--- title: 5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back description: These simple moves will help protect your back from pain. canonical: https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T13:55:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:08.560Z article:section: Health og:title: 5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back og:description: These simple moves will help protect you from back pain og:url: https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back twitter:description: These simple moves will help protect you from back pain twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Jennifer Cohen / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Jennifer Cohen / Health.com Contributor Oct 29, 2015 1:55 PM UTC by [Jennifer Cohen / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Jennifer Cohen / Health.com Contributor Oct 29, 2015 1:55 PM UTC When dealing with an aching back, the last thing you feel like doing is a workout, I know. But when it comes to back pain, gentle exercise _really_ is the best medicine. Studies show it can work about as well as [physical therapy](http://news.health.com/2015/10/13/early-physical-therapy-not-a-cure-all-for-low-back-pain-study/) for injuries, and that a strengthening program for your core may actually help you alleviate minor back pain for good. Below you will find a super simple routine to help protect your back from pain. You’ll want to work this circuit into any strength-training you’re already doing—repeat the circuit three times, and do it twice a week. (Important: If you’re dealing with shooting pains or an acute back injury, check with your doctor before you start any exercise routine, including this one.) **MORE**: [How Yoga Can Help People With Arthritis](http://time.com/4037157/yoga-arthritis-joint-pain/) ### Dead bug  Jennifer Cohen Lie on your back and place your feet in the air at a 90 degree angle with your lower back pressed into the floor. From here lower your right heel and tap the ground. Then bring it back to neutral position. Then lower the left. Alternate for 20 reps before moving to the next exercise. ### Glute bridge  Jennifer Cohen Lie on your back with your feet placed firmly on the ground and your knees bent. Keeping your hands at your sides and your core tight, squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips off the floor as high as you can. Hold for 1-2 seconds before lowering back down. Repeat for 20 reps. ### Superman  Jennifer Cohen Lie on your stomach with your arms above your head and legs straight out behind you. In one movement, lift your arms and legs off the floor as high as you can, squeezing your glutes and thighs, as well as your back. Hold for 1-2 seconds before lowering back down to the floor. Repeat for 20 reps. ### Pelvic tilt  Jennifer Cohen Just like the hip bridge, lie on your back with your feet placed firmly on the ground and your knees bent. Keeping your hands at your sides and your core tight, squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips off the floor as high as you can. From here, you will pulse up and down without coming back fully down to the floor. Complete 30 pulses before lowering back to the floor. ### Wall squat  Jennifer Cohen Find a sturdy wall and lean up against it with your back. Squat down until your hips are parallel with your knees. Make sure your knees are straight above your toes, keeping your legs at a 90 degree angle. Hold for 1 minute. **Do you want more articles like this? Check out** [**5 Moves to Work Your Abs From All Angles**](http://news.health.com/2014/12/03/5-moves-to-work-your-abs-from-all-angles/) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2015/10/21/a-super-simple-strength-routine-to-soothe-your-aching-back/?xid=time) _More from Health.com:_ * [9 Best Workouts to Do When You Have Your Period](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20953267,00.html?xid=time) * [The Jillian Michaels Circuit Workout](http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20952545,00.html?xid=time) * [A 4-Minute Tabata Workout for People Who Have No Time](http://news.health.com/2015/09/25/a-4-minute-tabata-workout-for-people-who-have-no-time/?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/"},"headline":"5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back","datePublished":"2015-10-29T13:55:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:08.560Z","description":"These simple moves will help protect you from back pain","url":"https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","Exercise","Back Pain"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Cohen / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4087971/back-pain-stretches/","name":"5 Strength-Building Moves to Soothe Your Aching Back"}}]}] ```