Prone Press Up

This may be single favorite exercise.  It is one of the most fundamental exercises in the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (McKenzie) protocol, and is very similar to the Upward Facing Dog movement in Yoga.

I always do this exercise first thing when I get to my hotel room after a long plane flight, and it's very helpful for many patients who need to centralize their radicular symptoms (please see blog post about centralization- http://lakewass.blogspot.com/2013/07/centralization.html), or to help with low back stiffness while driving or flying on airplane (http://lakewass.blogspot.com/2013/07/tips-for-flying-with-low-back-pain.html).

Technical note about the picture below: I have no idea why I am grunting so much, but that is NOT proper form.  Try to stay more relaxed and control your breathing

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Lie on belly
2. Place hands next to shoulders like you are going to do a push-up
3. Take a deep breath in
4. As you breathe out, slowly arch your back upward
5. You may feel a point of stiffness in your low back- it is important to push through that stiffness
6. Lower yourself down so that you are completely flat again
7. Take a deep breath, and then repeat

Tips:
1. Make sure your pelvis stays on the table
2. If you have leg pain, your goal is to pull that leg pain into your back.  This may intensify your low back pain- that is ok.  This called centralizing your symptoms when you pull the pain out of your legs and into your back
3. You should feel your back start to loosen after 10-20 repetitions

When to do:
1. 20 repetitions every morning
2. 10 repetitions after any time that you have been sitting for prolonged periods (car rides, airplane flights, sitting in class)