knees, with hands directly under your shoulders and knees directly under your hips. Your back should be in a neutral position.
2. Cow Pose: Excessively sag your back downwards, pressing your belly towards your exercise mat, while stretching your head up high into the air.
3. Cat Pose: Tilt your head down and gain a nice stretch over the top of your back.
4. Smoothly alternate between the cow and cat positions by rounding your back up and then sagging back down.
5. Repeat 3 to 5 times twice a day, or as directed.

Request a Therapeutic Exercise Plan to Maintain Good Health

Exercise helps most individuals to ease back pain and prevent further discomfort. The above beginner exercises, from Brenda Brewster, stretch and strengthen your back and the muscles that support it. Initially, repeat each exercise a few times. Then increase the number of times you do your at-home exercises after they are easier for you.

Your Therapeutic strengthening program, provided by a physical therapist, may offer different levels, depending on your fitness, age, injury recovery goals, or desired challenge.

You may also want to try our easy at-home balance exercises.

 

Caution:

Pause any of the exercises above if you feel sharp pain or discomfort. Report and consult with a healthcare professional or your Savage, MN certified physical therapist if you have any pre-existing conditions.