5 Bulging Disc Lower Back Exercises for Pain Relief
Check the direction first — then these five if extension feels better
Sitting or bending aggravates your disc bulge? A movement check, then five extension-preference exercises — plus why relief isn’t the whole comeback.
Been told you have a disc bulge? Does sitting, bending forward, putting your shoes on or picking something off the floor aggravate your back?
Before you throw exercises at it, pay attention to how your back responds to movement.
This video is a simple movement check, then five exercises for people whose back feels better moving backwards — what we call an extension directional preference.
Check the direction first
Not every disc likes the same thing. If standing up and bending back eases your symptoms, the five drills below are the list. If folding forward is what calms it, skip this list — that is a different plan, and we cover it at the end of the video.
Do not push through pain that is getting worse, or symptoms spreading further down your leg. This is general education, not your assessment.
The five exercises
- Massage ball — lower back and glutes. Soften the tissue that has been guarding so the next drills can actually land.
- Standing back bends — repeated extension in standing. Watch what happens to the symptoms, not how far you go.
- Cobra stretch and progressions — from elbows toward a press-up, hips staying down. Range is earned.
- Dead bug isometric — a quiet trunk while the arms and legs work. Strength without folding you in half.
- Wall runner — upright loading. The point is not to live on the floor forever.
Relief is a start. It is not the comeback.
I do not want you spending the rest of your life only moving in positions that feel safe. I want you putting your shoes on without overthinking it. Picking your kids up. Getting back into the gym. Trusting your body again.
That is the physical and mental work we map in a free 15-minute Rehab Academy discovery call — use the cards below. The massage ball from the video is in the store. Brick By Brick is the 7-week mindset layer if hesitation is the loud part.
Watch on YouTube
Full episode: https://youtu.be/t3rd8G1MFd8
#BackPain #DiscBulge #LowerBackPain #Physiotherapy #EvolvePhysio #rehabacademy
