14 Exercises to Do After Low Back Surgery

Straight Leg Raise

One of your physical therapy goals after lumbar laminectomy and discectomy may be to improve the strength and stability of your low-back muscles.3 This can improve the support that the muscular system gives to your spine.

One great exercise to help improve your low-back strength is the straight leg raise (SLR) exercise.

To perform the exercise:

1. Lie on your stomach (prone), tighten your abdominal muscles, and slowly lift one leg up in the air.
2. Hold the straight leg up for 2 seconds, and then slowly lower it down.
3. Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.

The SLR can be performed once or twice a day, but be sure to check in with your physical therapist before starting the exercise to ensure that it is safe for you to do.

Prone Press Ups

One of the simplest, yet most effective, exercises to protect your back and lumbar discs after laminectomy is the prone press-up.4

This exercise compresses the back of your healing discs and helps to keep them situated in the proper place in your low back. It also helps to improve your ability to bend back into lumbar extension.

To perform the exercise:

1. Lie face down on a yoga mat on the floor and place both hands flat on the floor under your shoulders.
2. Keep your back and your hips relaxed, and use your arms to press the upper part of your body up while allowing your lower back to remain against the floor. You should feel a slight pressure in your low back while pressing up.
3. Hold the press-up position for 2 seconds, and then slowly lower back down to the starting position.
4. Repeat the exercise for 10 to 15 repetitions.

Wall Squats

Wall squats are a classic core exercise that are also great for strengthening your thigh muscles and glutes.5 This is an ideal exercise for those who have had low back surgery, as it places very minimal stress on the spine.

To perform a wall squat:

1. Stand with your back against a wall and your arms by your side.
2. Spread your legs hips width apart.
3. While pressing your back into the wall, walk your feet out until you are in a seated position; Your knees should be at a 90-degree angle with the ground.
4. Rest your hands on the tops of your legs or cross your arms against your chest.
5. Hold this squat for up to one minute.

Bridges

The bridge exercise is excellent both for stretching the low back and strengthening the surrounding muscles, including your glutes, hamstrings, and ab muscles, all of which are important for stabilizing your lower spine.

To perform a bridge:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and arms by your side.
2. Tighten your stomach and tilt your pelvis toward the ceiling.
3. Pressing your shoulder blades into the ground, lift your bottom as high as you can to create a plank from your chest to your knees.
4. Hold for about 30 seconds, then slowly lower yourself back to the ground.

Sciatic Nerve Gliding

If you had leg pain coming from your back prior to surgery, you may have been diagnosed with sciatica, or an irritation of your sciatic nerve.6

After your lumbar laminectomy and discectomy surgery, your physical therapist may prescribe specific exercises, called sciatic nerve glides, to help stretch and improve the way your sciatic nerve moves in your back. This can help free the adhered nerve root and allow for normal motion to occur.7

To perform sciatic nerve gliding:

1. Lie on your back and bend one knee up.
2. Grab underneath your knee with your hands, and then straighten your knee while supporting it with your hands.
3. Once your knee is fully straightened, flex and extend your ankle about 5 times, and then return to the starting position.
4. Repeat the sciatic nerve glide 10 times.

The exercise can be performed several times to help improve the way your sciatic nerve moves and glides in your low back and leg.

Stationary Biking

Stationary biking is one of the best endurance exercises for people recovering from low back surgery.8 In addition to endurance training, stationary biking also works the quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and hip flexors—all without stressing the low back.9

If you don’t have a stationary bike of your own, you should be able to find them in most gyms. Aim to ride for 20 to 30 minutes per session at a moderately-intense pace.

You will also want to get a green light from your physical therapist before adding stationary biking to your rehab program to ensure it is specifically safe for you.

Abdominal Draw-Ins

After a lumbar laminectomy and discectomy, your physical therapist may prescribe exercises to help improve your abdominal strength.10 One exercise to start improving the way your abdominal and core muscles contract is the posterior pelvic tilt.

To perform the posterior pelvic tilt:

1. Lie on your back with both knees bent.
2. Slowly rock your pelvis backward as if you are trying to flatten your low back into the floor.
3. Tighten your abdominal muscles as you tilt your pelvis posteriorly, and hold the position for 2 seconds.
4. Slowly release the pelvic tilt to return to the starting position.
5. You can perform the posterior pelvic tilt for 10 to 15 repetitions.

Hamstring Stretch

Having tight hamstrings increases the risk of low back pain. But, research shows that hamstring stretches can reduce pre-existing low back pain and help prevent it from developing.11

There are a handful of hamstring stretches you can try, but the simplest one is done from a seated position:

1. Sit on the ground with your legs stretched out flat in front of you.
2. Reach your hands for your toes.
3. Hold until you feel some of the tension in your hamstrings release.

Heel Slides

Heel slides are an exercise commonly done in physical therapy to improve range of motion in the lower body while also strengthening abdominal muscles.12

All you will need is a flat surface to lie on:

• Lie flat on your back with one leg straight in front of you.
• Use your leg muscles to slowly draw your heel as close to your buttocks as you can.
• Keep your foot in contact with the floor at all times.
• Start with 10 repetitions per leg.

Ankle Pumps

Ankle pumps are a simple exercise that work the calf muscles and ankle. They are a good exercise to start with in the beginning phases of rehabilitation, as they improve circulation in the legs without placing stress on the low back.13

To perform ankle pumps:

1. Sit or lie on a flat surface with your legs straight in front of you.
2. Tighten your hamstring muscles.
3. Take turns pointing and flexing each foot.
4. Repeat 10 to 15 times per foot.

Supine Lumbar Flexion

After your low-back surgery, your physical therapist may prescribe gentle back flexion exercises.14 This can help safely stretch your low-back muscles. It can also be used to gently stretch the scar tissue in your low-back from the surgical incision.

Supine lumbar flexion is one of the simplest things to do to improve your lumbar flexion ROM after low back surgery. To perform the exercise:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent.
2. Slowly lift your bent knees up towards your chest, and grasp your knees with both hands.
3. Gently pull your knees toward your chest, and hold the position for 1 or 2 seconds.
4. Slowly lower your knees back down to the starting position.
5. You can perform the supine lumbar flexion exercise for 10 repetitions.

Be sure to stop the exercise if you are experiencing an increase in pain in your low back, buttocks, or legs.

Walking

Walking is one of the best exercises you can do after a lumbar laminectomy or discectomy surgery.15 Walking helps to improve blood flow throughout your body. This helps to bring in oxygen and nutrients to your spinal muscles and tissues as they heal.16

Walking also helps to improve your cardiovascular health, keeping your heart and lungs functioning properly after lumbar surgery.17 The best thing about walking after back surgery is that it is an upright exercise—your spine will naturally be in a good position while you walk. This helps to protect your discs against future problems.

Postural Correction

After back surgery, you must work to maintain proper posture when you are sitting and standing. Postural control is essential as it keeps your low back in the optimal position to protect your healing lumbar discs and muscles.18

Your physical therapist can teach you how to sit with proper posture by using a lumbar roll to maintain your spine in the best position. The slouch-overcorrect procedure can also help you maintain proper posture for your low back.19

Return-to-Work Activities

Once you have gained improved lumbar range of motion, hip, and core strength, it may be time to start to work on specific activities to help you return to your previous level of work and recreation.

Depending on your work, you may need to work on proper lifting techniques, or you may require an ergonomic evaluation if you spend time sitting at a desk or a computer terminal.