The Rym Space
← Exercise library

Exercise set · Lower back

The Lower Back Pain Starter Set

  • 8 to 10 minutes
  • Once or twice a day while symptoms settle
  • 5 exercises

The worst advice for a sore back is bed rest, and the second worst is a brutal core workout. This set sits deliberately between the two: movement to reassure the back and restore range, then light loading for the glutes and trunk, which are what protect it long term. It suits the settling phase, once the first sharp days have passed.

Designed and reviewed by Dr. Shyyada Banu, BPT, MPT · MIAP License No. 69386

Who this set is for

  • Your back flared recently and is now settling
  • You stiffen up after sitting and loosen with movement
  • You want to move but are not sure what is safe
  • Long standing on-and-off back pain with no red flags

The set, in order

The sequence matters: it moves from switching on to loading. Each exercise links to its full guide, with the technique, mistakes and progressions.

  1. 1

    Pelvic Tilt

    10 slow repetitions

    A small, slow rocking of the pelvis that moves the lower back between gently flattened and gently arched. Usually the first exercise we give in a back pain episode.

    Small and gentle. This is a conversation with the back, not a workout.

  2. 2

    Lumbar Rotation Stretch

    10 rolls each way, slow

    Lying with knees bent and letting both knees rock gently from side to side. With pelvic tilts and short walks, one of the first movements we give a painful back.

  3. 3

    Cat Cow

    10 cycles, moving with the breath

    On hands and knees, curling the spine up towards the ceiling and then letting it sink the other way. Gentle full-spine movement that reminds a stiff or guarded back that it is built to bend.

  4. 4

    Glute Bridge

    2 sets of 10

    Lifting the hips from the floor until shoulders, hips and knees form one line. The foundation exercise for the gluteus maximus, and the starting point of most hip and back programmes.

    The strength part. If the back pinches, lift a little less high.

  5. 5

    Bird Dog

    8 each side, 3 second holds

    From hands and knees, reaching one arm and the opposite leg out while the trunk stays perfectly still. Builds the back and hip endurance that stops episodes from returning.

    Skip on the worst days and add it back as things calm down.

Running the set well

  • Movements should feel easier at the end of the set than at the start. That is the sign the dose is right.
  • A mild increase in ache during exercise that settles within an hour is acceptable. Pain that moves further down the leg is not, and means stop and get assessed.
  • Walking counts as treatment too. This set plus one or two short walks a day is a genuinely evidence based recipe.

When to get assessed instead

Stop and seek assessment urgently if you develop numbness in the saddle area, changes to bladder or bowel control, or leg weakness. Get assessed soon, without panic, if pain runs below the knee, wakes you every night, or has not begun improving after two weeks.

Read about the conditions this supports

Other sets

The Desk Worker's Neck and Shoulder SetThe Core Foundations SetThe Balance and Falls Prevention SetThe Knee Strength SetThe Postnatal Foundations Set