5 advanced back exercises for arthritis pain

Here are advanced exercises to help build muscles to protect, your torso and spine. Some of them will require access to a gym or exercise equipment.

• You move your feet up and down as if swimming. Start with both feet 2.5 to five centimetres (one to two inches) off the ground and keep them elevated through the entire exercise.
• Take a short time to complete one kick, lifting in a half second and returning in a half second (or whatever speed feels most comfortable).

The movements with this exercise are the same as the basic bicycle.

• With this advanced version, in the starting position, hold both your heels one to two inches off the floor and keep both feet elevated through the entire exercise.
• At the same time, hold your head and shoulders off the floor. This constant resistance prevents rest between repetitions, making the advanced bicycle considerably more difficult than the basic version.

Consider this exercise a how-low-can-you-go challenge — but use an exercise ball instead of a limbo bar.

• Sit up straight on the ball, crossing each hand across your chest to touch the opposite shoulder. Place feet flat on the floor, with your knees bent at about 90 degrees.
• Slowly lean backward while keeping the ball from rolling. Lean back as far as you can while still maintaining balance. Slowly return to the starting position for one repetition.
• Don't worry about achieving a certain angle with your backward lean: The idea is to move as far as is comfortable — but if you consistently do the exercise, you'll make strides in both strength and balance that will allow you to lean back farther.
• To make this exercise even more difficult, put your hands by your ears, which transfers weight to your upper body and increases resistance on your abdominal muscles.

• For best results, if you have a choice of handle grips, select one in which the handles are vertical; if there are multiple grip positions, choose the innermost one.

• You may see other exercisers pulling the bar behind their heads, but it's best to avoid such a move, which puts excess stress on the shoulder joint.
• Do the exercise in a slow and controlled manner, keeping your back straight so you don't use any momentum to pull the bar down.
• To make this exercise more difficult, place your hands closer to the ends of the bar.
• For another variation, rotate your palms to face inward (as if doing a chin-up) and position your hands five to seven centimetres (two to three inches) apart, which works muscles lower down the sides of your back.